The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke give us the parallel descriptions of the desperate prayer of Jesus when he took his closest disciples to Gethsemane to pray just prior to being betrayed and taken to be crucified.
The traditional and still the predominant teaching about sees Jesus as having been afraid of going to suffer at the cross out of human weakness.
Was Jesus afraid? Could the man who taught that "those who seek to keep their lives will lose it, and those who seek to lose their lives will keep it," and "what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?", actually have any fear of any type of threat to his life?
In a speech entitled The New Future of Christianity, given on September 18, 1974, the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon stated that:
"In our ignorance we Christians have missed the true spirit of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. There he told his disciples:Matthew 26:38 ...“My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “ Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”
"He prayed this way not once, but three times. He was sorrowful even to death. Many in the Christian world suppose Jesus prayed this way out of human weakness, shrinking from his mission of dying on the cross.
Nothing can be further from the truth!
Under Roman tyrants thousands of Christians were martyred. They never said, 'Please let this cup pass from me.'"
"When Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was being stoned to death, he did not say, 'Let this cup pass from me.' Rather, he died peacefully, praying for his tormentors.'"
"Such bravery is not limited to the Bible. Nathan Hale, a young officer captured in the American Revolutionary War, said as he was about to be hanged, 'I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.' He did not say, 'Please let this cup pass from me.'""Do you suppose that the Messiah, the Son of God, was weaker than all these people-- especially if you think he came for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for world salvation? No. Were that the case, he would be unqualified as a Messiah. We have not understood the Lord Jesus.
The prayer in the Garden of
Gethsemane was not uttered out of any selfish concern or fear of death. Jesus
Christ, our Lord, was ready to die a thousand
times over if that were the only way to bring about the salvation of
humanity.”
"Then why did Jesus prayed to
his Heavenly Father to let the cup pass from him?"
Reasons for Jesus' Prayer
“Jesus concern was for his
mission. He grieved at the suffering of his Heavenly Father. He was in turmoil
because he could foresee the terrible consequences of his crucifixion. Jesus
knew well that his crucifixion was not God's ultimate will. He knew his death
would postpone the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven another 2,000 years,
and that in the meantime humanity would suffer greatly.”
“He knew that millions of
future followers would have to suffer, shedding their blood and being martyred
as he had been. He knew Israel would be forsaken and desolate. And most of all,
he had hoped to bring victory and glorious fulfillment to his Father's throne
in heaven, not to return alone through the crucifixion. He had hoped for a
triumphant homecoming.”
“So in the Garden of
Gethsemane, Jesus made his final desperate plea to God: 'Even at this late
hour, is there any possible wa that I
can remain on earth to fulfill my mission?' If we are to become true followers
of Christ, we must fathom the grief and anguish that Jesus Christ suffered.”
(Now if
you adhere to traditional understanding of the mission of Jesus you must be
thinking that Jesus did fulfill the Heavenly Father's will of dying on the
cross for the sins of all people. But, If that is correct, why did Jesus
throughout his ministry only looked for ways to make people believe in him, not
for people to oppose him. In fact, he tried to show those who opposed him that
they were wrong. In fact when someone asked him in John 6:28... What shall we
do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them,
This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
In a prior section of the
speech given by Rev. Moon he says just as we Christians of today would not want
to crucify the returning Lord, the Israelites of Jesus' time were not looking
to crucify the Messiah they had been prepared to receive by God for 4,000
years. Then if they had recognized who Jesus was, “would they still have had to
crucify him.?” asks, Rev. Moon. Obviously, no. Therefore, If God had prepared
the people of Israel to receive Jesus and Jesus himself worked to have people
believe in him, then what went wrong?)
If you would like to find the answer to the above question please read the entire speech.
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