Amy C Walters

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives | Luke 22:39-51

This story is full of people doing the wrong thing. The disciples fail to pray, even though Jesus tells them twice. A mob comes to arrest Jesus even though he has done nothing wrong. Only Jesus does what is right. In fact, we see in this story that Jesus submits to God’s will.

Jesus’ prayer on the Mount of Olives is a focal point of this story. He knows that his time is limited with mere hours left before his arrest, and he chooses to spend that time praying. 

Jesus goes about a stone’s throw beyond where the disciples are, so he’s by himself. He kneels down and prays, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.” So much packed into that one little sentence.

Let’s first look at the cup. What does Jesus mean by “take this cup from me”? A cup can refer to a portion or what God has provided or given to someone.

We see this use of cup in Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.” This life that you have given to me, overflows with blessing from you, God.

But cup is also used a lot to refer to God’s wrath that is poured out on sin. Jeremiah 25:15 tells us, “Thus the Lord the God of Israel said to me, ‘Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, And make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.’” In Jesus’ death on the cross, he experiences the full weight of God’s wrath as he pays the penalties for the sins of the world. The plan that God has given to him, the cup, involves bearing God’s wrath towards sin. 

Another thing to notice in this prayer is that Jesus twice mentions God’s will. “If you are willing,” and “not my will, but yours be done.” He’s referencing God the Father’s plans, what he is going to accomplish. 

So in this prayer, Jesus is asking if it’s possible to accomplish the Father’s purposes in another way. Take away the suffering that is coming if there’s any other way to do this.

This is no half-hearted request. Jesus knows what’s coming and it’s stunningly brutal. We’re told that at this time, Jesus is in anguish, that he prays more earnestly, that he’s sweating so profusely that it’s like drops of blood hitting the ground. 

He’s drenched with sweat, he’s filled with anguish. He is desperately crying out to the Father. 

What has Jesus told his disciples that prayer can help them do? “Pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” What do you think Jesus was being tempted with in these moments? Probably to run away and avoid this excruciating death that’s coming. 

We’ve seen him easily escape through the middle of large, murderous crowds like this before.

In Luke 4, Jesus was teaching in his hometown of Nazareth and the people became so angry that they were going to throw him off a cliff. But Jesus just walked right through the crowd. He’s probably tempted to just do that again. 

Or maybe he’s tempted to fight back, to call down the angel armies at his disposal to protect him. Maybe he’s tempted to give in to the disciples and the crowd who wanted to make him their political liberator, their ruler, their earthly king.

Jesus is maybe wrestling with all of that. But instead of giving in to those temptations, he focuses on God’s will. His desire is God’s will to be done, not his. 

Now at first, it appears that God has said no to Jesus’ request, “take this cup away from me.” The Father does not take the cup of impending suffering away from him. The Father does not offer a plan B. 

But Hebrews 5:7 tells us, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered out prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” 

Hebrews says that God heard and answered Jesus’ prayer. But how is that? Jesus did go to his death. So how could we say that God heard and answered? 

It’s because ultimately, Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done. Yes, he wanted to see if there was another way out of it, but ultimately he said, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Kent Hughes says that Jesus wanted God’s will more than anything. What is that will? Isaiah 53:10 tells us, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” 

God answered Jesus’ prayer by accomplishing his will through him.

What agony this must have been for God the Father to crush his son, to put him to grief, to pour the full force of his wrath on him. But the Father wills this, so that you and I can have salvation. 

Isaiah 53 is packed full of prophecies about Jesus and his death and what it would accomplish.

Notice too that it says that “the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” Jesus here stands in direct contrast with everyone else in this story. 

The disciples go against God’s will because they disobey Jesus’ orders to pray. The very structure of this story is meant to highlight that. Jesus tells them to pray, he goes to pray while they sleep, and then he tells them again. The disciples’ disobedience is sandwiched in between Jesus’ obedience. 

And the mob that has come to arrest Jesus, they go against God’s will by coming to kill an innocent man. They set themselves above God’s law. Only Jesus perfectly follows the Father’s will.

That’s our key truth for today: Jesus submits to God’s will. 

He alone fulfills the Father’s purposes for him perfectly. Even when God’s plan means horrendous suffering and agonizing death, Jesus declares that whatever God does is best. That’s why he alone could be the sacrifice to save us from our sins. 

Jesus is fully God and fully man, and yet submits to the will of the Father. What right, then, do we have to insist on our own will, our own way? How often do we rebel against the Father’s plans and purposes for our lives? When we don’t like what’s happening or how things are going, we push back. But what does this story teach us about the Father’s will?

That it’s best even when in the moment it looks so hard. For Jesus, the Father’s will took him to his death on a cross. 

Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed.” 

We know that the Father’s plan for Jesus to die led to our salvation. Will we trust that in our own difficulties and challenges and heartbreaks, that God’s will is best? That he’s working out his plans for his glory and our good? Can we look to Jesus and agree with him, “Yet not my will, God, but yours be done?” 

Today as you go, spend some time in prayer. Ask for God’s help in the difficult situations that you face, but most of all, pray for his will to be done. Ask him for the faith to trust that whatever he does is best. And thank God for Jesus who submitted to the Father’s will, even though it meant his death, because his death has brought you peace.