THE LORD'S VICTORY IN PRAYER

Passage: Luke 22:39-53

Key verse: 42

NIV

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives(A)

39 Jesus went out as usual(B) to the Mount of Olives,(C) and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”(D) 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down(E) and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup(F) from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”(G) 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.(H) 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]

45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”(I)

Jesus Arrested(J)

47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”(K) 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard,(L) and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts,(M) and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour(N)—when darkness reigns.”(O)

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Luke 22:44 Many early manuscripts do not have verses 43 and 44.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

39 (A)And he came out and went, (B)as was his custom, to (C)the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 (D)And when he came to (E)the place, he said to them, (F)“Pray that you may not (G)enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and (H)knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, (I)“Father, if you are willing, remove (J)this cup from me. (K)Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him (L)an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And (M)being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.[a] 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and (N)pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 (O)While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called (P)Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike (Q)with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant[b] of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and (R)officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When (S)I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is (T)your hour, and (U)the power of darkness.”

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Luke 22:44 Some manuscripts omit verses 43 and 44
  2. Luke 22:50 Or bondservant
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Victory in prayer (39-46) The disciples followed Jesus to the Mount of Olives, where he instructed them to pray so that they would not fall into temptation. Then, our Lord knelt down and shared the greatest example of such prayer. The weight of the cross was weighing on our Lord's heart and he was tempted to avoid it. As he struggled in prayer, Jesus placed his request before his loving Father. Was there any way this intense suffering could be avoided? As he continued in prayer, though, Jesus submitted to the Father's will saying, "yet not my will, but yours be done." After the angel strengthened him, he prayed even more fervently. Following our Lord's example, we can overcome temptation by praying until our Father's will becomes our own. When Jesus went back to the disciples, he found them sleeping and exhausted from sorrow. This was because they didn't pray like he did. 2. Jesus is arrested (47-53) While Jesus overcame temptation, no one else did. Judas betrayed the One who had loved him with a kiss and the disciples reacted to the mob by grabbing their swords and reacting with violence. The religious leaders and the crowd came out to arrest the greatest Bible teacher ever with clubs and swords as though he was leading some sort of rebellion. It truly was an hour where darkness reigned.

Prayer: Father, help us to pray for your will to be done.

One Word: Not my will, but yours