There are many times when it’s just best for us not to know the future. Yet, Jesus was fully aware of how God intended to redeem this world from its rebellion and sin. God’s plan is so scandalous (that the Father was willing to sacrifice his Son) that Jesus asks for another way. There is no other way and Jesus is resolute in his determination to move forward.
There are many times when it’s just best for us not to know the future. Yet, Jesus was fully aware of how God intended to redeem this world from its rebellion and sin. God’s plan is so scandalous (that the Father was willing to sacrifice his Son) that Jesus asks for another way. There is no other way and Jesus is resolute in his determination to move forward.
Are we there yet? Only God knows how many kids have asked that question as they sat in car seats, pounding Cheerios and only God knows how many eye-rolls parents have done when they hear the question for the 16th time that minute. Instant gratification is already there in a 3-year-old. It’s not just an American phenomenon. By nature, we like to take the path of least resistance. If there is a way to shortcut pain and get pleasure, we take it. If there’s a way to be a crossless Christian, we long for it. We, the unwilling, want shortcuts to glory, but our willing God didn’t follow such shortcuts. Jesus took the "long" way and it changed everything for you and me. Remember there was a plot that Satan commenced in the Garden of Eden, a plot to trip up Jesus through wilderness temptations, a plot to scandalize you and that plot revolved around one logistical plan: To tempt Jesus to give up on God’s plan and take a sinful shortcut. You and I have the same plan set against us: To give up on God’s plan, to take our own shortcuts, and to refuse God’s plan for our lives.
This was the plan that the devil was pressing hard as Jesus pressed his face to the dirt. Last week, we heard how Satan had convinced Judas to betray Jesus for all of 30 silver coins. Now, Jesus and his disciples have come to this place called the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had often taken them there for prayer. This was a special place. But for Jesus, it felt lonely that night. It’s here that we see the most clearly how Jesus empathizes with our pain and our sorrow. With knees burrowing into the ground, his face sweating profusely as if blood was streaming down, his tears working their way down the lines of his tightened face. His human nature staring down what’s to come: a bloody, ripped apart back, the emotional trauma of desertion from his closest friends, the spitting, the punching, the nailing. He trembled. As the sinless perfect Son of God, he saw when he would experience the cold shoulder of his heavenly Father, abandoning him to endure the hell-agony that we deserve. Satan of course was there in that Garden, tempting Jesus much the same as in the wilderness, “Jesus, find another way. You shouldn’t have to go through all of that. If you are the Son of God, you can avoid this suffering, find a shortcut, come up with another plan, and forget about the Father’s will.”
Have you and I been tempted to find shortcuts in our own crosswalk? The ability to say no to yourself is one of the most difficult and important things for a child of God to do. As children, we want a faster trip to Disney. As teens, we want an easy route to popularity and not being left out. As young adults, we want to achieve greatness quickly and easily, or find community in an instant. In adulthood, we want shortcuts to stay relevant, to stay active, to keep control. In our older years, we want instant pain relief and peace of mind. We want immediate gratification. If we desire something, the sinful nature says, “You deserve it, if you want it, get it!” “You can be a Christian and avoid suffering, if that’s your desire, make it happen!” “After all, it’s going against every fiber of your natural being to walk down a road filled with slivers and thorns willingly.”
This was Satan’s plan throughout Jesus’ ministry. We saw it in Luke 13. Pharisees come up to Jesus, not out of care for him, but to get rid of him. They say to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” In other words, “Jesus, be rational, nobody goes to a place where their safety is at risk. Stay away from our stomping grounds.” Are you hearing echoes of the devil’s temptations for Jesus? “God will provide another way, Jesus. Take the shortcut that avoids suffering and the cross. Say no to suffering and yes to self.”
Can you think of a time in your life when you knew what you had to do, but you had this craving to avoid it? Maybe it was a conversation with your boss about how you were being treated. Maybe as a soldier or police officer, knowing you were about to walk into a battlefield or crime scene where your health would be at serious risk? Maybe it was talking with your child about a sinful choice they’ve made, trembling at the thought that they might cut themselves off from you. God places us in moments, with people, in conversations, that we’d rather avoid. We see Satan’s plan as he tempts us, “Choose self, say no to suffering.” We want to be Christians according to our terms, and when God places before us a cup filled with potential suffering, pain, and loss, we bristle at it. We’re unwilling.
