Luke 22; John 18: “Not My Will, but Thine, Be Done” (June 12-18)

Christ Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, by Hermann Clementz

The word Gethsemane comes from two Hebrew roots: gath (גַּת), which means a press, and shemen (שֶׁמֶן), which means oil. So it represents an oil press, a fitting metaphor for the spiritual agony the Savior suffered just prior to His arrest and crucifixion.

At the foot of the mount of Olives, there is a garden that Jesus often visited when He was in Jerusalem to find solitude (Luke 22:39, John 18:1-2). After celebrating the Passover with His apostles for the last time, Jesus led them to this place, which was called Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36, Mark 14:32). Leaving His apostles in one part of the garden, He found a place to pray alone. In that quiet setting, He took upon Himself the weight of our sins, our afflictions, our sorrows, and our infirmities. (See Alma 7:12-13, Isaiah 53:4-6, Mosiah 14:4-6.) He suffered so that we can be healed.

Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be clothed in red. When asked why, He would respond, “I have trodden the winepress alone” (Isaiah 63:1-3). Luke tells us that as Jesus prayed in the garden, “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Does that mean that His sweat merely looked like blood in the darkness or that He actually bled? The angel who appeared to King Benjamin answered that question: “He shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7). “Every pore” indicates that He gave all that He had to give, that He held nothing back. This sacrifice, which demanded everything from Him, opened the door for us to receive every blessing.

Only Jesus could atone for our sins. The sacrifice had to be infinite in scope, and only the Lord Omnipotent, the Creator of the earth, had the power to do it. (See Alma 34:11-12, Mosiah 3:5, 8, 17.) But even in this divine act, He set an example for us. Here are some lessons I have learned from the Savior’s words and actions in the garden of Gethsemane:

1. “Not my will”

King Benjamin taught that we must be “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us]” (Mosiah 3:19). Abinadi prophesied that the Savior would submit His will to the will of the Father. (Mosiah 15:5). And when Jesus appeared to a group of people on the American continent, He declared that He had “suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning” (3 Nephi 11:11).

During His mortal ministry, Jesus knew what He would have to do, and He repeatedly explained it to His disciples. For example, in a meeting with the twelve apostles, He said, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day” (Luke 9:22).

But when the moment finally came, it weighed upon Him heavily. Three times in the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” But He immediately followed with these words of submissive commitment: “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44, Mark 14:36, 39, Luke 22:42).

Submitting our will to the will of God is not easy, and there may be times when we wish we could forego a painful experience. But the Savior was determined to do what His Father wanted Him to do. Here’s a blog post on the topic:

• I Have Suffered the Will of the Father – 3 Nephi 11:10-11

2. The bitter cup

Jesus repeatedly spoke of a cup filled with bitter liquid which He was obligated to drink. To James and John, He asked, “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of?” (Matthew 20:22; see also Mark 10:38). In the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39, 42, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42). Shortly after, when Peter tried to defend Him, He asked, “The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11).

Following His death and resurrection, when He visited a group of people on the American continent, He introduced Himself by saying, “I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me” (3 Nephi 11:11).

A defining characteristic of a disciple of Jesus Christ is a willingness to do hard things when necessary. See the following blog post:

• The Bitter Cup

3. Watch and pray

As Jesus stepped away from His disciples in the garden, He counseled them, “Pray that ye enter not into temptation” (Luke 22:40-41, Mark 14:32-36, Matthew 26:36-39).

Returning a little later, He found the disciples sleeping. Speaking to Peter, He said, “What could ye not watch with me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40). Then, he added, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38).

After His death and resurrection, He twice admonished a group of people on the American continent to “watch and pray always,” in order to avoid falling into temptation and becoming captive to the devil (3 Nephi 18:15, 18).

To watch is to stay awake, be vigilant, and pay attention. To pray is to recognize that we cannot overcome temptation alone.

Here is a blog post about this admonition:

• What Does It Mean to “Watch and Pray?”

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