From the time I was young, I always read a little bit too fast. For example, my eyes often dart to the end of a paragraph, the end of the chapter, or even to the last few words at the end of a good book. I have to physically cover the next page with my hand so I don’t read the end. It’s an odd little quirk, but it’s something I’ve learned to do to avoid spoiling a great end.
To me, the end of a book is the best part. It’s the authors “mic drop”; it’s an opportunity to linger a little longer with the reader. That last line puts the bow on a package that has already been taped and wrapped to perfection.
Sometimes, if you learn to look just right, you can find a phrase or string of words that are “last line of your favorite book” good. Those few syllables that leave you wanting more or searching everywhere to find them again.
That happened to me this week.
As I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across a series of pictures that the pastor of my church has been posting. It was a simple white and black graphic that was just one post in a series of many, depicting the final days of Jesus’ life. It was all there:
Jesus and his disciples have the Last Supper.
Jesus predicts Peter’s denial.
Jesus prays in Gethsemane.
Judas betrays Jesus.
Jesus is arrested.
It’s a timeline that I’ve seen countless times, but this time, something bothered me. I came back to the same image at least ten times over the past few days.
Jesus prays in Gethsemane.
I felt like the Spirit was moving me to do something with this phrase, but what? This is hardly anything at all, right? Of everything dramatic that happened within the last few days of Jesus’ life, this surely wasn’t as important as say, the Last Supper or Jesus’ being sentenced to the cross? Jesus was just doing what he did. He was praying.
I did the only thing I could do in a time like this. I ignored the feeling and went about my day.
Obviously, the feeling didn’t go away, because here I am, comparing myself to the equivalent of what can only be described as Walt Disney’s 8th, unwritten dwarf, Lazy.
Today, I decided that enough was enough. I opened my Bible up to Matthew and reread the scriptures about Jesus in Gethsemane. (If you haven’t read this passage lately, you should.)
Matthew 26:36 begins with Jesus telling his disciples to keep watch while He prayed.
“…He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’ … Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Twice Jesus returned to his disciples, then returned to His quiet space to ask that His cup be taken, unless it were to be God’s will.
When I’ve imaged Jesus praying before, it was like some ridiculous action movie where He sweats blood, lightening strikes, the Heavens open, the Earth shakes, and so on and so forth. You get the picture. But here Jesus is, begging that God show Him mercy.
Jesus. My King, Jesus. The one who sits at the right hand of the Father, prayed for God to reveal any other way for Him, except crucifixion. When His soul became overwhelmed, my Jesus prayed.
This is perhaps one of my new favorite images of Christ. While I often build Him up to be this warrior of God who raises the dead from their graves and heals lepers, He was still just a man at the end of the day. God created Jesus to be our connection from Heaven to Earth. His sinless sacrifice paid the price for every mistake I will ever make.
Yes, He is mighty. He is powerful. He is a lamp unto my feet and a guide unto my path. But, He also worried. He felt sorrow and pain. He asked for guidance. Just as any of us would, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane.
In a time when we could beg God, “Take this cup from me,” we have to remember the second half of Jesus’ prayer, “But as you will.”
Jesus knew that if this were to be God’s will, then it shall be done, but that didn’t stop Him from praying for peace, guidance, understanding, and all those other feelings that we would rather feel than fear, sorrow, and worry.
So, today, I pray that you would fall to your knees, wherever you are and pray. Gethsemane is all around us.
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