Luke 22:39–46 (ESV)
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about
a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being
in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping?
Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Jesus knows his time is coming to an end. Temptation to go against God’s will is strong. So what does Jesus do? He withdrew
to pray. What does he pray? “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” What does this mean? It means that Jesus is having a struggle in his human nature.
He doesn’t want to bear this cross. That is going to the cross to die for the forgiveness of sins. This is a struggle for Jesus as a “man” but he takes it to his Father. He prays that His Father says “don’t do
it”, but he wants the answer to come from his Father instead of his will (Not my will, but yours, be done.” Jesus knows the answer... this is why he came to Earth, to carry out the plan of Salvation. This is a real struggle and he needs
strength. An angel appears and strengthens him. The agony is so strong that Jesus sweat becomes like blood. He rises and goes back to find his disciples sleeping. They can’t stay awake. There are times where I wanted to
stay awake, but it was simply impossible. If my life had counted on it, I would be a dead man. There comes a point where sleep will prevail. Jesus is warning them to rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation. Believe me,
there is going to be plenty of opportunity for temptations to creep in as Jesus prepares for his death. His prayer is similar to the Lord’s Prayer: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
I pray: O Lord, life is full of temptations. When we struggle with life’s trials, we are very vulnerable to Satan’s evil ways. Whether is good times or bad, help us to pray “and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Satan is always watch us for opportunity to take advantage of us while we are vulnerable. Whether it is the stress of family, work, health, mental, spiritual, or financial... Lord direct us and guide
us according to your will. Amen.