Jesus Last Prayer

Before his death on the cross

April 7, 1993

From Luke 22:

There are a number of prayers of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. The prayers of Jesus have direct impact on our daily lives even to this day. The "Lord's Prayer" which we pray is actually our prayer, our model for praying, given to us by Jesus to teach us to pray. The LORD's Prayer, perhaps properly so called, is the prayer Jesus prayed in the Upper Room, the High Priestly Prayer recorded in John 17. In that prayer Jesus prays for the unity of His church, and for the perseverance of the saints.

But the LAST prayer Jesus prayed before He went to the cross is a prayer almost beyond description. It is a prayer of indescribable courage. It is a prayer that on the surface of it was unanswered, or answered with a "No." But it is a prayer that set the course for the victory of the ages. If the life and death and resurrection of Jesus were expressed in dramatic terms, this prayer is the CRISIS, the turning point and the Cross, the work on Calvary is the CLIMAX, or the culmination. But the drama which began actually before the world was created, in the mind and heart of God, does not end with the Cross. There is an UNFOLDING, a CELEBRATION, a NEW ORDER BEGUN, which we celebrate next Sunday. But first we must address the AGONY, the conflict.

Jesus always prayed at crucial times, but never like this. He was NOT in any way in rebellion. But Jesus was PURE and CLEAN and GOOD and KIND and HOLY, and now He was going to (somehow) receive all the iniquity and hatred and shame and injustice and evil and selfishness and straying and SIN of the world— your sin and my sin. Jesus was the Paschal Lamb. The Passover, the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, all inform the sacrament we embrace, which sacrament is a figure of the true Sacrifice, the vortex of which Jesus was entering that very hour.

Every atom of His holy being was repelled by the task ahead.

"OH, MY FATHER! IF IT BE POSSIBLE, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME!" [This is more than I can bear! I will die before the time! I feel as though I should avert my eyes! But there it is in the scripture for us to see. And there is no pause, no break in the thought:]

"NEVERTHELESS, NOT MY WILL BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE!"

And the answer comes. It is not a "Yes!" to take away the heavy assignment. It is not a "No!" in rejection of the agony and grief. Rather it is encouragement. The Father calls a great archangel, and sends him on an assignment of unspeakable love. "Strengthen My Son! Encourage Him! Physically under-gird Him!"

But the Father Himself remains, as it were, silent. Not a sullen silence, or a silence of insensitivity. Oh, no— the Father is very much aware of what the Son is saying. But in the heart of the Fellowship that is our great Godhead there Plan has been formed in love, the Plan to redeem lost sinners. That Plan is on target. There will be no turning back. There is no substitute sacrifice for this Father and Son.

I think of the transition of power from Moses to Joshua as recorded both in Deuteronomy and in the opening pages of the book of Joshua. It is remarkable how many times either Moses, or God Himself, is recorded as saying to this 'Jesus' of the Old Testament, "Be strong! Have courage! Don't be discouraged! Whenever a battle rages, and the crisis time comes, there comes a time for sheer character to show itself! And this prayer of Jesus is the greatest example of courage ever recorded.

The battle that night continued over a period of time. How long exactly we do not know. In his humanity Jesus craved human comfort! Someone to come alongside! The disciples were tired; it had been a wonderful day, with the Seder and all. So much going on— and so much pressure. They slept— Jesus prayed on. Strengthened, sweating, sweating as it were great drops of blood. Agony— persisting, facing the anguish of evil He never once deserved. Right up until the time of the betrayal Jesus prays.

Then— something happens. As the traitor approaches and the actual pouring out of Jesus' life and blood is about to begin, there is a serenity and majesty that encompasses our Lord!

Look at Him! He looks at the sleeping disciples with pity: "Sleep on now, and take your rest! How you are going to need it! I would that you could have watched with Me just one hour!"

And then the lights of torches, and the sounds of people in a crowd trying to walk quietly, trying to surprise their intended captive. Jesus looks at them as they enter the Garden. He rouses the sleepers: "Get up now!" The Sacrifice of the Ages is about to begin.

They come closer, and are startled to see that their intended Victim is calmly watching them, looking into their eyes, into their very souls. The traitor calmly walks up to the Master, as though somehow this was all right. He give the customary Middle Eastern greeting- you have seen it many times, first on one cheek, then the other, then again. I wonder if he ever finished that mockery?

And Jesus goes with the High Priest's militia to begin a day we call Good Friday. On that day he carried my sins and yours all the way to the Abyss, where he hurled them from Himself! The injustice of the Cross was the end of sin and death and the everlasting defeat of hell.

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