If It Is Possible
If It Is Possible
38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Matthew 26:38-39
Just how much did Jesus suffer while praying in Gethsemane? While many people believe that the death of Christ started with the whips of the roman guards or when Jesus had to carry his own cross, I would argue that it began here in Gethsemane. I say this, not because of how we see death but how God sees it.
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Matthew 19:16-17
You will notice in this story that while the rich young ruler was desiring eternal life, Jesus claims that a person doesn’t even begin to live until he is connected to God (Jesus talks about keeping the commandments but with context you realize that it isn’t in the earthly way the Jews kept it but in the relational way Jesus could keep it because of his connection to the Father). That would mean that you lose your life the second you are separated from God. And how are we separated from God? It is by sin.
When Jesus began to accept the sins of the world upon himself in Gethsemane, he became separated from his Father. That is why he becomes unsure of God’s will including whether there could possibly be another way outside of the cross to save humanity. That is why it is an angel who must come down and answer Jesus question and not the Father telling him directly. This is why Jesus cries out ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
More than the nails, whips, thorns, kicks, punches, spit or words, Jesus was most injured and pained by the gulf that separated himself from his Father. Never in the universe in or outside of time had there been a gap between them. This is what Jesus was willing to go through for you. This is the love of God.
God bless,
Pr. Steven Couto