Read Matthew 26:36-39 + John 18:1-11 in your personal Bible or at the link provided.
Review
1. What “cup” did Jesus mention in both Matthew and John?
2. Who did Jesus surrender to?
3. Read Luke 22:49-51. What did Jesus do for the injured man?
Reflect
Jesus, knowing what He was about to face, brought His distress, fear and sorrow to God. In asking for the “cup” to be removed, He wasn’t being disobedient – He was being honest about the suffering He had to face. Yet in His great obedience to God, He surrendered to the Father’s will. Jesus said that the cup, a metaphor for God’s righteous judgment against sin, was given to Him by God.
While Judas the betrayer, the Roman soldiers, and the religious leaders arrested Jesus, everything that happened to Him was part of God’s plan. God the Father has control over our world, and He can use even the sins that we commit to bring redemption. It was through the cross, a humiliating method of execution, that Jesus paid the due penalty for our rebellion against God.
Jesus obeyed His Father and suffered on the cross out of His unending love for the world and for you. When Peter tried to take matters into his own hands with the sword, Jesus gently corrected him and graciously healed the man Peter injured. Jesus knew that God’s way was the only way worth following. Do you?
Respond
Think about a time when you took matters into your own hands. What was the result? Who or what did you put your trust in: God, yourself, your material possession? What would it look like for you to trust in God’s plan and control in every area of your life?