“He fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’”
Matthew 26:39
Jesus is suffering. He knows that He will soon be arrested, mocked and crucified. This outlook makes him “very sorrowful, even to death”.
He knows that the pain and humiliation will be horrible. And He knows that He will suffer God’s wrath for the sins of humanity. This spiritual suffering will be even worse than the physical torture. The perfect, blameless Son of God will bear the wrath of his Father, because He takes upon himself the sins of humanity. He will be “pierced for our transgressions … crushed for our iniquities”, like it was prophesied by Isaiah centuries before (Isaiah 53:5).
Jesus knows all this. It makes him sorrowful and troubled. He pleads with his Father to let this fate pass from him. And yet, He prays: “Not as I will, but as you will”. He puts the Father’s will above everything. “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
Do you realize how much your salvation cost Jesus?