And going a little farther, he threw himself to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” 

- Matthew 26:39

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen this way? At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

- Matthew 26:52-56

Last week we considered Jesus saying, “only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21). This raises vitally important questions – what is the Father’s will and how do we know what it is?

After the Last Supper as Jesus prayed in the garden, and later as guards came to arrest Him, He revealed a great deal about our free will and God’s will. Jesus willingly surrendered to the guards, to the Sanhedrin and to Roman authorities because He knew it was the Father’s will. He could have asked legions of angels to rescue Him, but that would have been contrary to God’s will, it would not have fulfilled Scripture. His prayer in Gethsemane makes it clear that Jesus had free will, He could have chosen to do what He wanted, and He freely chose to do God’s will.

In this situation, Jesus knew the will of the Father. Although He does not explain how He knew it, He mentions that God revealed His will through the prophets as recorded in Scripture. So Scripture reveals God’s will.

In places Scripture reveals God fulfilling His will directly, such as in the beginning when He speaks and things happen the way He wants them to (see Genesis 1). Much more commonly Scripture shows God asking people to accomplish His will and they have the option of doing as He asks or not. For example, God employed Moses on His great mission of releasing His people from slavery, He employed prophets to deliver messages, He asked John the Baptist to pave the way for Jesus, He engaged the Apostles to form His church, and He called and calls countless more.

As Jesus suggests twice in the passage above, Scripture reveals God’s will. But we need eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to understand. We need His holy understanding, His discerning Spirit, His wisdom. Did Jesus know God’s will because He had memorized Scripture, or did He know God’s will because He prayed all the time and He lived in communion with the Father, or both? Or were other factors involved?

Paul explains that our ability to discern God’s will is a gift developed as our minds are transformed and renewed and sanctified by our gradual surrender to and acceptance of the indwelling Holy Spirit, writing:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

Paul seamlessly blends images of our surrender, our holiness, our transformation, our separation from the world, our union with God and our ability to discern God’s will – His “good and acceptable and perfect” will. He also urges us to receive our renewal, our new self in “knowledge according to the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9); he explains that it is God’s will that we each are sanctified and made holy (see 1 Thessalonians 4:3); and he continues writing:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. 1 Thessalonians 5:18-22

It is God’s will that we are each sanctified. It is God who sanctifies. Our sanctification is God’s will and He does it, but we must choose to allow it. Through the passages we see that God reveals His will through His holy word and we gain discernment regarding His will as our minds are transformed and renewed and as we are made holy and sanctified. So did Jesus know God’s will because He memorized Scripture, or because He prayed all the time and lived a life of communion with God? I think it was both. And He explains that people who believe in Him will “do the works that I do” (John 14:12), suggesting we too will know and do the will of the Father.

We should continue studying and meditating on Scripture, endeavoring to pray and seek and commune with God all the time. We should seek to allow His holy transformation and renewal of our spirits and souls so that we too may discern God’s will, His good and acceptable and perfect will. May God continue to reveal His glory through you.