Monday, March 31, 2025
Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:32-36
What does the tension of Thursday night tell us about Jesus and how does his suffering give us hope?
Suffering That Brings Hope
Jesus and the disciples had shared a Passover meal – the last supper – and now they were all (except Judas) in the garden at Gethsemane. The garden was really more of an olive grove, a place whose name literally means “oil press.” Jesus took Peter, James, and John further into the garden and told them how he was feeling. These disciples were the three that were closest with Jesus and that night Jesus told them he was deeply distressed and troubled, grieved to the point of death. He asked them to stay where they were and stay awake. Jesus went deeper into the garden and fell down before his Father calling him Abba Father! This is a familiar and intimate name, such as a child might use when they call their father “daddy.” Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knew his Father’s will but still suffered in agony. He asked his father – declaring that he knew that with his father all things were possible – could he take this cup away from him.
The cup Jesus is talking about was the judgement of God on the sins of all mankind that he would bear on the cross. The weight of eternity. This was more painful and heavy than any physical torture that was coming but he did it so you and I would not have to. Jesus surrenders his will for his father’s even when it included suffering unto death. God did not take the cup from him, but he strengthened him to be able to take the cup. He was willing to do this for you and for me because it was the only way to atone for our sins. It was the only way our sin debt could be paid giving us the gift of eternal life when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
Jesus wasn’t asking for there to be no salvation for mankind. He was asking if there is any other possible way for this to happen other than the agony which was waiting for him at the cross. But there was no other way, so Jesus went to the cross. In the tension he decided that he would do God’s will and not his own. In the tension he was obedient and surrendered to what his father willed. In the tension of the reality, he made the choice to take the cup.
Because of his choice that night we can have forgiveness. Because Jesus suffered and died on the cross, we can have hope. He paid for our sins that night and made eternal life with him in heaven possible. He had the power to turn around and walk out of the garden and hide away, never facing the suffering of the cross. But he chose to take the cup for us. He defeated death and the grave when he rose from the grave three days later. We can have hope because we have the promise of eternal life, and we have the power of the resurrection and the Holy Spirit in our lives. We have victory over every impossible circumstance because that victory is in him. We have hope for eternity and hope for today.
