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Day 292

Luke 22 : 39-46; Matthew 26:36-46 "THE SPECIAL MINISTRY OF ANGELS"

Day 292 – Luke 22

Text: Luke 22 : 39-46; Matthew 26:36-46

THE SPECIAL MINISTRY OF ANGELS

Luke made an interesting note as he wrote about the prayer vigil Jesus mounted in the Garden of Gethsemane. He wrote,

“Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven,
strengthening Him.”
Luke 22:43

Matthew also mentioned the ministry of angels when Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness.

“Then the devil left Him,
and behold, angels came
and ministered to Him.”
Matthew 4:11

Mark also made his own observation concerning the ministry of angels.

“And He was there in the wilderness forty days,
tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts;
and the angels ministered to Him.”
Mark 1:13

Whereas Matthew emphasized the ministry of angels after the Temptations of Jesus, Mark noted that the angels were always with Him throughout the forty days in the wilderness.

It is not without significance to note the ministry of angels. We are surely reminded of the fact that angels minister to us too, the heirs of salvation.

“Are they not all ministering spirits
sent forth to minister for those who
will inherit salvation?”
Hebrews 1:14

STRENGTH TO PRAY ON

What was the ministry of the angel(s) who ministered to Jesus? It is important to note that the angels of God sent to minister to Jesus did not take away the sense of agony that He felt deep in His soul. Angels will never do that which is our responsibility.

What the angel did with reference to Jesus was to “strengthen” Him. He could not pray for Jesus. He could not release Him from the sorrow that He felt. Mathew noted the depth of His sorrow in his Gospel.

He sought to share His sense of sorrow with His three favourite Disciples. Let us take time to read what Matthew wrote.

“And He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Then He said to them,
My soul is exceedingly sorrowful,
Even to death.
Stay here and watch with Me.”
Matthew 26:37,38

The multitudes did not know the whereabouts of Jesus. The larger group of 70 Disciples were not around. Just the Eleven were with Jesus.

The larger group was just asked to wait for Jesus as He entered into prayer. This inner circle of three were given the privilege of entering into the sorrows of Jesus.

Essentially, all failed Him. They could not watch with Him in prayer. In His hour of need, God the Father sent Him an angel to encourage and strengthen His beloved Son. However, the need to pray on still belonged to Jesus.

Do you sometimes feel an extra surge of strength coming to you, despite moods of despair that threaten to overwhelm? That might well be the ministry of angels. Let us be encouraged by this thought and learn to pray as Jesus did.

PRAYER CAN BE LITERALLY AGONIZING AT TIMES

Luke’s account of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, is truly astonishing. Few of us would ever imagine that prayer could be so deep and intense.

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.
Then His sweat became like great drops of blood
falling down to the ground.”
Luke 22:44

Luke’s account was the most graphic of all, among the Synoptic Gospels. He was the only one who described and compared the sweat Jesus shed with drops of blood. That was his way of describing the intensity of the struggle Jesus underwent as He laboured in prayer.

How do we ever understand that prayer could be so agonizing? The Scriptures mentioned others who also had similar experiences. Let us consider the example of Daniel. He was one of those who engaged in long prayer sessions. On one occasion, as he prayed for wisdom to understand the visions of God, an angel came and ministered to him.

“Then again, the one having the likeness of a man
touched me and strengthened me.
And he said, ‘O man greatly beloved,
Fear not! Peace be to you; be strong,
Yes, be strong.’ “
Daniel 10:18

This angel brought great encouragement and strength to Daniel. God is greatly pleased when His children are willing to agonize in prayer. He will strengthen us in our spiritual endeavours. Let us determine to learn how to pray more deeply.