Take This Cup | Luke 22
Welcome to Real Life. On the Mount of Olives, the All Powerful One needed strength. Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. [1] It may be the most poignant prayer in the Bible. It is the night before the cross, the night of Jesus’ most intense spiritual battle, the night before all hell would break loose. Earlier in the evening, Jesus shared a last supper with his disciples. Afterwards, although he knew Judas would betray him, Jesus went as usual to the Mount of Olives. [2] He could have gone to an alternate location, a place where Judas did not expect him to go, a place where Judas could not find him. But he did not. When he arrived at the Mount of Olives, he withdrew a stone’s throw from his disciples. He knelt and prayed, “Father, if you are willing take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Why is this prayer in the Bible? A good portion of Jesus’ life was spent in prayer. Most of these conversations have been hidden from our eyes. But not this one.