We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded by your direct support for ReKnew and our vision. Please consider supporting this project.
What is the significance of Matthew 26:39?
Jesus threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”
Scripture indicates that much about the life and death of Jesus Christ was foreordained and thus foreknown long before it came to pass. Given that this was the central defining event in world history, this should not surprise us. What is somewhat surprising is that in this passage Jesus very clearly pleads with the Father to change his plan at the last minute—“if it is possible.” Jesus’ request obviously could not be granted, but what is significant is the fact that Jesus made the request in the first place. For Jesus knew and had been teaching his disciples for some time that the divine plan was for him to be crucified (Matt. 12:40; 16:21; John 2:19). Yet here he is asking God the Father to change his plan “if it is possible.”
Jesus’ request makes little sense if we assume that Jesus believed that the future was exhaustively settled in God’s mind and/or that God’s plans were unalterable. His prayer reveals that even with regard to the central defining event in world history, there was, in the mind of Jesus, an outside chance that his Father might yet change his mind.
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Matthew 26
Related Reading
What is the “classical view of God” and what about it do you find objectionable?
The “classical view of God” refers to the view of God that has dominated Christian theology since the earliest Church fathers. According to this theology, God is completely “immutable.” This means that God’s being and experience never change in any respect. God is therefore pure actuality (actus purus), having no potentiality whatsoever, for potentiality is…
What is the significance of Exodus 16:4?
The Lord commands the Israelites to gather only enough bread for one day while in the wilderness. “In that way,” the Lord says, “I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.” Testing people to find out how they will resolve their character only makes sense if God is not certain of…
How Could God Foreknow Peter’s Choice but not Abraham’s? (podcast)
Greg looks at the nature of God’s foreknowledge and testing. Episode 562 http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0562mp3.mp3
Resisting Evil
The New Testament refers to Satan as the “god of this age” and the “ruler of the power of the air” (2 Cor 4:4; Eph.2:2). In the first century Jewish worldview, “air” referred to the domain of spiritual authority over the earth. The author, Paul, was thus saying that the spiritual environment of the earth…
How do you respond to 1 Samuel 2:25?
Eli’s sons “would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.” Compatibilists sometimes cite this text as an example of how God determines events for which humans are morally responsible. Eli’s sons were evil in not listening to their father, yet it was the…
God Clearly Can, So Why Doesn’t He? (podcast)
Leah expects more from God. Should she? Greg confronts God’s inactivity and underperformance. Episode 510 http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0510.mp3