When the Weight Falls on Jesus
May 10 | Rick Thiemke
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Luke 22:39-71
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 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 pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
47 While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called 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 with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant 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 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 I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
Peter Denies Jesus
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus Is Mocked
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
Jesus Before the Council
66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, 67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
As Jesus leaves the upper room, He goes (as was His custom) to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples follow Him (verse 39). He tells them to pray so that they would not enter into temptation (verse 40). Already, the tone is set. What is coming will require dependence on the Father. Then Jesus withdraws a short distance, kneels and begins to pray (verse 41). We are about to witness intense suffering. It is a window into the very heart of His mission.
Jesus Bears the Weight
Jesus prays, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done” (verse 42). The “cup” is not vague. Throughout Scripture, it is the cup of God’s judgment (Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15). Jesus is looking directly at what He is about to bear. He does not minimize it. He brings His real desire before the Father; yet, He entrusts Himself fully to the Father’s will.
An angel appears to strengthen Him and, in deep agony, He prays more earnestly, His sweat becoming like drops of blood (verses 43-44). This is the weight of what He is stepping into. Paul later writes, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus is not only anticipating physical suffering, He is bearing the full burden of sin and judgment in our place.
This is where salvation is being accomplished. The obedient Son does what Adam failed to do, submitting His will fully to the Father (Romans 5:19). He carries what we could never carry. He chooses the cup, so that we might receive mercy. Hebrews tells us that, in the days of His flesh, He offered up prayers with loud cries and tears (Hebrews 5:7). That is what we are seeing here.
Jesus Meets Us in Weakness
When Jesus rises from prayer, He finds the disciples sleeping, exhausted from sorrow (verse 45). They have been told to pray, yet they cannot stay awake. Jesus gently confronts them and again calls them to pray, so that they would not enter into temptation (verse 46).
Their weakness is not hidden. It is exposed. And yet Jesus does not walk away from them. He remains with them even as they fail.
This is where we see ourselves. In moments of pressure, we often grow weary, distracted or overwhelmed. Yet, the same Jesus who bore the weight of salvation is the One who meets us in that weakness. Hebrews reminds us that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because of this, we are invited to draw near with confidence to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
Jesus not only accomplishes salvation for us. He walks with us in our lives now. He teaches us to bring our desires honestly before the Father and to entrust ourselves to Him. James tells us that when we suffer, we should pray (James 5:13). That is the path Jesus Himself walked.
In this passage, we see both the depth of what Jesus has done and the nearness of His presence with us. He bears the weight we could not carry, and He meets us in the places where we are weak. And in Him, we learn to pray, to trust and to follow.
Discussion Questions
Where in your life right now do you feel the weight of something you do not want to face, and what would it look like to bring that honestly to the Father like Jesus did (verse 42)?
In what ways do you see yourself in the disciples or Peter, drifting, growing distant or trying to manage pressure on your own, and how might Jesus be inviting you to return to Him?
How can you begin to practice preparing in prayer before pressure comes, and what would it look like this week to draw near to Jesus and receive His mercy and strength (verse 40; Hebrews 4:16)?