“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people” (Matt. 26:36-47, KJV).
Endurance, endurance is what we lack. Yes, we lack in our understanding, we lack in our faith, our vision, but possibly, what differentiates us the most from Christ is our lack of endurance. The physical pain that Christ endured was unimaginable, but is that just the surface? Are we overlooking how much worse His spiritual and mental exhaustion may have been? Imagine, you are the only begotten son of the one true God, you know who you are, you know the power you have; not only can you command legions of angels, but evil trembles at the sound of your name. Imagine, you have divine power at your fingertips, but your calling is to endure. How much worse does that make each nail? Or does the calling alleviate the pain?
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews” (Matt. 27:27-37).
The prophet Isaiah foretold of a son who would be called Immanuel, meaning ‘God is with us.’[i] We know that as Jesus walked His path, He fulfilled that prophecy. What we do not know is Jesus’ state of being as He walked that path. Was He unsure of Himself? Did He know that He was the messiah? Was He omnipresent? Omniscient? Truly, we only ask these questions because Jesus was confident. Confidence is what He displayed during His walk: confidence that God was and is still with Him. To some, that confidence comes off as superiority, to others that confidence is simply faith in action. When you truly walk with God, some get the impression that you believe you are God. As a result, Jesus’ confidence has caused christological debates for millenia. The church has fractured several times, and we now have several denominations because of that confidence.
Nevertheless, let us ask: do we walk in that confidence? Can God trust us to endure? Are we confident in Him? Unfortunately, fight or flight has become our natural response to pain. If we were Jesus, we would try to save ourselves in an instant. We should know that it is truly not our responsibility to save ourselves, but still, overwhelmed by that unbearable pulsating feeling, we become blind to what is truly taking place. We ignore what we have been told and we rely on our natural instincts; we perceive the pain to be too much to bear, as if we truly know our limitations. We scratch and claw at anything that appears to be alleviation. Drugs, alcohol, food, work, entertainment, sex. Unsurprisingly, everything that falls under the umbrella of sin, we now utilize as pain killers, distractions from reality. The more we use, the more we abuse, the more addicted we become, the further we detach from reality, the further we stray from God. Boredom is just the beginning of a spiritual battle.
We are children in relation to God. We behave as children; we cry as children; our perception to reality is childlike. Our tolerance to pain, to hunger, to discipline; childish. We are only humans, true, but even our understanding of humanity is limited to our lowly understanding for God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.[ii] Disobedient, stiff-necked, and proud; foolish. We have fled the domain of our Father, and in his absence, we have basked in immaturity and ignorance.
Throughout the story of Christ, demons, and Satan himself, admonished Jesus. Whether they knew it or not, their acknowledgment of Him affirms the power invested in Him.
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him” (Matt. 4:1-11).
Christ never used His power to save Himself, but He did use it to save everyone else. As the creator of all life, all life belongs to God, Jesus’ life included. So, “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”[iii] Avoiding pain is not the mission, loving our neighbor as ourselves is. Faith does not guarantee the immediate absence of pain, but it promises that it will cease.
“And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:17-38).
What is required of us is endurance. Endure the pain for it is only temporary. Stay embedded in the confidence of God. Be confident in Him for you are not powerful enough to mess up His plans for you. Pain is only temporary, but so is our attention-spans. So, we must remain fixated on God, we must continuously seek closeness to Him. We must be long-winded in our faith for “… the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.”[iv] When we tire, when we stumble, we must remain faithful. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak; watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.[v] Endure. Confidently.
[i] Isa. 7:14.
[ii] Isa. 55:8.
[iii] Luke 17:33.
[iv] Matt. 9:37.
[v] Matt. 26:4.
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