Jesus Devotional - Day 11
Day Eleven
Jesus: Real, Relevant, and Radical!
The Battle of the Will
Matthew 26:39-44(NLT) He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” 42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. 44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.
Three times Jesus prays the same prayer. We know that the battle is raging, and we know that Jesus is resolute in His obedience to the Father. In no way is Jesus trying to avoid the cross; to even think that as a believer is unfathomable. We recognize that this is a spiritual battle. Why does Jesus pray three times? The answer lies in what we know about His experience at the beginning of His earthly ministry. Immediately after Jesus was baptized, we read this in Matthew 4:1-2(NLT): “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.”
Jesus was tempted for forty days, but there were three very distinct temptations. These temptations were directed by the devil so that Jesus would succumb to his will. Doubt God’s provision (stones to bread). Doubt God’s power (jump off the building). Doubt God’s person (bow down and worship). With all three, Jesus responded by quoting the Word. It would be safe to say that the devil is throwing everything at Jesus in this moment, just as he did at the start of Jesus’ ministry. Three times, Jesus prays the exact same prayer! I love that we are being let in on what Jesus prays. Jesus prays an honest prayer in the most vulnerable of moments. “My Father! If it is possible…” Jesus is not trying to get out of His purpose. He is not afraid of what awaits Him. He is not afraid of suffering. He is the spotless, sinless Lamb of God who is about to become sin. He is about to drink the cup of His Father’s wrath. He is about to carry the sin of the whole world. And the devil is trying to stop Him from doing the Father’s will.
Yet, the Living Word fulfills the written Word as Jesus fully submits to the Father’s will. The Living Word defeats the devil in the garden of pressing the same way the written Word defeated the devil in the wilderness. Jesus is not asking the Father to deliver Him from the cross. Jesus is not losing His courage because He is human. Jesus understands better than any of us that submitting to the Father makes grace available to resist the devil. Throughout His life, He never lost sight of God’s will for Him. From the very first day to the last, He intended to do what the Father asked. When He lost Mary and Joseph -- on purpose -- and was found in the Temple, He said, Luke 2:49(NKJV): “And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’”
When He goes to be baptized by John, John is initially hesitant, but Jesus tells him it is God’s will. Matthew 3:14-16 (NCV) “But John tried to stop him, saying, ‘Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!’ 15 Jesus answered, ‘Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.’ So John agreed to baptize Jesus.”
When the disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray, He instructs them to pray for God’s will to be done from heaven to earth. Matthew 6:9-10 (NKJV): “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells everyone willing to listen that seeking God’s kingdom and what God wants is the precursor to having your needs met in life. Matthew 6:33 (NCV) “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.”
When Jesus’ mother and brothers come looking for Him, He responds with this statement in Matthew 12:49-50 (NLT): “Then he pointed to his disciples and said, ‘Look, these are my mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!’”
Jesus was resolute to do God’s will. The moment the disciples have the revelation that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, He begins to explain what will happen to Him. Matthew 16:21-23(NLT) “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day He would be raised from the dead. 22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. ‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’ 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.’”
Numerous times throughout the gospels, we see Jesus telling the disciples what will happen. At no point is there any indication that Jesus is not fully aware of God's purpose and plan for Him. Not only was He fully aware, but He was also wholeheartedly willing. He rebukes Peter when Peter tries to reprimand Him, telling Peter he's inspired by the devil; he even says that it’s a trap. At no point in Jesus’ life was there resistance or hesitancy to obey God’s plan for Him. John 5:30 (NLT): “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”
John 6:38(NKJV) “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Jesus fully submits to God’s will, regardless of the cost. Jesus did not walk blindly into God’s will; he brought His will in full submission to the Father’s will, even when doing so meant He must face it alone. He is singularly focused on fulfilling the Father’s plan. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is fully pressing into God’s will and purpose. We know this because He declares: “My hour has come!” Jesus wasn’t praying for God to deliver Him from what was about to happen. Instead, He was praying that the Father would keep Him alive so He could accomplish God's very purpose.
Again, we find the answer to what Jesus prayed the same night with the disciples. Remember His prayer. John 17:11-15 (NLT) “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. 13 Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.’”
Did you see that? Protect them so they will be united. Who causes division? The enemy of our faith. Jesus protected them while He was on earth. He lost only the one (Judas) who yielded to the devil. Judas caused division because he was inspired by the devil. Jesus prays and says He gave them His Word. He prays that the Father would not take them to Heaven but to protect them from the evil one. There is power available to us if we would completely surrender to the will of our Father. The enemy has done a number on all of us. The church is more divided than ever before. If someone is not from our camp, according to us, at best, they are confused; at worst, they are deceived. Heretics even.
What if we would pray the same prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden? What if we asked the Lord to open our spiritual eyes so we can see who the real enemy is; the enemy who will do everything possible to divide us and prevent us from doing the Father’s will? What if we got on our knees, just like the living Word, and fully surrender to our Father’s will? The sad part is, we often fight against the Father’s will instead of praying to do the Father’s will. God’s will might not always be easy to understand, but His grace is always available when we submit. Here’s the kicker: When we pray and obey the Father’s will, He hears us, just like He heard Jesus.
Hebrews 5:7(NLT) “While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.”
The Father answered Jesus’ prayer in the garden so that Jesus could do the Father’s will. He will answer your prayers if you desire to do His will.
Prayer:
Jesus: Real, Relevant, and Radical!
The Battle of the Will
Matthew 26:39-44(NLT) He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” 42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. 44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.
