Nougat 7

Have you ever thought about Jesus’ decision to die for us? What if it never happened? Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭41‬-‭42‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We speak of Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness as though that was His major temptation; but it wasn’t, was it. There was the moment Peter tried to rebuke death for Jesus’ sake in Matthew 16. And there was that night He agonized in that garden!

It was a serious decision. Yes, He was God then, but His humanity was out in full force (at least that’s my opinion). And He had to make that decision. Would He complete the journey He’d begun? Or simply forfeit? We celebrate Jesus’ dying for us, but that prayer says … there were moments.

For, despite being there at Creation, Jesus had never experienced Death. Yup, that’s correct – He understood the Principle of Death, He offered Life, He raised others from Death to Life, He offered Eternal Life to all, but Jesus had no firsthand knowledge or experience of Death for Himself. Additionally, while we know He slept like the rest of us; we don’t often think about Jesus being physically hurt prior to the Cross.

It may be the anticipation of Betrayal that rocked Him. Yes, Jesus rebuked Peter for trying to bind Death prematurely; but He wept at the unbelief of the crowd by the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Jesus also wept for His beloved city, Jerusalem, when He prophetically saw what would happen to it. It would not be surprising if Jesus wasn’t looking forward to losing Judas – He even mentioned him in the other Garden prayer (see John 17)! Each of those suggest that the anticipation of betrayal was hard.

Regardless of His prior personal pain experience/s and His anticipation of what it would be like; the Trial, Scourging, Journey to, and Time on the Cross would be excruciatingly terrible moments for Jesus. And the Betrayal! That’s roughly all the different ways to feel pain (except labour pains) all combined in one 24-hour pain-fest! Tho He might not have experienced it for Himself … He opted for ‘Not my Will.’

I don’t know what we’d do if God acceded to Jesus’ will. For Jesus was Plan B AND Plan Z! Jesus was The Only Begotten Son of God! He is The Second Adam (see 1 Corinthians 15:45-49). There was no other (see John 3:16)! He wished it didn’t have to go the way it did, but Jesus stayed the course.

And because He stayed the course and accepted God’s Cup, we pass over from eternal damnation to eternal life! Death loses its sting! Hallelujah! Thank You for the Cross Lord

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May all we seek be found in Christ