Jesus Prayed to Obey

What Did Jesus Do?

Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.
Mark 14.36

When a prayer begins, “Abba, Father…”it’s somehow different from one that might begin, “LORD God of Hosts…” Oh, he’s the same One who is prayed to, but there’s something different suggested about the relationship to God of one who prays to “Abba” and one who prays to the “LORD God.” For Abba is the Aramaic equivalent of “Daddy.” There is an affectionate intimacy to such a prayer.

Jesus loved life, and he certainly was not eager for his to end. The thought of death was offensive to him, it wasn’t at all part of the Father’s plan. Sin and the Fall, the result of Satan’s cunning and human ambition and disobedience, had caused death to despoil God’s creation. And now death wanted to claim the Son of God as its greatest victim.

Surely there must be some other way to defeat Satan, bring an end to sin, and destroy death? The Lord knew that nothing was impossible for his Father. Perhaps there was some other means of satisfying the debt for the sins of the world than shedding the blood of the Son? It was unbearably bitter for Jesus even to think about having to drink that cup of suffering.

But there was one thing the Son delighted in even more than life itself, and that was to do the will of his Father. Obedience and death was infinitely more pleasant a prospect for Jesus to contemplate than disobedience and life. Coupled with his delight in obeying the Father was the Son’s knowledge of the Father’s love, and his trust in the Father’s every word. The Son’s obedience was neither grim resignation to his fate, nor slavish submission to a cold and cruel master, rather it was the outgrowth of his love for, and trust in, Abba, the Father, and as such the ultimate expression of filial piety. Jesus well knew that “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1Samuel 15.22), but for him to sacrifice was to obey. And to disobey Abba whose love he had known for eternity was unthinkable.

And so the Son did not endlessly and shamelessly beg the Father; neither did he demand the Father spare him. In the end, for his prayer, as with all of his life, obedience was the bottom line for Jesus. What about us? What is the “bottom line” of our relationship with God? It will likely be quite different from that of Jesus if we only know our Creator as “LORD God” and not as “Abba.” But if the one we pray to is “Abba, Father” to pray is to be committed to obey. That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4