The Prayer in Gethsemane (6)

[Luke 22:39–46]

What was the content of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane? (The content of the prayer)
Mark 14:35–36 says:
“Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’” (cf. Luke 22:42; Matthew 26:39)

(1) The first prayer: “That, if possible, the hour might pass from him… ‘Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.’” (Mark 14:35–36)

Here, “the hour” and “this cup” refer to the same thing. Jesus was asking His “Abba, Father” that this hour would pass from Him and this cup be taken away—meaning He was asking to be spared from the suffering and death of the cross.
But if Jesus came to this earth to take on all our sins and die on the cross, why did He pray this way? It was because Jesus was fully human. In other words, the righteous Jesus, though without sin, was fully human and thus experienced human weakness. (For example, He was hungry when He didn’t eat and tired when He didn’t sleep.)

Weakness is not sin. But Satan and his forces exploit our weaknesses to tempt us. If we fall into temptation, it becomes sin; but if we overcome the temptation, we do not sin. A weak person fears death and desires to avoid it—but not all people fear death. For example, martyrs who give their lives to preserve their faith (e.g., James, Peter, etc.) do not fear death and therefore do not avoid it.
So why did Jesus ask the Father to spare Him from the death of the cross? It was because, although He had no sin deserving of death, He would take upon Himself the punishment for the sins of all humanity—even to the point of experiencing the torment of hell. That’s why He prayed this way.
Additionally, it was because the death He was about to face meant being forsaken by God the Father.
Mark 15:34 says:
“And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’—which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”

(2) The second prayer: “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36)

This was a prayer of strong surrender. Jesus strongly pleaded to His “Abba, Father”: “Not what I will, but what you will.”
Here, “your will” refers to the will of God the Father—that His only Son, Jesus, would be “crushed and suffer” and become a “sacrificial offering to atone for our sins” by dying on the cross (cf. Isaiah 53:10, Modern Korean Bible).
Thus, Romans 8:32 says that God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all.

Because of our human weakness, our earnest prayers may not always align with God’s will. In our weakness, we often pray for our will rather than God’s.
In Matthew 8, a man with leprosy came and knelt before Jesus, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (v.2, Modern Korean Bible: “Lord, if you are willing, you can completely heal me”). This man was seeking the Lord’s will.
Then Jesus reached out His hand, touched him, and said, “I am willing. Be clean” (v.3). Immediately, the man was cleansed of his leprosy.

We must seek God’s will over our own. This should be the posture and practice of our faith. We must dedicate ourselves to believing and following God’s will.
Philippians 2:8 says:
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.”
Jesus not only sought the Father’s will but obeyed it to the point of death. We, too, must follow His example—not only seeking God's will but obeying it to the end.
Let us become those who do the will of God (1 John 2:17) and pray only according to His will (1 John 5:14, Modern Korean Bible).

“Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way;
All my affairs I give to Thee today.
Toward heaven I journey in quiet repose—
Whether I live or die, Lord, let it be Thy will.”
(New Hymnal #549, "Have Thine Own Way, Lord" – Verse 3)