Matthew 26:36-39 ESV
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Gethsemane means "oil press." In this garden of decision, the man chosen and anointed for the salvation of mankind would choose to obey God, and what a difference that will make. Salvation will come to many.
This passage, like no other, clearly and emphatically confirms the humanity of Jesus. He goes a little farther in the garden, but goes a little deeper in the earth of His human body. There the angst and despair of the frailty of the man rises to His lips. With His face to the ground, He prays to the Father from the depths of His manhood for the cup of His sacrifice to pass from Him. But His thoughts return and give obedience to His Father's will above the earth. The final temptation is past.
He knows the weakness of the flesh because He has experienced it firsthand. But He has overcome the flesh, that is, He has overcome the world.
We all are familiar with the weakness of the flesh. Jesus has provided and shown the only way to overcome the flesh, that we might enter the presence of the divine. He came into our presence to make this possible. We can meet Him there. It's just a little farther.
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