Three times Jesus prays the same prayer. We know that the battle is raging, and we know that Jesus is resolute in His obedience to the Father. In no way is Jesus trying to avoid the cross; to even think that as a believer is unfathomable. We recognize that this is a spiritual battle. Why does Jesus pray three times? The answer lies in what we know about His experience at the beginning of His earthly ministry. Immediately after Jesus was baptized, we read this in Matthew 4:1-2(NLT): “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.”
Jesus was tempted for forty days, but there were three very distinct temptations. These temptations were directed by the devil so that Jesus would succumb to his will. Doubt God’s provision (stones to bread). Doubt God’s power (jump off the building). Doubt God’s person (bow down and worship). With all three, Jesus responded by quoting the Word. It would be safe to say that the devil is throwing everything at Jesus in this moment, just as he did at the start of Jesus’ ministry. Three times, Jesus prays the exact same prayer! I love that we are being let in on what Jesus prays. Jesus prays an honest prayer in the most vulnerable of moments. “My Father! If it is possible…” Jesus is not trying to get out of His purpose. He is not afraid of what awaits Him. He is not afraid of suffering. He is the spotless, sinless Lamb of God who is about to become sin. He is about to drink the cup of His Father’s wrath. He is about to carry the sin of the whole world. And the devil is trying to stop Him from doing the Father’s will.
Yet, the Living Word fulfills the written Word as Jesus fully submits to the Father’s will. The Living Word defeats the devil in the garden of pressing the same way the written Word defeated the devil in the wilderness. Jesus is not asking the Father to deliver Him from the cross. Jesus is not losing His courage because He is human. Jesus understands better than any of us that submitting to the Father makes grace available to resist the devil. Throughout His life, He never lost sight of God’s will for Him. From the very first day to the last, He intended to do what the Father asked. When He lost Mary and Joseph -- on purpose -- and was found in the Temple, He said, Luke 2:49(NKJV): “And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’”
When He goes to be baptized by John, John is initially hesitant, but Jesus tells him it is God’s will. Matthew 3:14-16 (NCV) “But John tried to stop him, saying, ‘Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!’ 15 Jesus answered, ‘Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.’ So John agreed to baptize Jesus.”
When the disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray, He instructs them to pray for God’s will to be done from heaven to earth. Matthew 6:9-10 (NKJV): “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells everyone willing to listen that seeking God’s kingdom and what God wants is the precursor to having your needs met in life. Matthew 6:33 (NCV) “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.”
When Jesus’ mother and brothers come looking for Him, He responds with this statement in Matthew 12:49-50 (NLT): “Then he pointed to his disciples and said, ‘Look, these are my mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!’”
Jesus was resolute to do God’s will. The moment the disciples have the revelation that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, He begins to explain what will happen to Him. Matthew 16:21-23(NLT) “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day He would be raised from the dead. 22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. ‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’ 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.’”
Numerous times throughout the gospels, we see Jesus telling the disciples what will happen. At no point is there any indication that Jesus is not fully aware of God's purpose and plan for Him. Not only was He fully aware, but He was also wholeheartedly willing. He rebukes Peter when Peter tries to reprimand Him, telling Peter he's inspired by the devil; he even says that it’s a trap. At no point in Jesus’ life was there resistance or hesitancy to obey God’s plan for Him. John 5:30 (NLT): “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”
John 6:38(NKJV) “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Jesus fully submits to God’s will, regardless of the cost. Jesus did not walk blindly into God’s will; he brought His will in full submission to the Father’s will, even when doing so meant He must face it alone. He is singularly focused on fulfilling the Father’s plan. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is fully pressing into God’s will and purpose. We know this because He declares: “My hour has come!” Jesus wasn’t praying for God to deliver Him from what was about to happen. Instead, He was praying that the Father would keep Him alive so He could accomplish God's very purpose.
Again, we find the answer to what Jesus prayed the same night with the disciples. Remember His prayer. John 17:11-15 (NLT) “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. 13 Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.’”
Did you see that? Protect them so they will be united. Who causes division? The enemy of our faith. Jesus protected them while He was on earth. He lost only the one (Judas) who yielded to the devil. Judas caused division because he was inspired by the devil. Jesus prays and says He gave them His Word. He prays that the Father would not take them to Heaven but to protect them from the evil one. There is power available to us if we would completely surrender to the will of our Father. The enemy has done a number on all of us. The church is more divided than ever before. If someone is not from our camp, according to us, at best, they are confused; at worst, they are deceived. Heretics even.
What if we would pray the same prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden? What if we asked the Lord to open our spiritual eyes so we can see who the real enemy is; the enemy who will do everything possible to divide us and prevent us from doing the Father’s will? What if we got on our knees, just like the living Word, and fully surrender to our Father’s will? The sad part is, we often fight against the Father’s will instead of praying to do the Father’s will. God’s will might not always be easy to understand, but His grace is always available when we submit. Here’s the kicker: When we pray and obey the Father’s will, He hears us, just like He heard Jesus.
Hebrews 5:7(NLT) “While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.”
The Father answered Jesus’ prayer in the garden so that Jesus could do the Father’s will. He will answer your prayers if you desire to do His will.
Prayer:
- Submit your will to the Father’s will by praying what Jesus prayed: “Father, not my will, but yours be done...”
- Pray that you are empowered by Jesus’ Word to conquer the enemy.
- Pray that there will be unity of hearts and minds within the Body of Christ.
- Pray for all the churches in our Valley to unite in purpose and love.
Posted in Jesus Devotional