TWO RESOURCES
Jesus did not want to go to the cross. He would have been very familiar with this cruel and agonising method of execution used by the Romans and He quite naturally recoiled from the pain to come. He pleads with the Father, hopeful that there might be some other way. There’s tender intimacy here as He addresses the Father using the Aramaic word ‘Abba’ - this was later used by the Early Church (Romans 8:15). ‘Abba’ is the name which Jewish children still use within the home to address their father.
Jesus spends three specific periods crying out to God but punctuated His prayer times by going back to His disciples. Sadly, they were exhausted and were deep in sleep even while He battled.
Let’s notice that Jesus leaned on two resources in this His darkest hour - prayer to His Father, and companionship with His friends. He breaks His times of intense intercession twice to go back and be with them. God comforts us - and often uses human beings as the agents of that comfort (2 Corinthians 7:6).
When we’re stranded in one of life’s downpours, we need to talk to God and talk with our friends. We need prayer and people both.
And we need people who will do and say the right things in those seasons.
At last, the huge battle of Gethsemane came to an end: Jesus knew now that there was just no other way, it was to be the cross for Him. His hour had come and the little gang, led by Judas the turncoat, rushed towards Him.
It’s then that Peter tried to help things out by swinging a sword, resulting in the High Priest’s servant losing an ear. Only Dr. Luke, with his passion for detail recorded that Jesus fixed the problem by healing the ear (Luke 22:51).
Once again, Peter is revealed at his best and worst - ready to die in a sword fight, so desperate was he to protect Jesus, and yet blundering around doing utterly unhelpful things that Jesus had to undo.
It’s bad enough going through the rainy seasons but then our sadness and frustration can be compounded when well-meaning people around us clumsily try to help us out - hurting us as they do. Examples of this are the person who insists that they ‘know how we feel’ - when in reality no one really does - or who rushes to suggest that someone must be sick because they don’t have enough faith for healing. When we see others hurting, let’s resist the temptation just to do something, anything, thoughtlessly. Our intentions may be for the best, but our actions may make things worse. We may end up like Job’s well-meaning but unhelpful friends. Do we have the equivalent of a sword in hand? Let’s think before we strike.