City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“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.’”

Luke 22:39-46 ESV

Reflection

The Mount of Olives was significant to Jesus, it was the place He rested after teaching crowds (Luke 21:37-38), taught His disciples their final lessons (Matthew 24-25, Mark 13), wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44), and ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9,12). What temptation is it that Jesus warns His disciples about? The TPT version of verse 40 says:

“There he told the apostles, “Keep praying for strength to be spared from the severe test of your faith that is about to come.””

Jesus knows His disciples will be tested during this time, He did give them a heads-up that He would be crucified (Matthew 20:17-19). A stone’s throw is a short distance, it was short enough that the disciples could hear Him, they would hear their Teacher throwing Himself to the ground and begging His Father for the cup of death to pass over Him.

How did the angel strengthen Jesus? The angel could not comfort Him, because He was in such tremendous emotional stress that He sweated blood – a very rare medical condition called hematidrosis. Out of the four Gospels, only Luke the physician mentions Jesus experiencing this.

Hematidrosis is when the capillaries (small blood vessels) near sweat glands rupture due to extreme emotional or physical stress. In a fight-or-flight mode, the human body is under extreme stress, the autonomic nervous system (controls involuntary body systems, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate) works overtime to confront the stressor or flee from it. Jesus’ heart rate, blood pressure, and respirations would have been high enough to call for a Code Blue (life-threatening emergency) right then and there. That’s what Luke meant by the angel strengthening Him, Jesus could have died of a heart attack or a stroke right in the garden from the extreme stress of His upcoming torture and execution.

“During Christ’s days on earth he pleaded with God, praying with passion and with tearful agony that God would spare him from death. And because of his perfect devotion his prayer was answered and he was delivered.”

-Hebrews 5:7 TPT

Jesus prayed to be spared from death in the garden so He could fulfill His Father’s plans of taking on all of the sin of humankind on the cross. What extreme, unspeakable courage!

Despite all of Jesus’ cries of despair to His Father, the disciples were too depressed to stay awake. The temptations they face will be the severe testing of their faith.

Application

It’s amazing how brave Jesus was to not take or ask for the easy way out. He did not try to escape from God’s plan however tortuous and horrific it would be, because He knew it was the only way we could come back home to God (Isaiah 53:5). What about you? What is God telling you now?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, let me not choose the easy way out in Your plans. Grant me the courage and strength to follow through on Your plans. In Your name I pray, amen.