Big Idea - Why is Jesus so overwhelmed as the cross draws near? Is this just a normal fear of suffering and death - the cross was certainly a terrible way to die? Or was there more to it? And more importantly, how does Jesus deal with this grief and fear? How does His example help us when we feel overwhelmed? Finally, what does this episode tell us about His sacrifice and the great cost of our salvation?

Jesus understands our suffering, no matter how severe because His own suffering and death were extreme. In His humanity, Jesus was tempted to take a different path. Not only because of the tremendous physical suffering of the crucifixion but also because of the extreme emotional and spiritual suffering of the cross. Jesus experienced the full extent of death taking on Himself all of our guilt, and all the sorrow, grief, and brokenness of humanity. He bore the full punishment for every wrong. We really cannot fathom all that was involved nor how horrible such a death must have been. But, we get a glimpse of its horror in the face of Jesus as He sees what is coming. Jesus deals with this coming dread, not by denial, or by running away, or by finding a way to fight back - the ways we most often deal with our fears. Instead, He goes to His Father in prayer, and there He finds strength, resolve, and the peace to move forward with what He knows is the only way of salvation. The cost of our salvation is beyond what we can possibly imagine, but Jesus paid that price, even as all His friends abandon Him. Jesus shows us how to deal with our own sorrow and suffering by pressing into our Father in prayer, and there to trust in God’s goodness and commit to His plan with the assurance that it is the best. We can look back to Jesus and the cross, as an example, but even more, we should look in awe at what Jesus has done for us, He who loved us and gave Himself up for us.