What I am about to do is challenge what you think you know about our Lords famous prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here is the part of the prayer I wish to address; Luk 22:42 "Father, if you want to, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, let, not my will, but yours take place.” The only explanation for Jesus words I have ever heard have been to say our Lord was asking his Father to somehow remove what he was about to go through. The Watchtower holds that our Lord was wishing to not disgrace Jehovah's name, and this was the cup he requested to be removed from him, but is this so? While most of Christendom simply say this event shows Jesus human nature in fear of the events he knew were about to transpire, and a desire to somehow avoid what was to come, but is this so? What I am about to do is to dispel both and all of these explanations! The first thing I am going to say is this, our Lord never once wished to circumvent our Fathers will, and in fact I am going to share with you a couple of times he emphatically resisted any thought to escaping his fate! Mth 16:21-23 "From that time forward, Jesus began explaining to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised up. At this Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying: “Be kind to yourself, Lord; you will not have this happen to you at all.” But turning his back, he said to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think, not God’s thoughts, but those of men.” As well; Jhn 18:11 "Jesus, however, said to Peter: “Put the sword into its sheath. Should I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” So what I am about to do is to take a stand, and draw a line in the sand, and say that there is no way our Lord prayed for his Father to remove any of the events that were about to occur, and instead I will offer you an alternative frame of mind for our Lords prayer. Jesus felt that he had accomplished all his father had willed for him to do up to that evening, and was ready to fully accomplish his Fathers will by offering his life for mankind. Never, not even once did our Lord waver, or question this fate he was destined to accomplish! This cup he requested his Father to remove was the cup of blood, his life force, that cup that contains our Lords soul! Luk 22:20 "This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf." What I understand our Lord to be saying is, he prayed for his Father to pour out that cup of blood, his life force in behalf of mankind, but not by his will, for if there were still things Jehovah wanted him to accomplish, he was willing to do them, if he hadn't completed his Fathers will then he was still willing to do so, whatever that might be, but ultimately he was ready to now finish his destiny by offering his perfect life in behalf of mankind! Our Lord sweated blood because he was so focused on doing his Fathers will that he didn't want a single thought or action to detract him from accomplishing his Fathers will! Luk 22:44 "But he was in such agony that he kept praying more earnestly; and his sweat became as drops of blood falling to the ground." The more I have prayed to understand my Lord Christ Jesus, and the more I have prayed to understand his relationship with our Father, I have been blessed to understand how dedicated our Lord was to not only us, but to Jehovah, and I publicly thank them from the inner most parts of my heart and soul for that opportunity to know them ever so much more! Thank you Jehovah, and our Lord Christ Jesus!
Very very interesting. I must meditate deeply on it to understand your point of view, but your reasoning seems worthy of study. There are so many teachings that we have accepted from the Watchtower, now it seems that we must start over from scratch.
No one was responding to this post, and I knew why, no one knew what to think about it...lol I knew it was going to take some serious contemplation to work through it. It started with me a few months back, I just kept thinking about it, and it didn't sit well with me, the idea that our Lord hesitated just wasn't sitting well after everything else he said. Then after I wrote the post here: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, the whole idea that our Lord was trying to avoid the events to come really didn't make sense at all, and if you read every statement from him about his foreknowledge of the events to occur, he always said thoughts of him avoiding his manner of death were Satan's thoughts, not Gods. I finally came to the conclusion that from everything I have learned about our Lord, what I posted above is the only possible frame of mind our Lord had at that moment. He was praying that his Father take his life in behalf of mankind, and that understanding has greatly added to my faith, and my love for him, and our Father. He never once strayed from the focus of doing his Fathers will, for us!
You know, it's interesting that when someone teaches Jesus was showing his human side by desiring not to suffer what was to come, this is basically saying Jesus was not perfect. This understanding is everything against what our Lord was, because conversely, he was a perfect servant to Jehovah. In reality Jesus perfectly accomplished his Fathers will. He was perfect in every way, in every thought, and in every desire. What I am saying is Jesus never even had a single indecent thought. That's the perfect we are talking about here. We're talking about a perfect in which there wasn't even a single moment in his life he ever even considered doing anything other then Jehovah's will. If Christendom tells there followers that Jesus was fearful, or doubted, or hesitated, then that makes it okay for them to sin. To say even Jesus made a single error, how much more so is it okay for them? To say Jesus words "Take this cup from me" meant what he was about to go through, makes Jesus imperfect, and invalidates everything he was, and everything he stood for, and the very reason he came to earth. In fact what I'm saying is that if Jesus was asking his father to keep him from having to go through what he was about to, then that would have meant Jesus failed, and in no way did that happen! I have come to understand through my continued study of our Lord that not only is that not the case, but our Lord was the exact opposite, and perfect means there wasn't a single moment he deviated from his Fathers will, not even a single thought in a single moment. Can you imagine that? I can't, and you know why, because we are not perfect... All love...
