1. The Prayer at Gethsemane

2. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke give us the
parallel descriptions of the desperate prayer of Jesus
when he took his closest disciples to Gethsemane to
pray just prior to being betrayed and taken to be
crucified.
Traditionally and still the predominant opinion about this
moment is that it portrays Jesus' desire to avoid the pain,
whether physical or spiritual, or the crucifixion, and
escape death out of human weakness
But could the man who taught that “those who seek to
keep their lives will lose, and those who seek to lose their
lives will keep it,” and “what will it profit a man if he gains
the whole world and loses his soul?”, actually have any
fear of any type of threat to his own life?

3. The Discovery of Rev. Sun Myung
Moon about Jesus' Prayer
In a speech titled The New Future of Christianity, given on 09/18/1974, the
Rev. Sun Myung Moon stated that:
“In our ignorance, we Christians have missed the true spirit of Jesus' prayer in
the Garden of Gethsemane. There he told his disciples:
'My soul is very sorrowful even to death; remain here and watch with me.'
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed. 'My father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt.'
(Matt. 26:28-39)
He prayed this way not once, but three times. He was sorrowful even to death.
Many int eh Christian world suppose jesus prayed this way out of human
weakness, shrinking from his mission of dying on the cross.”
“Nothing can be farther from the truth!”

4. Christian Martyrs
“Under Roman tyrants hundreds of thousands
of Christians were martyred. They never said,
'Please let this cup pass from me.'”

5. Peter before his own Crucifixion
“Simon Peter, when he
was himself about to be
crucified, told his
persecutors, 'I am not
worthy to die in the same
manner as my Lord. Do
me a favor! Crucify me
upside down.' Even he
did not say, 'Please let
this cup pass from me.'”

6. Stephen before his own martyrdom
“When Stephen, the
first Christian martyr,
was being stoned to
death, he did not say,
'Let this cup pass from
me.' Rather, he died
peacefully, praying for
his tormentors.”

7. Even Patriotic Heroes
“Such bravery is not limited to
the Bible, Nathan Zzhale, a
young officer captured in the
American Revolutionary War,
said as he was about to be
hanged, 'I only regret that I
have but one life to give for
my country.' He did not say,
'Please let this cup pass from
me.'”

8. Jesus is the Absolutely Fearless
Leader of the Christian world
“Do you suppose that the Messiah, the Son of God, was
weaker than all these people-- especially if you think he came
for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for world salvation?
No. Were that the case, he would be unqualified as a Messiah.
We have not understood the Lord Jesus.
The prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was not uttered out
of any selfish concern or fear of death. Jesus Christ, our Lord,
was ready to die a thousand times over if that were the only
way to bring about the salvation of humanity.”

9. Then why did Jesus prayed to
his Heavenly Father to let the
cup pass from him?

10. Reasons for Jesus' Prayer
“Jesus concern was for his mission. He grieved at
the suffering of his Heavenly Father. He was in
turmoil because he could foresee the terrible
consequences of his crucifixion. Jesus knew well
that his crucifixion was not God's ultimate will. He
knew his death would postpone the realization of
the Kingdom of Heaven another 2,000 years, and
that in the meantime humanity would suffer
greatly.”

11. Reasons for Jesus' Prayer
“He knew that millions of future followers
would have to suffer, shedding their blood
and being martyred as he had been. He
knew Israel would be forsaken and desolate.
And most of all, he had hoped to bring
victory and glorious fulfillment to his Father's
throne in heaven, not to return alone through
the crucifixion. He had hoped for a
triumphant homecoming.”

12. Reasons for Jesus' Prayer
“So in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus
made his final desperate plea to God: 'Even
at this late hour, is there any possible wa
that I can remain on earth to fulfill my
mission?' If we are to become true followers
of Christ, we must fathom the grief and
anguish that Jesus Christ suffered.”

13. Now if you adhere to traditional understanding of the mission of Jesus you must be thinking that Jesus did
fulfill the Heavenly Father's will of dying on the cross for the sins of all people. But, If that is correct, why did
Jesus throughout his ministry only looked for ways to make people believe in him, not for people to oppose
him. In fact, he tried to show those who opposed him that they were wrong. In fact when someone asked him
in John 6:28... What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto
them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
I asked many people when I share God's word with them, what would they have done if they were the one
being addressed by Jesus and they decide to believe in him. The vast majority answer without hesitation that
they would not have crucified Jesus.

14. In a prior section of the speech given by Rev. Moon he says just
as we Christians of today would not want to crucify the returning
Lord, the Israelites of Jesus' time were not looking to crucify the
Messiah they had been prepared to receive by God for 4,000
years. Then if they had recognized who Jesus was, “would they
still have had to crucify him.?” asks, Rev. Moon. Obviously, no.
Therefore, If God had prepared the people of Israel to receive
Jesus and Jesus himself worked to have people believe in him,
then what went wrong?

15. If you would like to find the answer to this
question and a transcript of Rev. Moon's
speech please contact me at:
moralesffwp@gmail.com
Pedro Morales