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MATTHEW - Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!
A Bible Study Course on the Gospel of Christ according to Matthew
PART 5 - Christ's Suffering and Death (Matthew 26:1-27:66)

12. Jesus’ Entire Submission to His Father’s Will (Matthew 26:42-46)


MATTHEW 26:42
42 Again, a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup can’t pass away from me unless I drink it, your desire be done.”

Christ overcame the desire of His body through the Holy Spirit. He prayed His second prayer differently from the first one, in full harmony with God. The Son had recognized that there was no way to save the world but by the cross.

Woe to them who say that man will be justified by the acts of the law and not by the blood of Christ. Those do not partake of the redemption prepared for them, for Jesus alone drank the cup of wrath instead of us.

The Son overcame His own will during His second prayer. He agreed in compassion to drink instead of us the cup of the divine wrath, die as a sin sacrifice for sinners, and separate by the substitutionary atonement from His Father.

Prayer is not only the offering up of our desires to God, but is also the submitting of our will to his. It amounts to an acceptable prayer, when at any time we are in distress, to refer ourselves to our Father in heaven, and to commit our way and work to Him; “Your will be done.”

MATTHEW 26:43-46
43 He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 He left them again, went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same words. 45 Then he came to his disciples, and said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Arise, let’s be going. Behold, he who betrays me is at hand.”
(2 Corinthians 12:8)

Jesus prayed three times for the same subject. He used in His third prayer the same words He did in the second one. This was not out of unbelief that His prayer would not be heard, but because HHe had already known that the tempter would attack Him constantly within the coming hours to overcome His obedience to God’s will. Jesus established Himself, through repeated prayers, in His Father’s will, and knew for certain, by perseverance in prayer, that He was the only person who could bear God’s wrath as a substitute for all mankind.

At that hour of temptation, it seemed that everything, whether in heaven or on earth, held its breath. If Jesus had preferred ease for Himself and continued unity with His Father, without separating from Him for the sake of redemption, we would have all been destroyed and lost. He denied Himself, took up His cross, and died for our salvation. Hallelujah!

PRAYER: Lord Christ, we worship You with deep thankfulness, because You bore our judgment and suffered because of Your Father’s anger at our sins. Accept our bodies, hearts, and minds as a little “thank you” for faith obedience. We thank for Your substitutionary death for us. Sanctify us that we may not fall into temptation, and teach us to pray with perseverance that we can together abide in Your plan, being aware of the evil one who is trying to deceive us.

QUESTION:

  1. What do we learn from Christ’s three subsequent prayers in the garden of Gethsemane?

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