“Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
Jesus was fully human and had to deal with all of the things we face. Nobody in their right mind would look forward to death, much less death on a cross, and Jesus is no exception. On more than one occasion He must face His duty to the Father and choose to do that which He does not want to do (Mt 4:8-10; Mt 26:39).
Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
“what shall I say?” = Jesus finds Himself in distress and wonders aloud which prayer He should offer to God. Should He ask for deliverance since He is facing very tough times? No, that thought was never really an option for Him. Morris notes that it may have been of importance that He used the word “say” instead of “choose” because there was never any question as to whether Jesus would do the will of the Father or not. This is a hypothetical prayer that gives us insight into the fact that Jesus was tempted just as we are but was without sin.
What do we do when we are faced with difficult circumstances? Do we automatically ask God for deliverance from those circumstances or do we first check with Him to see what He wants us to do? Is it always God’s will to deliver us from difficult circumstances? It wasn’t so with Jesus. Sometimes God may want to say to us, “No, it was for this very reason that you are in these circumstances.”
The saints of old were not delivered from all their troubles. Joseph had his prison; Isaac did not get to bless the son he wanted to bless; Moses did not get to enter the promised land. The faith chapter of Hebrews says the faithful people of God were not seeking earthly things, but instead heavenly and that pleased God (Heb 11:13-16). And it is not just Old Testament saints who were not deliverd from all their bad circumstances. Paul was stoned, beaten, flogged, shipwrecked, imprisoned, starved, and eventually killed (2 Cor 11:24-27). He also had some kind of fleshly torment from which God refused to deliver him (2 Cor 12:7-9). Of all the disciples, only John was delivered from a horrible death. The others were all tortured to death for their faith. God allowed them to go through these hard circumstances without delivering them because it was best for that to happen. Yes, God delivers, and yes, God heals, but Trophimus was left sick in Miletus and Epaphroditus almost died of an illness while serving the Lord (Php 2:25-30).
Hebrews 11:13-16 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
2 Corinthians 11:24-27 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Philippians 2:25-30 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honour men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
What this all means is that you should not always seek the easy way out because sometimes that is not the best way. Sometimes God has a better plan for you than what you think, and His desire may be that you, along with Jesus, will say, “what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” How will you know what to do? Ask Him before assuming you know all the answers.
On a side note, I believe that if we have enough faith and persistence in prayer, then God will go ahead and deliver us from our bad circumstances even though He desires for us to go through them. Don’t steal God’s sovereignty. Let God be God and let Him decide what you must go through.
Barclay notes that real courage is not being unafraid, but instead, being afraid and yet still doing that which ought to be done. Jesus is here exhibiting real courage. As Bengel commented, “Here there met the horror of death and the ardour of obedience.”