"And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch." 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41 And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand." (Mark 14:32-42 ESV)
Throughout history, there have been several explanations given regarding why Jesus asked God, the Father, to remove the cup from Him. Most of them infer that Jesus was afraid to die and wanted another way to be a sin offering so He could avoid the suffering to come and drink the wrath of God. There is also a provocative theory that Gethsemane was the last temptation of Jesus by the devil, even though there is no direct Scriptural evidence of this taking place.
The Garden of Gethsemane is on the Mount of Olives and was a "Sabbath day's journey" from the city (Acts 1:12 ESV). It is located on a mountain ridge about 200 feet above sea level east of Jerusalem that overlooks the city and is covered with olive trees. The word "Gethsemane" in Aramaic means 'oil press.' Olives are gathered and stored to ferment and are either stepped upon or put in a mill to crush them and extract the oil. There, King Solomon erected a "high place" to worship foreign gods, which angered God (1 Kings 11:7). King David and his men fled Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives after his son Absalom rebelled with an uprising (2 Samuel 15:13-30). The Prophet Zechariah prophesied that "a day of the Lord" would be coming when the Lord would stand upon the Mount of Olives, ready for battle, and be King over the whole earth (Zechariah 14:1-9).
The Garden is mentioned in all four Gospels, where Jesus would go for rest and prayer. On His last visit there, Jesus told the Disciples to "sit here while I pray" (Mark 14:32 ESV). He asked them to keep watch because His "soul" (Gk: psuche – in context, regarding the body and emotions, not the eternal spirit) was "overwhelmed with sorrow (Gk: 'perilipos'- intense grief and sadness) to the point of death" (Gk: thanatos' – the death of the body)" (Vs. 34). He walked about a stone's throw from them, "fell on His face and prayed for about an hour and said, "My Father," (Gk: 'pater' from the root "pa" meaning nourisher, protector, upholder) "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (Matt 26:39 ESV).
Jesus returned to the Disciples and found them sleeping even though they had previously promised to be faithful to death. He said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Vs. 40-41).
Jesus left the Disciples to pray again for a second time, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it (Gk: 'pino' to consume fully), your will be done" (Mark 14:40 ESV)
Once again, for the third time, Jesus went back to His closest friends and "found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy" (Vs. 43) and went to pray "for the third time, saying the same words again (Vs. 44). After praying, Jesus went to them and said with unwavering resolve, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand" (Matthew 26:45-46 ESV). Jesus could have spent up to three hours praying in the Garden.
Luke, the physician, includes a fascinating medical observation about what Jesus underwent when He prayed the third time.
"...Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." "And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:43-44 ESV)
The Greek word translated as "remove" is 'paraphero' which means to bear along or aside to carry off. Matthew and Mark use the Greek word 'parerchomai' which is translated as "pass" and means to come near or aside and pass by (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:35). The wording of His prayer indicates that the ordeal is in His immediate presence and not in the future.
Luke noted that an angel came to render aid to Jesus during His ordeal. The Greek word for "strengthening" is 'enischuo' and is a medical term found only twice in Scripture, meaning to invigorate powerfully, to be made strong again (transitively or reflexively)[See also Acts 9:17-19]. The word is used in the context of doctors administering first aid like CPR or surgery to heal a sick or injured patient.
Jesus stated that His body was at the point of death as blood was bursting out of His skin, so an angel was sent to render first aid that He would not die prematurely (Mark 14:34). This thought is supported by Jesus saying to the Disciples, because He just had first-hand experience, "The spirit indeed is willing (Gk: ‘prothumos’ = eager and enthusiastic), but the flesh (Gk: 'sarx' = human body) is weak (Gk: ‘asthenes' = physically infirm, sick") (Mark 14:38 ESV).
The great sweat drops of blood is a medical condition known as hematidrosis, (also hematohidrosis, or hemidrosis), which occurs when someone is under such extreme physical, mental stress, and pressure that the body goes into a fight or flight response that could cause their capillaries to rupture and blood getting into the sweat glands. If the rupturing is severe enough, internal bleeding can result in death.
The Greek word translated as "agony" is 'agonia' and is found only once in the Bible. It comes from the word 'agon,' a place of assembly for a contest, fight, or race. It was used among the Greeks as an alternative to 'agonia' for the contests or games which took place there and to indicate maximum concentration, intense emotions, physical struggle, and strain.
The Greek word 'agonizomai' also comes from it and means to struggle to compete for a prize or contend with another to accomplish something.
The Greek word translated as "great drops" is 'thrombos' and is used in the sense of thickening like a blood clot.
The Passover Cup and God's Wrath
Earlier that day, Jesus shared the Passover meal with the Disciples, where they would have deeply drunk the equivalent of four cups of wine from one large communal cup before passing it on to the next person at the table. If it became empty, it would be filled again before passing to the next person.
With Passover in mind, Jesus was not praying to avoid the cup but rather to take on as much of it as He could and, if it was God's will, to let Him drink every drop as deeply as possible.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that "the cup" Jesus would drink from was the wrath God would pour out on the Cross or even that it would be appeased. God’s wrath against sin was not satisfied on the Cross. The Father did not punish Jesus on the Cross for the sins of humanity. Jesus became the sin bearer and delivered those who would repent of their sin and receive Him as Lord and Savior from the wrath that is still to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The Father received this sacrifice and accepted it (Isaiah 53:10-12). Jesus described His own death as a ransom, and not the way God would take out His wrath. His death was the payment to the Father to redeem us from the enemy (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).
