Truth About The Crucifixion — Page 39
Unto Him is the true prayer. Those on whom they call beside Him, do not respond to them at all. (13:15). Jesus had the habit of prayer. As for instance:. He withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed. (Luke 5:16). He took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. (Luke 9:28). And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (Matt. 21:22). It came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him,. Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples, and he said unto them, when ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. (Luke 11:1-2) •. Thus quite rightly all his supplications and those of his disciples were addressed to God. Obviously, therefore, 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 clearly 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, 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: ○ my Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matt. 26:39). . This shows that the relationship between Jesus and God 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 Father is supreme and the son is subordinate to Him, as a servant is subordinate to his master. . Assuming that there had been complete equality between 41