32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,[a] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
- Mark 13:32-42
This passage gives us an emotional moment of Jesus right before his arrest, showcasing some of the weight and severity that Him dying on the cross will have. He is in the Garden of Gethsemane with some of his closest disciples, and Jesus knows what events needs to happen to Him next. Yet while knowing this truth, Jesus reveals His, "soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" showing how this isn't exactly an easy process for Him. Jesus can see the hurt and separation He will experience through the arrests, floggings, betrays and eventual crucifixion. Jesus is possibly tempted into not wanting to fulfill the exact reason He came to Earth for. In the midst of temptation, despair and sorrow, Jesus prays.
Jesus prays three times in total here. The first time Jesus prays for Himself to be used in whatever way God wants. He vocalizes His current emotions and even prays that if possible He wouldn't have to go through with it. But Jesus follows immediately with saying, "Yet not what I will, but what you will." He prays here that what ultimately matters is God's will, so help me do whatever that is.
The second time Jesus prays, He has a short interaction with the disciples that fell asleep telling them to pray to not fall into temptation as spirits can be willing, but the flesh can be weak. It acts as a continuation to the last prayer, even if our hearts want to do God's will often times our physical needs and desires can distract us. Jesus is saying pray not to be distracted or tempted, so that you can fulfill God's will.
The third time Jesus prays, He announces to the disciples that, "the hour has come" and that it was time for Him to continue to do what He has been praying for. Jesus had been praying to help Him do God's will and not be tempted to do otherwise, and in this situation it means for Him to get arrested and eventually killed. Jesus shows here that prayer will and needs to eventually lead to action from ourselves.
Jesus through his prayers in Gethsemane gives us an idea of what we need to pray for always, but especially during hard times. In our personal times of despair and sorrow, we need to continue to seek God's will and not be tempted by what we want or think we need. Then to continue to pray for guidance on our own actions, so that we can accomplish whatever it is that God wants for us.
For many of us this hard time is now, with the injustices of our world being brought into the spotlight and us feeling that brokenness more than ever. I've been thinking that as a Christian, what is the correct response to all of this? I'm not sure myself, but I am sure that it needs to start with prayer. That we need to be praying for His guidance, and what He would want us to do in this situation. Then more prayer for real action when we figure out the correct response. We as Christians need to be constantly praying so that we're not distracted by our own emotions or wants, but focused on what God wants for our lives, just like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
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