This is your Lord, worship Him.
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).
But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through
Ere he found his sheep that was lost.
These words from Elizabeth Clephane’s hymn “There Were Ninety and Nine” are a poignant reminder of the cost of our salvation. After the Passover and introducing
the Lord’s Supper, Jesus took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” Then He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face and prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
We can only look on in wonder as the Saviour, in love, stoops so low, falling on His face to the ground. In creation, God stooped low to make Adam from the dust of the earth. To redeem the children of Adam, the Lord of glory fell on His face, feeling the total weight of the judgement He would have to bear at Calvary for our salvation. The Lord had made Himself of no reputation. He had taken the form of a bondservant. Only a little while before, as a household slave, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, teaching them to serve in love. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He humbled Himself, falling before His Father in the holy obedience that would lead to His death, the death of the cross.
His words, “not as I will, but as You will” are so profound. Sin had entered the world to place man’s will above God’s will. Today we still live under the same principle and suffer the consequences of our increasingly proud disobedience. God revealed His grace in His Son, our Saviour, who took the lowest place. He measured sin’s distance and took the weight of redemption upon His shoulders. Sin’s terror, though profoundly felt, did not overcome His love for His Father and us. The Person who created all things came down to stand in our place and die that we might live. As His disciples slept, all was settled in Gethsemane, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (v. 42).
The Lord rises from prayer in all His power as the Redeemer, “Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand” (v. 46). He was ready to go down into the valley of death, not in weakness but in the power of His love that neither the world’s’ hatred nor Satan’s power could defeat. Dying, He gives life. Enduring darkness, He brings light. Suffering hatred, He brings love. This love draws us together this new morning and God shines into our hearts to behold His glory in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). And the Holy Spirit calls to us, “He is your Lord, worship Him” (Psalm 45:11).
