Matt Nelson - February 19, 2023
The Garden
NEVERTHELESS The Garden 2.19.23 Luke 22:39-46 39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” In order to live in real courage, we must die before we die. - Mary Jo Leddy We cannot simply walk from self-pampering to self-sacrifice, from living in fear to acting in courage, and from cringing before the unknown to taking a leap of faith, without first, like Jesus in Gethsemane, readying ourselves through a certain agonia, without undergoing a painful sweat that comes from facing what will be asked of us if we continue to live the truth. – Ronald Rolheiser Jesus was simultaneously living as a dead man and living in the future resurrection. John 19:9-11 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Jesus tells us the secret or the mystery to all of life is the way of the cross. If we want to experience the fullness of life in the Kingdom of God at its deepest and most flourishing then we must learn to die daily. How will we respond to our Gethsemane moment? Will we be gracious or bitter? Will we be forgiving or vengeful? Will we be loving or hate-filled? Will we be trusting or paranoid? Will we be cynical or hopeful?
From Series: "Nevertheless"
"Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." (Luke 22:42 ESV) Gethsemane represents a place of surrender in the life of Jesus. It is the death before the death. It was in the garden where we see the reality of his struggle and how he prayed for deliverance and yet submitted himself to the will of the Father.