Tuesday
Read Matthew 26:36-39
Jesus is on a collision course with the
ultimate destiny of his mission to seek
and save the lost: the cross and tomb.
As we journey through Holy Week, our
Saviour makes the most of these final
few days with his disciples and the
crowds gathered around them.
He teaches on faith (Matthew 21:21).
Pronounces judgment on the religious
establishment (Matthew 23:1-7; 24-
33). Prophesies about the destruction
of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1-28). And
he speaks in parables, warning of his
second coming and the final judgment
(Matthew 25:31-46). It is powerful and
personal.
Yet Jesus also makes time and space
to retreat. He gets away to Bethany
(Matthew 26:6), that place made
famous by Lazarus’ resurrection (John
11:1-44), to prepare himself for the
Passover Festival and everything else
coming his way as the story takes a
sombre turn.
The week ticks by in a whirlwind of
example on 'how to love'. Jesus
washes his disciples' feet (John 13:1-
20). And he hosts a last supper that he
will soon fulfil when his body is broken
and his blood is shed in sacrifice for
us, for our freedom (Luke 22:7-20).
It is here, as Jesus moves on from this
upper room, that we find ourselves in
the Garden of Gethsemane staring at
our Saviour as he agonisingly wrestles
over the cup with his name on it.
His struggle, as he prays three
times for the cup to pass him by, is
deeply human. We glimpse Jesus here
facing the full range of emotions and
experiences we too endure, and
admitting to how overwhelming it all is
(v.38). How comforting he knows what
life can be like, what it is to be human.
Yet, where we might continue to pray
until God provides another way, Jesus
chooses to surrender (v.39). He trusts
the plans of his Father, because he
knows that the ultimate joy of the
victory he will soon enjoy will be
greater than the torment and anguish
of the cross he is about to endure
(Hebrews 12:2).
And so, strengthened by an angel
(Luke 22:43), he stares the cross in the
face; choosing again to set his sights
on that hill in Jerusalem. Because he
knows that soon, through all he will
accomplish on that old rugged cross,
he will unashamedly be calling all
those who seek him and call upon his
name, including us, his brothers and
sisters (Hebrews 2:11).