The Cross is not an experience for Jesus alone (John 14:8-11). The Father and the Holy Spirit were with Him and never rejected Him. God did not pour out His wrath or turn His back on Himself (John 8:29; 16:32). God the Father did not break His relationship with God the Son on the cross in order to punish Jesus. It is fallen human beings who rejected Him (Isaiah 53:3-5). There was no transfer of wrath onto God, the Son, Jesus.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-7 ESV)
Jesus said the Father would be with Him in His suffering (John 16:32). Contrary to much humanistic teaching on the subject, God's wrath is not some divine child abuse or an angry, vindictive, temper tantrum of a deity who didn't get their way so that fire and brimstone must be poured out as punishment on a wicked world. Instead, it is God's reaction and resistance to sin.
The Cross was not about human sacrifice to Him, but His sacrifice to humanity. It is the focal point of everything and the lens through which all else can be seen because it is the wisdom and the power of the Triune God, who is love (John 3:16; 1 John 14:8). It is the centerpiece of His plan for all creation because it is the glorification of Jesus and reveals what true endless love is (John 12:23).
The Cross was the highest and ultimate revelation of love that God took the shame and corrupting power of death into Himself and did away with it. When people look at Jesus on the Cross, they see God, the Father, in Jesus revealing His merciful love and pouring out forgiveness on the entire world for their salvation (Zechariah 12:10; 1 John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:18; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3). There is no hope for anyone apart from the Cross. The ultimate magnitude of God's love is manifested in the Cross, where Jesus experienced wrath on behalf of everyone who has, is now, or will ever live in this world.
Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" because it is by grace alone they are saved through the faith of Jesus alone, and not by any work they could do because it is a gift of God” (John 6:44; Galatians 2:17; Ephesians 2:8 ESV).
The Triune God
The Bible teaches that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6-8; 45:6; James 2:19). Yet, God is three persons: God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. He is triune. This mystery is known only to Himself, and no human being can wrap their head around this truth, so it is an act of futility to try and explain it.
When Jesus prayed in the Garden, He wasn't afraid, worried, stressed out, or trying to avoid the Cross. Worry and fear are practical atheism and the opposite of trust. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He demonstrated perfect trust throughout His life. His mission from eternity past was to come to Earth to die as a sacrifice because of His great love for us. God knows the end from the beginning. He couldn't have been afraid of God turning His back on Him or being abandoned because God can never be separated from or turn His back on Himself (Psalm 16:10, 23:4).
Jesus came to Earth as 100% fully God and 100% fully human simultaneously (Philippians 2:6-8). As a human, He was made lower than the angels so that His physical body of flesh and blood could die (Hebrews 2:14). Because He is God, His spirit could never die.
The Prayer of Jesus
Jesus prayed because that is how humans communicate with God. If He had not prayed, He would not have been 100% human. When He died on the Cross, His body died. But then, when He returned to life, the resurrection proved He was God (Romans 1:4).
Jesus said He would not pray for God to save Him from the suffering that was to come (John 12:27-28). God cannot contradict Himself, so Jesus wasn't asking to avoid being crucified because there would be no atonement. The facts are that Jesus knew from eternity past that He was going to die, how He was going to die, and why (Matthew 10:45; Mark 10:45; Hebrews 9:22; Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 13:8). He came to Earth to die. That was His sole mission.
There was no fear or uncertainty in Jesus. For the joy set before Him, He went to the Cross (Hebrews 12:2). He knew what He would be facing and went toward it willingly and resolutely. He predicted it many times. He said He would willingly lay down His life and that He had the authority to lay it down and take it up again if He so desired (John 10:18). No one, including the devil, could kill Him.
Jesus said about His life, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father" (John 10:18 ESV). He told the disciples that He would rise again the third day after He was crucified, according to the Scriptures (Matthew 12:40; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19, 26:32; see also Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 25:8). He told the Jews that He would raise up the temple (His body) in three days after they destroyed it (Matthew 27:63; John 2:19).
During His ministry, Jesus spoke of His coming death in graphic detail (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23; Mark 10:32-33; Luke 9:22). He also used the imagery of drinking deeply from a cup to describe this painful suffering and death He would endure (Matthew 20:22-23).
Conclusion
Jesus did not pray to avoid the Cross or to experience the wrath of God against sin, nor was it to help win the battle of the enemy's last temptation. He was not praying to bypass pain and death but to end the reign of sin and death once and for all, in Himself, on the Cross. Jesus was praying to finish the plan, to bring it to completion.
Given the facts, it seems impossible that Jesus, the Creator of all things, had a moment of weakness and asked not to die on the Cross (John 1:3). Jesus was under extreme physical duress and asked not to die in the Garden before the Cross, yet, if that was the plan, His will would be done.
Jesus did not change His mind about the Cross, nor did God the Father. Together, they endured the Cross, despising its shame, so that Jesus could once again sit down at the right hand of the Father in Heaven so that we could be offered eternal life by repenting of our sin and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior.
