For the Third Time

Friday, April 3

Jesus prayed three separate times, “Not My Will, but Thine.” It is true that Jesus went to the cross out of love for mankind, but He also said “Yes” to the cross out of love, above all, for His Father. It was the Father’s will that His own beloved Son be crushed by the unjust hatred of men so that His Son might become a sacrificial offering to set free all who would repent and believe in Him (Isaiah 53). The Son, in Gethsemane, reaffirmed His “Yes” in humility to fulfill the Father’s rescue mission.

Even as He hung on the cross in shame and to the mocking derision of passersby, Jesus endured and drank the full cup of His suffering until it was finished. He prayed the words of Psalm 22 that open with cries of feeling the weight of evil and heaven’s abandonment. When He had the authority to summon legions of angels, He willingly accepted scorn and shame from men on the cross. Before taking His final breath and entering death, Jesus prayed words that had defined His whole incarnate life in complete surrender, love, and trust in the Father: “Into your hands, I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

Even in his suffering, Jesus knew His future. In the power of His obedient endurance, He scorned the scorn of the cross and shamed its shame (Hebrews 12:2). For Jesus also knew how Psalm 22 concluded—with the hope of resurrected life and the reward of exalting glory. He knew that in willfully drinking a shameful death in perfect love for His Father and for the salvation of mankind, His would be the triumph and victory to claim.

Father, thank you for sending and giving Your only begotten Son. Without Him, I could not be saved or enter the holiness and glory of heavenly places. Lord Jesus, thank you for enduring the scorn and shame of the cross to rescue sinners like me. You willingly surrendered to an unjust trial, mocking, derision, and painful humiliation at the hands of wicked men to see the plan of salvation through to the end. Father, Your will was forgiveness but also that I be made into a child like Your Son, Jesus. Help me, by the strength of Your Spirit, to trust and obey like Jesus in faith, hope, and love. Accept my life as a living sacrifice to be a blessing to others. Amen.

Written by Faculty Members of the Gary Cook School of Leadership at Dallas Baptist University.