For fifty years I was told to love Jehovah and his son. I thought I was loving them, but it was abstract. I was thinking that for Jehovah, my love wasn't matter because I am so imperfect. Little time before coming to know Robert King, I was wondered why Jehovah do help me and answer my prayers. During my life, in four occasions I saw God's hand and he directly answered to some prayers of mine. Maybe one day I will tell here what happened in my life, these are things I never told anyone, especially because we were taught that God no longer intervenes directly in human affairs today, so who could believe me? When I think about what happened, I'm shivering. Now I know that he has a design for me. In these past three years I learned to love Jehovah, that kind of love that which makes you bounce your heart and tightens your stomach, a kind of love that I never learned before. These last months, I thought very much about Jesus Christ and what he done for us. In the Organization, you don't learn to love Jesus. Yes, they talk about him, but only as a mediator for the 144'000 (not for the others!) or the one thanks to whom we can approach God through prayer, that is to say, we must simply say at the end of the prayer "in the name of Jesus, amen"; this phrase resembles a leitmotiv deprived of meaning by dint of being repeated, much like the Catholics say "Ave Maria" or "Our father who is in heaven…"; JW's say it without thinking of the meaning of these words. When a Watchtower speaks about Jesus' sacrifice, It seems that Jesus did only what he had to do, there is little recognition about what he done that transpires from the writings of the Society. All the glory is given to Jehovah. Of course, we must give glory to Jehovah, but Jesus has done very much: he accepted to go down on earth, become a man, be tested to the limits of endurance, be insulted, be nailed and die in horrible suffering, all to defend his father and refute the accusations of the devil. He could have chosen to stay in heaven, after all! So, every time I am reading something about what Jesus has done for us, my heart fills with gratitude. It happened to me to have said directly to Jesus, I love you. I don't think I am sinning when I do this. It makes me joyful to read your sentences: "Jesus never even had a single indecent thought. That's the perfect we are talking about here. We're talking about a perfect in which there wasn't even a single moment in his life he ever even considered doing anything other then Jehovah's will." I think you are right, Jesus couldn't ask his father "remove this cup from me", meaning that he wanted not to die and not to do his father's will. Jesus wanted to do the things for which he was sent to earth. Thank you very much Joshua for the job you do.
Isn't it amaizing when we start to focus on our Lord, and realizing the kind of relationship he has with his Father, and how they share the exact same intentions? The reason Jesus is perfect is because he is exactly like Jehovah, and I mean in every way! He is identical, a mirror image in purpose and intent! There is only one trait Jesus doesn't share with his Father, and that is his creation. Therefore even while on earth Jesus thought Gods thoughts, every single moment. I very much appreciate you sharing your experiences above, it means a lot to me, and I appreciate the work you have done in translating. Who knows, maybe we are together here for Jehovah's purpose for the time the end, we'll see, and present ourselves to do his will if called upon. One of the things I have understood less then anything else in scripture has been Jehovah's relationship with Jesus, and I have endeavored to understand it more, and studies like this one has done more for understanding that relationship then I could have ever imagined. I am so grateful they have answered my prayers to allow me to peer into their relationship... As I understand our Father and Lords relationship more, I have come to understand more how I should approach them in prayer. Yes we should address our Father in prayer, but theirs certainly nothing wrong with thanking our Lord as well. I wouldn't say we should address our prayers to Jesus in any way, for he told us how we should pray, but certainly there's nothing wrong with a quick thank you... We are just following our Lords direction by addressing his Father in prayer. Our heart condition is what matters... Thank you brother so much for your service to our Fathers kingdom, and thank you for being here. I love all my brothers, and especially brothers like you who truly love our Father and our Lord deeply. My words here will not, and cannot express that to you enough. I believe we are here together along with our peers for a purpose. We all have our own skills, and no doubt may become useful in the time of the end. Let us continue to explore the Word, and come together here in fellowship, in order to wait for our Lords arrival...