Your

This week, we will conclude our look at Luke’s account of the story of Jesus. It will include some important reminders as we prepare for the most important moment in history.


Luke 22
39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.” 41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.” 47 But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. 48 But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” 50 And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 53 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”


Your. In this life, we do everything we can to avoid suffering; but this scene makes it very clear that as Jesus followers we will be asked to face some suffering. Jesus even encouraged the disciples to pray so they wouldn’t give into temptation ... the temptation to avoid the suffering that lay ahead. I love this quote by Warren Wiersbe that describes Peter’s lack of preparation (it sounds a lot like me), “Peter had been sleeping when he should have been praying, talking when he should have been listening, and boasting when he should have been fearing. Now he was fighting when he should have been surrendering." Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the journey we are all on as Jesus followers ... as disciples of Jesus. Ultimately, I think we are being challenged to move toward a “no matter what” phase in our journey. My prayer is that you won’t fight against God when you face trials in this life; but that you will let Jesus lead you through them and that they will ultimately lead you to the point in your journey where you can say “I want your will to be done, not mine” ... no matter what.