Day 5 of Holy Week – The Last Supper, Jesus Prays and the Garden of Gethsemane

Day five of Holy Week and it’s the final gathering of Jesus and His disciples. Many important things happen during this time, such as:

1. The washing of the disciple’s feet by Jesus.
2. Jesus announces that one of them would betray Him.
3. The breaking and the blessing of the bread and thankfulness for the wine. This represented His body and His blood.
4. Judas left in the middle of dinner, to gather a group of men and soldiers, which leads to the arrest of Jesus.
5. A dispute occurred between the disciples, as to which one of them would be regarded as the greatest among the others.
6. Jesus predicted that Peter would deny knowing Him, not once, not twice, but three times.
7. Jesus stated the final two “I AM” statements.
8. The Promise of the Holy Spirit, who would come and guide the people after He leaves the earth.
9. He prayed for Himself, for His disciples and for future believers (that’s us, my friends!)
10. He took Peter, James, and John to the Garden of Gethsemane for an intense time of prayer.
11. Jesus was arrested in the garden in the darkness of the night.

Today, I would like to focus on those prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus Prayed Fervently to the Lord

After intense studying of this day in scripture, one of the main points that stuck out to me was the fervency in how Christ prayed to the Father.

These weren’t simple prayers that were flippantly said. These were gut-wrenching, writhing, begging and pleading prayers. Luke 22:43-44 says, “And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Jesus knew that the time of His death was near and prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matt 26:39

Some may believe that Jesus was praying to get out of the death on the cross. Yes, he was expressing His feelings. After all, He would be beaten, tortured and hung on a cross to die, but He was also reaffirming His commitment to do the will of God.

“Not as I will, but as you will.”

Our sinless Savior, took on our sins so that we can have eternal life.

The Kiss of Betrayal

After the prayers in the garden, Judas appeared with a group of men, armed with swords and clubs. His signal to let the others know who Jesus was, was a simple kiss on the cheek.

A kiss that would lead to death – for both Jesus and Judas, the latter would be struck with remorse and after fully realizing what he had done, tried to return the silver coins that were given to him. The chief priests rejected Judas, and he hung himself.

Afraid of facing the crowds of Jesus’s followers, the cowards arrested Jesus under the darkness of night. In fact, by the time that everyone was awake, many of the trials that Jesus faced were over and done with.

Tomorrow, we will focus on those trials and the death of our Savior. Today, let’s remember that whatever we are going through, the Lord knows all about it. Jesus turned to Him, and we should too, and remember these simple, but powerful words, “Not as I will, but as you will.”

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Words, through our prayers you hear us, and while they may not be answered the way that we want them to be answered, You know what is best for us. You see the whole picture, while we only see a speck of it. Thank you for your Son, our Savior,  for dying on the cross for our sins. May we always remember the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us. In Jesus’ Name, I pray! Amen.