Where the Battle Is Won Matthew 26:36-46 36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane and he said to them, "Sit herewhile I go over there and pray." 37He took Peter and the two …

Where the Battle Is Won

³⁶Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane and he said to them, "Sit here
while I go over there and pray." ³⁷He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him
and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with
sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

³⁹Going 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."

⁴⁰Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one
hour?" he asked Peter. ⁴¹"Watch
and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

⁴²He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away
unless I drink it, may your will be done."

⁴³When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

⁴⁵Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the
hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners, ⁴⁶Rise, let us go! Here comes my
betrayer!"

In these passages we see the lengths that Jesus went through to rid himself of the pain
and sorrow he was feeling on the way to his death. He showed his humanity and
how when tested we can be victorious through the will of God.

The scriptures show that the disciples declared that they would die before
disowning Jesus. A few hours later, however, they all scattered. Talk is cheap.
It is easy to say that we are devoted to Christ, but our claims are meaningful
only when they are tested in the heat of persecution.

The garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives was one of the Lord's favorite places to pray throughout His earthly
ministry.

(Luke 22:39) ³⁹Jesus
went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.

But believers remember it best as the site of a great spiritual battle. The story of Jesus pleading with His Father is
extremely meaningful to Christians, and one of the reasons is that the Lord looked so human.

From the gospel's description, we can see that Jesus, the God-man, experienced fear, anxiety, and dread as He prayed. In other words, He reacted to His imminent ordeal with feelings we can relate to and understand.

Satan taunts believers by telling them they can't be like Jesus because He is God.

But He was God cloaked in human flesh, which means that He experienced the world as we do. Yet He won every spiritual and life battle he faced. The secret to His success is what He did at Gethsemane.
He secluded Himself and prayed until His will was fully surrendered to the Father.

The battle was won on His knees. Jesus left the garden a prisoner, but at the same time He walked out a winner. He accepted God's will for His life, even though pain was a guarantee.

Our Savior had been called to die, and He knew that the potential blessings and consequences were all in His Father's
hands. Believers confront fearsome trials too. God uses these hardships to conform us to His Son's image.

Rom. 8:29(New International Version)

²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

If we are to be like Jesus, we must learn from His actions. In the face of difficulty, we should seek God's will, commit
to following it, and leave the consequences in His almighty hands.

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