We learn at a young age to stand up for our own rights. “If you don’t defend yourself, nobody else will.” Why didn’t Jesus defend himself in the Garden of Gethsemane? At any moment he could have issued a command and 10,000 angels could have come to his rescue. He could have. But he did not.
More than any other Gospel writer, John shows us Jesus’ voluntary surrender to the cross. After a night of prayer in which he said again and again, “Not my will but yours be done,” Jesus put feet to his prayers. The mob came expecting a fight. Peter’s reputation had preceded him. The “Big Fisherman” packed a punch. With clubs and torches they came, and Jesus asked, “Whom do you seek?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” came their reply. “I am . . .” Jesus answered. Ashes, ashes, they all fell down!
Though they could never have taken Jesus against his will, he had already surrendered his will to the Father. God gave him the cup of crucifixion. Jesus drank it to the dregs. What cup has God given you today? For some, today is a day of unanswered questions and unimaginable pain. What do we do? In his book, Always at Prayer, Preacher Hallock ends the final chapter with a discussion of “yielding in prayer.” As I read it I remembered Bill Pinson’s sermon in a revival at Baylor. His sermon was about one word: “Yield.” Jesus yielded his life to save ours. Now let us yield our whole lives, for the rest of our lives, to Christ.
