Why did Jesus have to go through that night in the garden of olives? He came to earth with a full understanding of what He was to do. He spoke often of His coming death. He had no doubt He would be resurrected. Why did the weight of His calling crush Him so much that His capillaries burst and let out blood as sweat?
Much more intriguing, even though He was weighed down to the point of death in the garden, He still ended His prayer with these powerful words of submission, “Yet not as I will. But as you will”
While He asked for the possibility of saving mankind in another way, He never reconsidered doing the will of the Father. He asked for confirmation that His death and momentary separation from the Father was the only way. But He had committed Himself to whatever His Father’s will was. That was the weight crushing down on Him – the weight of God’s desires crushing out the desires in a man. This moment in Gethsemane was a testament to His love and trust for the Father. It was an affirmation to us that obedience to the Father is the way we show that we love and fear Him.
You see, for every Passover, a death needed to happen. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb on the cross but in the garden of Olives, He groaned as that tough death happened – the death of His own will and desire. This death of self and will was Him relinquishing power, opening the doorway for God to do as He willed.
He showed us that only death done out of submission can truly make way for life. Without the option of disobedience, obedience doesn’t carry much weight. As David Diga Hernandez concisely puts it, “the Holy Spirit operates on your surrender”. We cannot truly and fully enter the life we’ve been promised without the death of self.
As vessels consecrated to God, there is the possibility of giving up so much, yet never truly enjoying the fruit of all God has promised if we do not allow the death of our will.
If you feel a struggle within you concerning a seemingly simple matter at this time, it may not be as simple as you think. God is likely asking for that sacrifice of your will about that thing, and everything else.
I hope you see the connection between your submission and Holiness. I hope you understand that you can only become like the Holy God when you give up all that you are for who He is. I pray that you have the courage to embrace the altar of sacrifice, and trust the Father’s promise to raise you up in Himself.
