Deliverance from the Cross — Page 26
there was not equality between the supplicant and Him to Whom supplication was addressed. God had the power to respond to supplication and to grant it. Quite obviously Jesus lacked such power, for indeed if he had possessed that power his supplicating God would have been meaningless. Had he been the second person in the Trinity, and, therefore, God, he would have been in no need of supplication, as he would have had the power to do all that he wished. This is well illustrated in his repeated supplications in the garden of Gethsemane, when he fell on his face, and prayed, saying, '0 my Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matt. 26:39) To the particular significance of this supplication we shall advert later. Our purpose here is to demonstrate the relationship between Jesus and God which was that between a righteous servant and his gracious Master. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt ; is a clear affirmation of the supremacy of the Divine will over the will of Jesus which was subordinate to the will of God. As he himself affirmed, he had been sent not to do his own will but to do God's will (John 6:38); which is an exact description of the relationship between God and a Prophet. As a contrast, there is no mention of the Father ever supplicating the Son, which is clear proof that the 26