The scene at the garden in Gethsemane has created a host of theological speculation. Why does Jesus ask for God to let “this cup” pass? Some have suggested that this is Jesus in his real humanity. Even though he was Son of God and knew what glories lay ahead, he also knew what agonies he would have to go through. In the garden we see him wrestling with the pain and dreading the cost of Good Friday. Others have suggested that Jesus is not trying to get out of the cross, but asking the Father to delay so that more work can be done in preparation. Others hone in on that moment when Jesus cries out from the cross—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” What Jesus dreads is not the pain of the crucifixion but the agony of separation for the first time from his heavenly Father. It is clear that Jesus knows the price of going forward and is willing to pay that price—and chooses to obey. All the while the disciples are sleeping as if nothing is happening around them. This is one of the mos
