36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
Jesus now came to the end of His ministry and life. He presented His case, about not going to the cross, to the Father one final time. The answer was that He was to go to the cross to pay for sins (26:36-46).
26:36
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,
Gethsemane was a recurrent meeting place for Jesus and His disciples. Just across the Kedron Valley from Jerusalem, it was a garden of olive trees.
And said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”
Jesus wanted His leadership to understand the importance of focus on God in prayer during times of duress.
26:37
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Jesus left all the disciples to go to Gethsemane except for Peter, James, and John, the leaders of the group.
We must distinguish the humanity of Christ from the deity of Christ. Jesus never used His deity for His human function. That would violate His humanity. He was “tempted in all points,” just as we are. It was His humanity that died on the cross, not His deity.
26:38
Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.
Jesus’ anguish had to do with anticipation of the cross. The words “exceedingly sorrowful” means deeply grieved. It comes from two words: around and grieved. Jesus was surrounded by grief; it was all around Him. His grief went to the point of death.
He was indeed the “man of sorrows.” His sorrow involved separation from the Father for a few hours on the cross. This separation had never occurred in all eternity.
Stay here and watch with Me.”
He asked the three disciples to watch for enemies.
PRINCIPLE:
Sorrow or grief is proper for the Christian.
APPLICATION:
Jesus was a “Man of sorrows.” Do you remember this old hymn by Philip Bliss?
Man of sorrows, what a name,
For the Son of God who came,
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Grief was part of Jesus’ life. It is appropriate for Christians to grieve. Their sorrow in loss of a believing loved one, for example, is not permanent. It is only a time before we see them again.
Is 53: 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
