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T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S tion we may expect Him to ta k e us w ith Him to th e garden of Gethsemane.— Torrey. He selected those who would be least likely to m isunderstand His in tense distress.— Plummer. These th ree had boasted most of th e ir ability and w illingness to suffer w ith Him (Mk. 1 0 :39 ). It is fit th a t they who are most confident should be first tried , th a t they may be made sensible of th e ir folly and weakness.— Henry v. 40. P ra y th a t ye en ter n o t into tem ptation. If only they had prayed they would have been stead fast and un moveable.— Meyer. To watch is to uso our strength. To pray is to draw upon His.— Sel. W atching w ithout prayer is hypocrisy.— Jay. No Gospel states th a t Christ asked th e disciples to pray for Him. They are to pray for themselves in th e ir temptations.— Camb. Bible. Never do we read th a t Jesus and any m o rtal joined tog ether in prayer. He alone came directly to His F ath er. No man else came unto th e F a th e r bu t by Him. There was an essential difference between His a ttitu d e toward God and ours.— Chadwick. ' v. 41. W ithdraw n from them . There are tim es, when we m ust keep our dear est companions a t a little distance.— Sawyer. v. 42. Remove' th is cup from me. This was not a complaining voice. We have never heard the Master^ complain. The purpose of His own ‘h ea rt is ripen ing and th e divine decree is coming to th e u tteran ce of its last siyllable.— P ark er. He cried to Him who could save H im from dying before His tria l and sentence, and He was saved from w hat He feared. Is Jesus praying for deliverance from th e hour of th e cross or THIS cup? He feared not th e cross (Heb. 1 2 :2 ). He knew it was not pos sible to do away w ith th e atonement (Jn. 3 :14 ; Lk. 24:44-46). It was for th is He had come into th e world. F rom th is He wanted no deliverance eith er by means of hum an or angelic defenders (Mt. 26:52-56). Might not Gethsemane have been a last supreme effort of Satan to defeat th e purposes of God?. If it was God’s will for Jesus to perish in the garden instead of th e ap pointed way, Jesus was subm itted. He prayed for deliverance and was heard (Heb. 5 :7 ).— Sel. F rom th e cross He never drew back (Jn. 12:27-28). We vare distinctly ta u g h t not only th a t th e F a th e r always heard Jesus (Jn. 11:41, 42), bu t th a t He was h eard in th is spe cific instance (Heb. 5 :7 ), and when a
prayer is heard, th e very th ing asked is given (1 Jn. 5:14, J5 ). The words “Remove th is cup from me,” are liter ally “Carry th is cup along.” He asked th a t th e cup m ight pass on un til the appointed hour on the cross, and th e cup did pass on. He was dying of agony then and th ere, and God strengthened Him (v. 43 ).— Torrey. Not my will, b u t th in e. “Thy will be done” is th e keynote to which every prayer m u st be tuned.— Gordon. v. 43. There appeared an angel. In th is fearful conflict, Jesu s was not left alone. As afte r the th ree assaults in th e w ilderness, an angel from heaven strengthened Him.— Smith. v. 44. Being in an agony. The sting of death was directed to His very heart. Was th is a struggle w ith th e will of the F a th e r o r w ith some in fern al power? Satan is no t mentioned in connection w ith th e scene, b u t note Luke’s words (4 :1 3 ) following th e th ree assaults in th e w ilderness— “The devil departed for a season” (literally, “ u n til a more favorable tim e” ). The first attack was made when He was weak from hunger, th is one when He was worn w ith sor row. He knew th e m alignity of th e sins soon to be laid upon Him, th e treach ery of Judas, the unkindness of Peter, th e malice of th e Jews, the crucifixion. The te rro rs of hell looked Him in th e face. Was th is no t a favorable tim e for infer n al powers to press upon Him and seek finally to overthrow th e purpose of God?—Horn. Com. Sweat drops of blood. W hat was this? It was a stru g gle convulsing H is whole inner man and causing sweat to oo'ze from every pore in th ick drops of blood.— J., F. & B. The struggle was th e counterpart of His tem ptation in th e wilderness. The bu r den of th e world’s guilt, th e sorrow over th e rejection of His people, His b etrayal by one of His own followers— these Satan sought to use to accomplish His death before He made an atone m ent for sin. Seeing His hum anity failing under th e burden placed upon it, He called upon th e F a th e r to let this identical cup pass from Him. Would S atan ’s power thw art Him in making a p e rfe c t sacrifice for sin? If, in th e awful conflict th a t well nigh crushed out the life of th e Son of God, th e re was w rung from His soul an appealing cry for help, would we not do well more frequently and constantly to call upon th e Most H igh for aid against the pow ers of darkness?—Wesleyan Methodist. v. 45. F ound them sleeping. They
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