In this short series, we’ll spend a few minutes every day meditating on Jesus’ journey to the Cross. From Palm Sunday to Resurrection Day, this is a sacred week in the Christian calendar—a week that changed everything. 

 

Crushed for Us, Surrendered to Him

 

Read: Matthew 26:36-56 

 

It’s a startlingly vulnerable picture. The Savior in deep agony; the Messiah doubled over with the intensity of the anguish He was experiencing.

Yet, as difficult as it is to fully fathom, Jesus knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating drops of blood. 

 

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me…” (Matthew 26:39a)

Jesus was unflinchingly real in His cries in that garden.

 

The cup was not only a cup of suffering.

It was the cup of our sin.

It was the cup of separation from the Father.

The One who knew no sin would be made sin.

The blemishless Lamb of God would bear the sin, guilt, and shame upon Himself.

And in that moment of darkness, the Father would turn His face away from His beloved Son.

Gethsemane—the place where olives were pressed—would be the place where the Son of God accepted that He would be crushed by the weight of our sin.

 

And then He goes on to declare:

“…Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Mathew 26:39B)

Jesus was deeply reverential in His obedience to His Father.

 

Can we sit in that extraordinary tension for just a moment? 

Can we see the turmoil in His heart as the Holy One humbled Himself and became obedient to death on a cross—a punishment reserved for the vilest of sinners?

Can we allow ourselves to feel just a speck of the crushing weight that was on Him? 

Jesus invited three disciples to “watch and pray” with Him during this distressing hour. They gave in to the lure of sleep.

Jesus still invites us to this moment in Gethsemane. Will we give in to the lure of apathy or even overfamiliarity? Or will we wait with Him in that garden, understanding that Jesus didn’t have to, and yet—He chose to. For you and me.

As we come to Him today, may we embrace that same tension of “both, and.” That we will be both raw and reverent before Him. That we will be both deeply honest with Him and highly honoring of Him.

Prayer isn’t just about our petitions.

It’s also the place of preparation.

A place where our hearts align with His. A place where we, too, are willing to be crushed for His glory.

 

Prayer

Jesus, the picture of you in the garden of Gethsemane is sometimes overwhelming. My words fall short. That You, Lord, would go through intense agony for my sake. That You, Lord, would choose to be crushed for me. Because You laid down Your life, I’ve been brought from death to life. Teach me to pray with both realness and reverence. Help me embrace honesty even while I honor You in every way. Amen

 

 

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