Jesus knew the purpose of His coming to earth and the difficult way He had to go. When Jesus went with Peter, John, and James, up to the mountain to pray, Moses and Elijah appeared unto Him. Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus about His exodus; His decease, which Jesus was about to carry into effect in Jerusalem (Luke 9:28-31). They knew, who Jesus was and the purpose of His coming. They knew, that Jesus was not only the Son of God, but also the Messiah, who came for the redemption of humanity. The redemptive work didn’t begin at the cross, or the whipping post. But the first shedding and sacrifice of blood took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus crucified His soul. Jesus couldn’t go the way of the cross, before the crucifixion of the soul.
Jesus struggled with a deadly spirit of fear
Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared; Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:7-8)
When Jesus knew His time had come, He became sore amazed, and very heavy. Jesus said to Peter, John, and James, that His soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death. He had to overcome His enemy in the flesh: the spirit of fear. Only then, could Jesus continue His way to the cross and accomplish His redemptive work for man.
Jesus had already defeated and overcome many enemies of God in the flesh. Enemies like pride by proving Himself that He was the Son of God. Rebellion by disobeying God’s will. Lust and desire by listening to His senses and feelings, etc.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had to conquer one of the biggest enemies of people (besides the spirit of death) namely fear. This spirit of fear, that operates in the soul, had to be defeated before Jesus could go the way of the cross and accomplish His work of redemption.
How did Jesus overcome the spirit of fear?
Jesus overcame the spirit of fear through prayer. Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to watch and pray.
While Jesus prayed He was tempted by fear. The spirit of fear wanted Jesus, to give in to the fear in His soul. The spirit of fear wanted Jesus to listen and obey him. He wanted Jesus to bow to him, by discontinuing the redemptive work and doing His will instead of the will of the Father and becoming disobedient to the will of God.
The intense battle between the soul and the spirit
To show how intense the battle between the soul and the spirit was, Jesus prayed three times to the Father, that if He was willing and if it would be possible, He would remove the cup from Him. But every time, Jesus prayed these words, His love for His Father overcame. That’s why Jesus immediately said, “Nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done!”
These were the same words that Jesus spoke to His disciples when they asked Jesus to learn how to pray. (Read also: The flesh can’t pray).
Jesus made it very clear to His disciples, that it’s not about the will of people. It’s about the will of God.
Only by doing the will of God and staying obedient to Him, people exalt and glorify God with their lives.
Jesus continued His prayer. While He was praying, an angel appeared and strengthened Him.
While Jesus entered a state of severe mental and emotional struggle to the point of agony, He prayed more earnestly.
The battle between the spirit of Jesus and His soul (the flesh), in which the spirit of fear was active, became so intense, that His perspiration became like great drops of blood (because of the fact that His blood burst through the ruptured walls of the capillaries, the latter caused by His agony, coloring the perspiration and enlarging the drops), continually falling down upon the ground (Luke 22:39-44).
This was Jesus’ first blood sacrifice for the soul.
Jesus didn’t give up. For the crucifixion of the soul, Jesus spent hours in prayer. We don’t know how long Jesus prayed. But if the latter two times, that Jesus prayed was as long as the first time Jesus prayed, then the prayer of Jesus lasted about three hours (Matthew 26:40).
The crucifixion of the soul
Because of His perseverance and the crucifixion of the soul, Jesus finally overcame the deadly fear. The deadly fear of falling into the hands of sinners, being made sin, and because of that becoming a slave of the devil, coming under the authority of death, and being separated from His Father. Because sin separates God and man.
There is not one person, who has a privileged position and can keep sinning without consequences. No one stands above Jesus!
If Jesus didn’t have a privileged position, which became visible at the moment that Jesus carried all the sins of the world and because of that was separated from God, then His followers also don’t have a privileged position.
When you are born again and the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you don’t want to keep sinning. You have received God’s nature. Therefore you despise and hate the remainder of your old carnal life. You want to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Jesus made Himself void and overcame every battle through prayer and the Word of God
Jesus, the Son of God, who was clothed with majesty in heaven, laid down everything. He emptied Himself and made Himself void, by taking the outward expression of a bondslave, which expression comes from and is truly representative of His nature (as Deity) entering, into a new state of existence, that of humanity. Jesus was rich, but became poor, for the sake of humanity out of love for God.
Jesus humbled Himself. He was obedient to the will of God to the extent of death, even such a death as that upon the cross (Philippians 2:7-8, Hebrews 2:14-15).
Because Jesus overcame every battle in the flesh (His body and soul), and defeated every enemy of God and humanity, including death, through prayer and by speaking the Word of God, Jesus was able to fulfill the plan of God for His life and rose as Victor from the dead.
Jesus defeated the devil, the death, and his minions (demons).
Those, who believe in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work and become born again in Him, shall reign with Him and live as victors.
They shall be victors instead of slaves of the flesh, who live in bondage under the reign of the devil, the death, and the spirits of this world.
Every person, who is born on earth in the flesh is born in bondage under the rulership of death. The only way of redemption and deliverance from death is by faith in Jesus Christ. By becoming born again in Him, so that the person becomes a new creation (Read also: What three elements are required for the new birth?).
Only when the spirit of a person is redeemed from death, through the resurrection of the spirit from the dead, a person shall not see death.
Will the battle be over after you become born again?
This doesn’t mean, that after you become born again, you don’t experience any struggles and battles anymore. Especially born-again Christians, who are redeemed from death and transferred from the darkness into the Kingdom of God, shall experience battles. Why? Because the devil shall do everything in his might to tempt and seduce you and take you back into his kingdom.
The devil shall try to stop you from fulfilling God’s plan for your life and bringing the Kingdom of God on earth. Just like the devil did with Jesus.
When you are born again, you are not redeemed from the battles in life, as some preachers say. When you are born again, the battle in the heavenly places shall only become more violent and intense.
This also happened in the life of Jesus, Who was the Firstborn of the new creation. During His life on earth, Jesus continuously encountered temptations, persecutions, and opposition of man and attacks of the devil in the flesh.
Jesus didn’t have an easy, quiet, and comfortable life, as often portrayed in children’s Bibles, Christian books, and movies about the life of Jesus. On the contrary, Jesus had a life full of strife and battles. Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto the Father, Who was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared (Hebrews 5:7).
Due to the crucifixion of the soul, Jesus was able to fulfill His redemptive work for humanity
Jesus overcame fear and yielded His soul to His spirit and the will of God through persistent prayer. And so, Jesus crucified His soul. Because of the crucifixion of His soul, Jesus was able to fulfill His work at the cross. By His blood, Jesus made reconciliation for the souls of man.
Through regeneration in Christ, you have received the authority, in the Name of Jesus, and the power, by the Holy Spirit, in the spiritual battle. And through perseverance in prayer, become victorious and be an overcomer. Just like Jesus, Who has given us an example and bound the strong one.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
