Year in Review - Tuesday
TODAY’S VERSE
Matthew 26:36-37
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. (NLT)
Last week, we celebrated the joy of Christmas—the night Jesus came into the world. This week, I want you to sit with Him on a very different night: the night He was betrayed, the night His path to the cross began.
It’s a dramatic shift, but here’s why—in Gethsemane, we see Jesus stripped to his rawest human vulnerability.
He faces overwhelming sorrow and distress. He knows what is coming—physical pain, emotional anguish, relational betrayal, and spiritual separation.
The name of the scene itself is striking. Gethsemane means “olive press.” Imagine groves full of trees, their fruit pressed and crushed until oil flowed. Call it poetic or divine irony, but here is the Son of God, about to be pressed and crushed under the weight of the world’s sin.
And what does He do? He goes to a familiar, quiet place to pray.
And in the pressing, his humanity is on full display—He wept, He wrestled, He prayed. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
Hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed.
Humility is what marks His prayers: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” It’s a trust that says, “God, Your will be done. Your way is better than my way. I will trust in You and not lean on my own understanding.” Gethsemane is more than a historical moment—it is a living example for every believer of how to navigate fear, sorrow, and uncertainty with surrender and faith.
Adam and Eve fail in their garden. But in this garden, Jesus shows us the power of surrender. He chooses the Father’s will over His own. He gives us the example to follow.
APPLICATION
The hallmark features of a follower of Jesus are surrender and trust. Jesus gives us the ultimate example of that and then invites us to do the same. What is one area He is inviting you to surrender and trust today?
PRAYER
Father, I want to pray like Jesus prayed. I want to trust like Jesus trusted. But often it is hard for me to fully surrender. Help me loosen my grip and to honestly say, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