As unwilling as you and I are to stare down a path littered with crosses and thorns, Jesus, our willing God, cleared the path first, to lead you and me, the unwilling to his arms. To do that, there could be no shortcuts. There was only one plan that could make our greatest dream a reality.
Look at how Jesus demonstrates his sheer determined love for you as he prays with tears rolling, voice raising, with every bit of energy he had, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet, not my will, but yours be done.” In other words, “Father, I know what’s coming. I know this is the plan we made before we made this universe. I trust you. I know this will soon be finished, and our family will be restored. Not my will, but yours.” Jesus would take no shortcuts. God’s plan would happen. Victory for you and me would be complete.
If you are staring down the path the Lord has placed before you and on either side, you see emotional, physical, social, or mental pain, and you don’t want to take another step. See your Savior on his knees in the Garden. Carrying all your pain, drinking your cup of suffering down to the dregs at the bottom, remember he gets it. See his determination for you. He would not stop until he gathered you under his shadow of grace. His grace has overwhelmed you. His determined love speaks to his authenticity. His constant and complete forgiveness leads you away from shortcuts. Instead, you pick up your cross with Jesus, as he does all the carrying, while we simply walk with him.
We find the mathematical reality of Christianity: Cross=blessedness. Denying self=glory. The words of our Jesus, the one lamppost in the valley of the shadow of death known as our earthly existence, whispering to us in the stillness of suffering, “I have something far better. Just wait and see. I know waiting is hard for you. But don’t forget me. I’ve been down this road before. Follow me, forget shortcuts, remember the plan I have for you.”
You know the Word Jesus speaks to you. He has won you and me, the unwilling, through the gospel. He has opened our eyes to be willing cross-bearers, not looking for shortcuts away from suffering in his name, but walking through it, arm in arm with Jesus and with our brothers and sisters around the world who are going through similar forms of suffering. We forget shortcuts and we choose crosswalks. We pray what Jesus did, “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Maybe you feel the need to eat when you feel down, but because you know the crosswalk is so worth it, you pray, “Not my will” and say no to food and instead rely on Jesus to comfort you. Where you once felt the urge to gossip to build up your low self-image, you now say “not my will” to this temporary pride boost. Instead, you come to tears at the sight of water, reminding you of the baptismal waters that made you a friend of Jesus forever. When you once felt lost in life, wishing things were different, you find home and wholeness knowing your heavenly Father loves you. In each of those moments, there will be a sense of grief, grief that no shortcut can be had, and yet as time passes, you smile, because you know something far better. You know God has a plan for you, perfectly tailored, perfectly designed to bring you home. You know your planning God who never blinked or wavered in his determination to go to the cross. Where you and I have failed in our determination, Jesus was perfectly determined as our substitute. The Father’s plan, his will, would be done. His will for you, it’s perfect.
See Jesus here in the Garden, standing up after angels strengthen him, just like in the wilderness, his Father showing his love yet again. Jesus looks at his disciples “exhausted from sorrow.” Trying to process all the talk of Jesus’ death, and hear our Savior’s voice say, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation.” Even with all the darkness he was about to endure, he thinks of the well-being of his disciples. How great Jesus’ compassion is!
If you feel exhausted from sorrow, remember Jesus’ words, “Not my will, but yours be done.” This week as you face the crosswalk God has placed before you, make this your constant prayer. Think about God’s plan for you. He knows the plan and his plan is not to harm you, but to give you hope and a future. I know at times it may not seem like that, but remember that you know the purpose behind God’s plan. It’s that you’ll have your own “3rd day” like the one Jesus spoke of in Luke 13. Your “3rd day” is coming, when you will be raised and made more glorious than every galaxy and star. Your will couldn’t have done that, but God’s will has made sure it will. You don’t want any shortcuts, because you know this journey leads you to the event Jesus looked forward to, past the cross, past the empty tomb, the banquet where suffering will always be uninvited, and peace is all you’ll know.
Satan’s plan has failed. God’s plan for you is beyond words as he directs your life. By faith you follow, yielding to his will. As you drink life’s cup, sometimes it’s bitter, but you know after such grief, God gives relief. He is your friend. He is your Father, and someday, you’ll see all things clearly, and one truth will stand above it all as God’s plan will lay unfolded before your eyes. You’ll smile because you’ll see that God has always loved you dearly. Amen.