The Weight of the Path

READ 
Matthew 26:36-38 
 

CONSIDER 
Jesus enters the garden and immediately feels "sorrowful and troubled." This grief is no sign of weakness. Instead, it reveals the reality of the human nature he takes on for us.  

Jesus, as God in human form, lives with two perfect natures—divine and human. As such, he feels the crushing weight of the coming hours. "Grief to the point of death" is the weight of the world’s sin pressing against a perfectly holy heart. 

God the Father is faithful. He gives His Son, Jesus, the strength to keep going through the heaviness of this moment. It’s like that with us, too. God's grace does not always remove sorrow; often, it sustains the traveler through it.  

Additionally, as we see in this passage, in His grace, God provides travel companions for these difficult journeys. Jesus, himself, invites his closest disciples into his grief.  
 

REFLECT 
Have you ever wondered if Jesus truly wanted the cross? Look closely at this sorrow. Jesus knows your pain because He felt it too.  
 
Can you recall a time when a burden of obedience felt physically crushing? If you have, you can relate to not wanting that weight. Sometimes, God removes it when we ask. Sometimes, though, God says no, because his will is to crush you, just like it was his will to crush his Son for the sake of the world’s salvation (Isaiah 53:10).  
 

PRAY 
Lord Jesus, thank You for the honesty of Your grief. Help me stay awake with you when my own heart feels the heavy cost of following. Amen.