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38
A Call to Stand Apart
Every human being desires sympathy in times of suffering. Jesus
longed for sympathy too. In His time of ultimate agony, He came
to His disciples for their comfort. He had always supported them in
their troubles, and He longed to know they were praying for Him.
He staggered over to the place where He had left them, only to find
all three of them asleep. Earlier, as Jesus warned them of the coming
conflict, they had all assured Him they would willingly face prison
or death on His behalf. Peter had added that even if all the rest of
them failed, he would not
With incredible sadness Jesus wakened His sleeping disciples.
Addressing Peter, Jesus asked, “Couldn’t you support me for just
one hour? You are so willing, but also so weak.” Sorrowfully, Jesus
turned aside to struggle on alone, and there He sweat drops of blood
that fell to the ground to mingle with the dew.
“Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father,
if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’”
Matthew
26:42
. The first reaction of the three disciples was to rush to His
side, but they concluded they should do what He had asked them to
do. So they prayed, then gradually slipped back to sleep. Later Jesus
approached them for a second time and found them sleeping. They
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stirred when He came to them, but they found themselves speechless
in His presence. At the sight of His blood-streaked brow they were
overwhelmed with fear, unable to understand what was going on
Returning to His place of anguish, Jesus again prayed for His
own tempted, agonized soul. What an awesome moment! The
destiny of the world was about to be decided. The future of humanity
hung in the balance. Even at this moment Jesus could have declined
to take the place of guilty humanity. It was not too late to put this all
aside. He could leave the world in its sinfulness and return to His
Father in heaven. But again, and then again—yes, three times—He
prayed to the Father: “Not my will but yours be done.
Angels were watching Jesus’ agony. They saw the legions of
satanic forces around Him. Heaven was silent; no music could be
played at this profound moment. They watched the Father separating
His love from His beloved Son. Unfallen worlds watched with the
most intense interest as the conflict on earth drew to its climax.
