Matthew 26:36 Using the James Method

"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go & pray over there. NIV

I wrote my poem, A Prayer of Honesty based on the emotions that I felt one day after reading the 26th Chapter of Matthew. In 2011 when I originally wrote this poem, the words found in the 36th versus spoke to me differently from any of the previous times that I had read it. Fast forward to present day and this poem is soon to be published in my forthcoming book, From God with Love.

I thought it would be a good idea to dive deeper into the scripture and to provide context of how and why this poem was written.

Using The James Method (@the_james_method), I started by writing the verse and highlighting the key words.

This is what I found:

Keywords: The keywords from verse 36 that resonate with me are: went with & sit here

Context: As the time grew closer for Jesus to be crucified, he began to feel anxious and overwhelmed (completely human feelings) but regardless of those feelings, he prayed earnestly for God's will to be done in the matter

Translations: I referenced the NKJV and the MSG translations and found them to be different. The NKJV says, Then Jesus came to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there. The MSG says, " Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, "Stay here while I go over there and pray".

There's a huge difference between the phrases, Jesus came to a place & Jesus went with them to a garden.

I found the wording of the NKJV version to be more representative of the feelings that I felt that day in 2011 after reading it. I felt heavy and overburdened, but optimistic and powerful. I can only imagine the emotions that Jesus felt were becoming louder and more prevalent in his mind, bringing him to a place of stress and overwhelm. Maybe he was scared, his heart could have possibly been beating heavily and just maybe constant thoughts of bearing the sins of mankind was becoming too much for him to handle.

In spite of it all, Jesus prayed 3 times for God's will to be done.

This consistent act of reverence to God and his plan signified that Jesus was determined not to allow his individual emotions to overrule God's overall plan. His prayers were honest and transparent, not hiding the fact that he had trepidation about the mission he was being asked to complete.

As the name Gethsemane symbolically is made of two root words (Press & Oil), Jesus was being pressed during this time and by staying with the mission he was able to produce the oil necessary to save mankind from sin.

Here's the link to my poem, A Prayer of Honesty and here is the link to sign up for notifications about my book, From God with Love.

I am so excited about this opportunity to partner with @the_james_method to demonstrate the Verse Map Journal in action and I look forward to diving deeper into this tool and reclaiming my colored pencils.

You can click here to get your Verse Map Journal from The James Method. If you're on Instagram, click the link in my bio and find the link under Affiliate Marketing.

Disclaimer: I am simply a woman who is inspired by the God's word. I am not a preacher, pastor or biblical scholar. I am a life and business coach who helps individuals leverage their values and strengths to create more peaceful moments in their everyday life. Visit my website for more information. This is an Ad

much love & many blessings,

Melissa A. Rivers