Mark 14:36 And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." (NKJV)
John 17 is truly an amazing passage to me and one in which the Holy Spirit continually brings to remembrance. I will never fully comprehend the depth of unity Jesus spoke of which He had with His Father and the Father with Him. A unity that is perfect, pure, unhindered and undiluted in its intimacy, yet one in which He prayed that EVERY believer would have with one another and with Himself.
Taking this into account, what we read about in Mark 14 shows us that we have a Savior absolutely acquainted with all of our ways¹. He loved His Father, did nothing independently nor outside of His Father’s will, yet He did not want to take the “cup” that the Father was giving to Him. We are fairly detached, being only an outside observer, of the wrestling that took place in the garden of Gethsemane. It can even be hard to imagine when we read about Jesus sweating great drops of blood.
We know the work of the cross was accomplished when Jesus said, “It is finished,” yet the victory came before-hand, when He said in the garden “nevertheless.” Just a reminder...in case you’re wrestling in agony with a “cup” that you’ve been handed. It’s ok to wrestle, as long as our heart bows in submission to the same word of victory. Then, like Jesus...after the cross, will come the power of His resurrection. “For the joy that was set before Him, He endured...”
¹Ps. 139:3
