Matthew 26:39. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Welcome, welcome, my fellow believers to another glorious day in the annals of History! There are brand new strands of grace, mercies and lots of other good things to enjoy, courtesy of our wonderful God Jehovah!
So let’s gratefully acknowledge and accept them like the psalmist did nuh, by declaring: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
And that’s the way it should be my people, because that’s how our magnanimous and omnipotent God planned it. Any believer that does not rejoice and be glad in God’s day is not worth his salt, or the name of believer.
Now here is a li’l something from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster to titillate our senses. (smile) It says: ‘When fate shuts a door, come in through the window.’ The problem with that though, is suppose God shuts the door, then going in through the window might cause serious problems.
But generally speaking, I believe they mean don’t give up, to keep on trying, for one never knows when your number will play, it’s always the darkest before the dawn, and that sort of thing.
And we’ll get to our Bit right away. ‘And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’
Yes friends, Jesus’ soul was in agony, just like ours would be if we knew the horrific kind of death that was waiting for us in another few hours. It’s sad, that after praying our Bit, Jesus came back to His disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter: ‘What could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done.
And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.’ (Matt.26:40-44)
So friends, we can see that Jesus prayed three times that the cup of death, that His horrific crucifixion could be nixed, although deep down He knew it could not be set aside, because that was the Father’s will. Nonetheless, he still experienced agonizing moments.
The gospel of Luke reports it thus: ‘And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’ (Luke 22:43-44)
Yes precious people, Jesus shook it real rough that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, so much so that the Lord sent an angel to strengthen Him.
The scholars explain those two verses thus: ’22:43-44. Only Luke notes this. Jesus is borne up in His hour of greatest need, when He must intercede not only for Himself but for His followers, who are about to leave Him in the lurch.
Agony appears only here in the New Testament; it points to the intensity of Jesus’ struggle. Surely Jesus wrestles, not so much with death itself, but with His own destiny to be made the sin-bearer for all mankind for all the ages. The punishment that had to be borne for our sins brings Jesus to His knees in anguish.’
So yuh see mih people, the anguish and agony Jesus bore for us, so that we could be set free from the slavish hold that sin had on us. Now how can we not be eternally grateful to Him eh?
I really don’t know nuh, but too many people write Him off as a fake, as a fraud, and foolishly look to the evil Lucifer for pleasure. However they don’t realize that the pleasures of this world only last for a short time, then comes the judgement.
And we’ll close with one more instance of how Jesus shows the great importance of doing the Father’s will. This came on an occasion where He was teaching, surrounded by a crowd of people, when His brothers and mother came to talk to Him.
‘And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek (are outside seeking) for thee. And He looked round about at them which sat (in a circle) about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.’ (Mark 3:32-35)
Now that might sound a bit harsh to some, but to Jesus, the Father’s will overruled everything else, regardless of who was involved. May we also feel the same way, as we go home declaring our Wednesday Wail with mucho passion and heartfelt truth.
‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh friends, that’s the ultimate in life! Let’s not allow it to slip away from us, for worthless earthly pleasures. Much LOVE!
…the pleasures of earth are short-lived…but those of heaven are eternal…