Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father,
if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39
As Good Friday draws near, let’s consider the events leading up to our Lord’s crucifixion. After the Passover meal, Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray. Filled with sorrow, He prayed, “if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” What did Jesus not wish to go through? I believe it’s the tremendous sufferings He had to go through. From Matthew 26-27 we see that Jesus suffered tremendously mentally, emotionally, physically and spirituall
Mental Anguish
At the Passover meal, Jesus’ foreknowledge of the coming events preoccupied His mind and weighed heavily on Him (John 13:1; Matthew 26:37-38). He already knew He would soon be betrayed, abandoned, humiliated, tortured and crucified (Matthew 23:34, 26:1-2, 10-12, 21-38, 45-47). He knew in detail all that was about to happen to Him. It’s like a death sentence hanging over Him! He was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (26:38).
Emotional Distress
In that moment of anguish, Jesus asked His three closest disciples to keep watch with Him, but they failed Him and slept, leaving Him to struggle alone (26:40, 43, 45). Then came that fateful moment when Jesus’ trusted disciple betrayed Him with a kiss (26:48-49) and all His disciples deserted Him and fled (v56). Even though Peter followed Him into the High Priest’s court, there he denied Him three times.
In addition, Jesus had to cope with disgrace, mockery, humiliation, rejection and shame. He was treated like a criminal and made to appear before a court six times; three times before the Jewish authorities and three times before the Roman authorities. The Jews that had just days before cheered Him now turned against Him, shouting “Crucify Him!” (27:22-23). The priests and soldiers mocked Him, insulted Him, spat at Him, made fun of Him, stripped Him, and humiliated Him!
Physical Torment
Jesus was also physically tortured and made to experience excruciating pain. Those at the Sanhedrin’s court struck and slapped Him (26:67). Pilate had Him flogged with a whip that lacerated His body (27:26). The soldiers pushed a crown of thorns onto His head and then repeatedly hit His head with a staff (27:29-30). Imagine how much pain Jesus bore from all the abuse? And with His back bloodied and torn, He was forced to carry the cross. The pain must have been so unbearable that the soldiers forced an onlooker to carry it on His behalf (27:32). Finally at Golgotha, they drove thick nails into His hands and feet and hung Him on the cross for at least 6 hours before He died. What excruciating pain and agony!
Spiritual Agony
But perhaps the most unbearable part of it all was separation from the Father! Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (27:46). For on the cross, the sinlessly perfect Son of God bore the sin of the whole world and became sin on our behalf. And so for the first time in all eternity, the Son of God was separated from His Beloved Father. That must have been the ultimate pain and rejection for our Lord Jesus!
But I do not want you to think of Jesus as a poor victim in all this suffering. As He said, He could have summoned twelve legions of angels to deliver Him (26:53), but He chose not to. Instead, He chose to bear all the mental anguish, emotional distress, physical torment, and spiritual agony for a purpose: in order to save and redeem you and me and all mankind.
This calls for a response of thanksgiving, worship, consecration and service…
• Be filled with thanksgiving, praise and worship. Thank God for Jesus’ sacrifice and what He did on the Cross and for the blessings that flow to us as a result.
• Deal with sins you’re struggling with. Jesus bore our sins in His body so we might die to sin and live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness and cleansing. Repent and rededicate yourself to God to live for Him.
• Reach out to the lost and bring them to church on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
DAILY MEDITATIONS:
Monday: John 13:1
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
Tuesday: Matthew 26:37-38
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Wednesday: Matthew 26:45-46
Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Thursday: Luke 22:48
but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Friday: Isaiah 53:3-5
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Saturday: Matthew 27:45-46
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Sunday: 1 Peter 2:23-24
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures are quoted from the New International Version
By Pastor Yong Tai Tong
