Was it fear that caused Jesus to cry out to his Father, to sweat blood in the garden of Gethseman? Yes, intense fear can cause a human being to sweat blood, but it was something much more for Jesus. You see God’s presence, which had been Jesus’ strength and support all these years, was now gone. He began to feel for the first time in his life, what it was like to be separated from God, cast out from His Father. Jesus had to bear the sins of the world on his own. Every sin that had ever been committed was now laid upon Him. Every abortion, every murder, every lie, every sin against God and man was put on HIM, the innocent one, and the guilt of that sin was beyond our comprehension. He fell to the ground and cried out to his Father and began to sweat blood.
Jesus’s spirit was willing but His flesh was weak!
Jesus was fully human, and He was fully divine. He didn’t have to stay in the garden. All Jesus had to do was walk out of the garden, “exit stage left!” And yet, he stays and seeks God in prayer. When His flesh was weak, Jesus turns to his father in prayer. He was not just praying to avoid torture and death, but to discover God’s will and to find the strength to cope with what was about to happen. In his fear he turns to God. In his agony he relies on His Father even when He couldn’t feel his presence. In this critical moment, Jesus united His will with that of the Father’s.
What an incredible moment for us to learn the value and power for prayer. When we are afraid, do we seek God’s will or do we desperately try to find a way out? That night in the garden Jesus was transformed through prayer. God wants to transform our fear into strength, our agony into opportunity, our sacrifice into God’s glory.