Day 46

Jesus shared a lot of cool stuff with His disciples that night in the upper room, besides the fact that He loved them and expected them to lead as servant leaders. He tells them once again that He will be leaving them but not to be afraid, that He will prepare a place for them. He tells them to remember that HE is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He shares the role of the coming Spirit in their lives and much more. Come and take a look!


Read John 14:1-17:26; Luke 22:39-46; Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42

What do we know about how Jesus prayed in the garden? (Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46)

What Lessons about Prayer is Jesus modeling?

Who were the disciples responding to during this time?

What a night! Jesus is going back over what He has been teaching these leaders over the past three and a half years of investing in them and telling them new things. There is a little bit of everything here. I do not want you to miss Jesus’ incredibly instructive illustration to sum up many things he has been discussing. He likens leadership in the movement to a vineyard. He says the Father is a vinedresser, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He lays out for us each person’s role in the process. God’s job as the vinedresser is to wash and prune, Jesus’ job as a vine is to provide life-giving nourishment to the branches, the Holy Spirit’s job is to bear fruit, and our job is to abide on the vine. Sometimes we want to do God’s job, Jesus’ job, or the Holy Spirits’ job. Our job makes us feel very unimportant. Our job is to remain, or abide, in Jesus, the vine, and allow the fruit of the Holy Spirit to develop on our branches.

Disciples, your number one job is to remain in Jesus. Stay connected to the vine, or you cannot bear any spiritual fruit. The fruit comes as you get into the word of God, spend time with the Father, get close to the Bridegroom, and listen to His voice. So if you want to bear fruit for the kingdom– abide in Jesus. The fruit you bear will last, and it will be in proportion to your abiding.

He then warns them one last time of the coming persecution. With this, they sing a song and head across the valley and up to the Mount of Olives (Matt. 26:30). Jesus takes them to a place they are familiar with because each day, He would go there after a hard day in the temple preaching. He takes them to the quiet of a garden called Gethsemane, on the lower slope of the Mount of Olives. There, Jesus once again takes Peter, James, and John, the leaders of leaders, a little deeper into the garden and tells them to stay awake, keep watch and pray that they would not fall into temptation. He goes about a stone’s throw further, kneels, and begins to talk with the Father. In deep agony, He begins to sweat drops of blood. He prays, “Abba, Father, Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). The disciples must have heard this part of the prayer- Maybe Jesus was screaming it in agony- or maybe they asked him after He rose from the dead. We don’t know, but it made a lasting impression on them. Jesus was saying, “not my will, but yours be done.” These are the exact words God waits each day to hear from you and me. Each moment of each day, the Father waits for us to yield our wills, release control, and allow Jesus to live through us. The overwhelming teaching of the Apostle Paul is that Jesus is in me to live through me.

Jesus gets up from His praying and checks on His leaders, who are fast asleep. It has been a long day, and they are exhausted. Jesus wakes them up and encourages them to watch and pray so they will not fall into the moment of temptation. He then returns and keeps praying, “My Father, if this cup can’t be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” (Matt. 26:42). We see God the Son desiring a different will than God the Father, yet the Son submits to the will of the Father. He went back again, and they were once again sleeping. At that very moment, Judas, leading a crowd of people with clubs and swords, comes marching up to seize Jesus and take Him away to be judged.

Each moment of each day, the Father waits for us to yield our wills to His will. He longs to hear us say, “Father, not my will, but yours be done in my life.” So spend some time today thinking about what it means to give up your will for the will of God and how one does this each day.