Hope Singapore: Greatness Of JesusSample

The Greatness of God: The Greatness of Jesus’ Obedience The hour has come for Jesus to fulfil the mission He was sent for – to die on the cross for Man. This is the last hours before His impending death; Jesus was filled with great sorrow and trouble (Matt 26:37-38). At the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus turned to the Father. He prayed, not one time but thrice. When Jesus prayed a second time, this time was different from the first. “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (Matt 26:42). In His anguish, sweat like drops of blood fell to the ground. Jesus is fully God, who is also fully man. His struggle before the crucifixion was not simply the wish to escape a physically painful death; it also involved bearing the sin of the world as well as being separated from the Father. His prayer revealed to us His terrible suffering. His agony was worse than death because He paid for all sin by being separated from His Father. The sinless Son of God took our sins upon Himself to save us from our separation from God. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:21) Inspite of His suffering, Jesus continued to trust the Father. He reaffirmed His desire to obey the Father, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death and even death on the cross," (Phil 2:8) so that will of God can be fulfilled. Sometimes we wish that we know the future, or understand the reasons for our sufferings. Jesus knew what was ahead of Him, and He knew the reason. Even so, His struggle was intense—more wrenching than any struggle we will ever have to face. Jesus’ strength to obey came from His trusting relationship with God the Father. What does it take to be able to say, “I want your will to be done”? It takes a sincere trust in God’s well-intentioned plans; it takes prayer and obedience each step of the way. REFLECTION • Jesus' obedience to God is bore out of a trusting relationship with the Father. How do you think you can trust God more today?