Luke 22:39-46 Jesus in the garden

Luke 22:39-46 Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Parallel to Matt 26:36-46 , Mark 14:32-42 , John 18:1. First Jesus proceeded to the Mount of Olives as was His custom. That is probably why Judas who had been with Him in Jerusalem eating the Passover knew where to find Him later to betray Him. Jesus liked to pray here. Luke does not actually name it although Matthew and Mark do. Gethsemane - the oil press. Quite possibly there was at one time an actual press for olive oil in this garden. The reader can imagine any number of symbolic or metaphorical interpretations of the name.

          Jesus instructed His disciples to pray that they would not enter into temptation. Apparently they were unable to do so because He found them sleeping in 22:45. So as He was wrestling with the flesh, and with Satan, they were slumbering because of sorrow. How often do we sleep though God's great efforts on our behalf, only to awake and be unprepared for what is happening?

          Jesus' prayer is perhaps one of the greatest examples to us of how to pray for something that we aren't sure about, or that is extremely difficult. "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." It was clear that Jesus was struggling in obedience and submission to the Father. He had known all along what the plan was, as He had explained it to the disciples several times. But now that the moment was at hand, it seems as if He almost lost His nerve. His sweat became like drops of blood, or perhaps He was sweating blood, on account of the great interior stress. Yet the struggle is probably not as simple as not wanting to go through the pain of torture and death. Because the real price to be paid involved being made sin on our behalf, bearing the consequences of that sin, being cut off from fellowship with the Father on account of it, and then in death paying the full price for something He had never done. At the same time, His love for the Father, and His love for lost mankind, impelled Him toward this very thing. An angel appeared to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43). How could an angel strengthen God? I have no idea. Yet He was somehow strengthened, as He arose, and then we find Him facing the unfolding events with strength and determination.