Anguish and Christ's Passion

Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death..." -Mt. 26:38

The night that Judas planned to betray Jesus, He went to a garden to pray. Of all the places to go on the night before you will be murdered, Jesus went to a garden. And, of all the things to do, He went to pray. When He got there, He took Peter, James, and John aside and basically told them, "Guys, my heart is killing me right now. I feel absolutely horrible inside. I feel like I'm gonna die." And then He walked away, just leaving them there.

That's weird. He didn't ask for any input. He didn't stick around for them to console Him. He didn't even elaborate why He was feeling so terrible. He just walked away. Why did Jesus tell them He was deeply grieved to the point of death, then leave them there? Jesus wanted His disciples to see what to do when they were in total anguish. When they felt like they were going to die. When they didn't want to do what they knew they had to do.

So, what did He do? Jesus walked a little further and "fell on His face and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." Jesus was in total anguish, so He fell on His face in prayer. In His prayer, He was brutally honest with the way He felt, but in the end, He committed Himself to God.

What do I do when I am in total anguish? When I feel absolutely horrible inside? Do I fall on my face in prayer? Am I brutally honest? Do I commit myself to God? This Easter season, I praise God that Jesus went to the cross, despite the total anguish He had to endure along the way.