JESUS PRAYS IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
Matthew 26:36-75
Key Verse: 26:39b “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
1. Why did Jesus want his disciples keep watch with him? (36-38)
2. What was Jesus’ prayer? (39) What was “the cup”? Think of his struggle in terms of the consequences of sin? (cf. Matthew 27:46, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 59:2) How did prayer prepare Jesus to face what would come?
3. Why didn’t Jesus fight when they came to arrest him? (52-55) What does his refusal to use the sword to fight show about his kingship and his kingdom? (cf. John 18:36)
4. How did Jesus respond to the false charges? (57-63) What was Jesus’ faith and glorious hope? (64)
5. Why did Peter disown Jesus? What do these events show about the power of prayer?