The meaning and theology of Jesus's prayer in the garden of Gethsemane : (Mk 14: 32-42; Mt 26: 36-46; Lk 22: 40-46)

Abstract

Jesus' Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane is the theme I shall be dealing with in my dissertation. I will try to investigate the theological value as well as the meaning this Prayer has within the three Synoptic Gospels. Moreover, in my work I shall examine closely Jesus' reaction before suffering and His readiness to accept His destiny as long as it complied with the will of the Father. Taking Mark's Gospel as a starting point and, rightfully, I must say, since his was the first to be composed and must have therefore served as a source for the other two Gospels, we encounter a Jesus who has been plunged into the traumatic knowledge of His own weakness. In His Prayer, He begs the Father to be delivered from the hour and the cup, yet these prayers are not granted. Rather, it seems that God hands Him over to the sinners. At the very last moments Jesus gathers His disciples to help Him face Judas and his followers in spite of the sad experience of their sleeping and the realisation that they are not ready to face the trial as yet. The Marcan Jesus who is confronted with the trial does so, in obedience to the will of the Father, but not without a taste of suffering or without the sense of standing alone, lacking both human companionship and any visible help from God in this struggle. [...]