Mark 14:36 "'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."
Most of us have probably seen a picture like the one above, it is supposedly a depiction of Jesus praying in Gethsemane. This holy, collected, and solemn Jesus calmly kneeling as he prays - picture perfect. The Bible paints an entirely different picture. Jesus was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death", as he prayed "his sweat was like drops of blood" and he was "exhausted from sorrow". (Taken from Mark and Luke's accounts).
In the verse above, Jesus is asking God if there is another way - if something else can be done. How often do we sit and wonder or hear people ask if there is another way to heaven... Jesus asked the question for us, the answer was no! Through Jesus our sins were forgiven and the price was paid - there was no other way.
Tonight at church I had an unexpected blessing, my daughters were with me - they had been the ones really wanting to go to church tonight. During the service communion was offered - trying to explain the significance of communion to a 5 and 7 year old was a task... but an unbelievable blessing. You want to know what communion means to you? Try explaining it to a child. I did not allow my daughters to partake, I believe they are too little to completely understand the true significance of communion... but trying to explain the significance of that event to them blessed me in a way I would not have thought possible.
As we go through this Easter weekend, let's not forget the price that was paid - the humiliation, the suffering, the beating and ridicule... such a brutal and ugly day - Thank God we know how the story ends and because of the sacrifice that Jesus made we can have life today.
Comments