“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me…”
These lines reveal something about Jesus and Jesus’ prayer which are transforming. When it comes to these lines I frequently imagine that they pour forth from a Jesus who is solemn and calm. I imagine that these words come from a Jesus who’s really already decided “your will be done” but who quietly and casually offers “let this cup pass from me” just to see what might happen.
This is not, however, the Jesus who prays this line. Notice the descriptions from Matthew:
- Jesus is “sorrowful and troubled” (Matt. 26:37)
- Jesus confesses being “very sorrowful, even to death” (Matt. 26:38)
- Jesus falls on his face—a posture of great desperation (Matt. 26:39)
- Jesus prays these lines three times—a mark of intense passion and emotion (Matt. 26:44).
Matthew’s writing peers agree with his assessment. Mark describes Jesus as “greatly distressed” (Mk. 14:33). Luke, the doctor, diagnoses Jesus as “being in agony” and observes that Jesus’ “sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Lk. 22:44).
There is nothing calm or peaceful about this scene. Just as the very word “Gethsemane” suggests a “wine press” where olives were squeezed until their insides turned outside, so Jesus is now being squeezed in ways that make him feel he as if he is being turned inside out.
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