Jesus customs & habits

Luke 22: 39-46

Have you ever given thought to Jesus having customs or habits, often I forget He was all man and all God, and when He was tempted by the devil it was a full court press on His manhood.  One of His customs was to go to the Mount of Olives for time alone with His Father, but this time He took the twelve disciples and used it as a teaching time with them.  Do you recall that when they came to the Mount of Olives Jesus told the twelve, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation?”

It was not that long ago I would have assumed anyone reading this would know the meaning of temptation, but that is not the time we live in.  Today I was at What-A-Burger and ordered a biscuit with eggs and sausage and it cost $3.15 and before I could tell the young lady I would give her $5:15, she had put the five dollars as the amount and did not know how to give me back $2.00  That should make my point, in that she was in high school but maybe it is just grammar and not math they are learning; anyway let me define the word temptation.  Temptation: “a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.”

Dr. Luke shares with us that Jesus withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”  From before Creation Jesus was fully aware of this date, it was not just the man, but also the Son of God who knew that He would take on your sins and mine, and that the Father would not be able to look on His Son.  That one fact is beyond my understanding, and most of us spend our time thinking about the physical suffering that Christ was aware of and I have no doubt it was in His mind also.  The Father and the Son (Jesus) are one, they had always been one and Jesus knew on that day, the day He took on our sins, the Father would not be with Him.

Have you given thought to the power we would have as Christians if we had the attitude of Christ, in these seven words; “not my will, but yours be done?”  God’s will before ours, ask any church goer and most, if honest, would tell you they want God to be willing to let them have want they want when they want it, and want that to be His will.  It’s called a God like granddad on granddad’s best day of giving in to our wants.  It is also called disaster and God is too loving and good to do so, unless that is what is needed to change our direction.

Now Jesus was not having a normal prayer time, listen to what has been recorded; “And 

there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony 

he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to 

the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping 

for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may 

not enter into temptation.”  (Luke 22:43-46 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice