Not My Will: How the Cross Teaches You to Trust God in Luke 22 and 23

What do you do when your situation looks like the end and you can't see God working? Good Friday answers that question. The cross was a place of death, and it was also a place of trust. Jesus knew exactly what was ahead and still placed His life in the Father's hands. Submission to God means trusting Him beyond what you can see right now. You come to God the same way Jesus went to the cross: through surrender, forgiveness, and full submission to God's plan.

Why does the cross matter so much?

The cross matters because of who died there, how it happened, and what it accomplished. The Romans crucified thousands of people, and crucifixion itself was nothing new. This one man on this one cross changed history and eternity.

Pastor Marty Sloan described the cross as a place full of holy paradoxes: defeat becomes victory, death becomes life, and the end turns out to be the beginning. He also offered a sobering observation. "Before we realize the cross was done for us, we must realize the cross was done by us." Our sin is the reason Jesus needed to die.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23 to 24

What did Jesus pray before the cross?

Jesus prayed for submission, forgiveness, and surrender. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He knelt a stone's throw from His disciples and prayed in such anguish that His sweat fell like drops of blood.

Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.

Luke 22:42

On the cross, He prayed for the very people crucifying Him: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). With His final breath, He prayed a prayer of complete surrender.

Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Luke 23:46

Pastor Marty pointed out that the pause in the Gethsemane prayer matters. Jesus first asked whether another path existed. Then He chose the Father's will anyway. That decision reflects deep trust, and nothing about it signals despair.

Was Jesus powerless on the cross?

No. Jesus submitted willingly while holding complete power. Many people mistakenly assume that whenever God doesn't move the way they expected, He must have lost control. God is always in control, and on Good Friday Jesus was carrying out a purposeful assignment.

Surrender is choosing to trust God's will above your own, even when you can't see the outcome. Jesus didn't surrender only once at Calvary. He lived every day saying, in effect, "Not my will, but Yours be done."

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

Matthew 16:24 to 25

Jesus then asked what good it would be to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul (Matthew 16:26). Our culture pushes us to acquire more, but if you gain everything and miss Jesus, you've lost everything that matters.

How do you trust God when you can't see what He's doing?

You trust His character more than your circumstances. Pastor Marty admitted that he likes being in control and knowing what's going to happen next. Most of us feel the same way, yet the cross calls us beyond our own control.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5 to 6

For example, think about boarding an airplane. You can't fly the plane, you've never met the pilot, and the pilot might look barely old enough to drive. Many people still take their seat and fall asleep before takeoff. Pastor Marty called that trust, and he challenged the church to extend that same trust to the God who sees everything.

To everyone standing near the cross, Good Friday looked like the end. The disciples lost hope, the crowds assumed Jesus had failed, and the religious leaders believed they had finally won. Heaven knew this was only the beginning.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Luke 23:44 to 45

That curtain separated people from the presence of God. When Jesus died, it tore, and God opened the way. Just because you cannot see what God is doing does not mean He is not working. "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). That includes crosses and darkness.

What happened to sin and evil at the cross?

At the cross, God canceled the debt of your sin and defeated the powers of darkness. Pastor Marty called Colossians 2 one of his favorite passages for Good Friday.

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:13 to 15

Hell thought it had won, and instead it was put on public display as defeated. Where people saw loss, God saw a doorway back to Himself. Where people saw death, God saw victory.

What if you're living in a Good Friday moment?

You can choose to trust God, exactly as Jesus did. Perhaps you are living through a season that feels like the end. Hope seems lost, uncertainty surrounds you, questions remain unanswered, and exhaustion has settled in.

In those moments you can attempt to fix everything yourself. Or you can say, "God, I choose to trust You." Pastor Marty described our track record with characteristic honesty: "We're not good at fixing much. We're good at messing stuff up." God's power far exceeds yours, and He can transform what looks like defeat into victory.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross.

Hebrews 12:2

On Friday, no one could see Sunday yet. Jesus endured the cross because He trusted the outcome beyond the moment. Resurrection often begins in darkness.

For example, Pastor Marty invited people to personalize Jesus' final prayer: "Father, into Your hands I surrender my marriage. Into Your hands I surrender my physical health. Into Your hands I surrender my next step." Whatever you're carrying, you can place it in those same hands.

That's also what salvation is. Pastor Marty described it as saying, "God, I trust You with my eternal soul." Everyone needed Jesus on the cross, rich and poor, young and old. None of us is good enough to save ourselves, and none of us is too far gone for His grace.

Common questions

What did Jesus pray in the Garden of Gethsemane?

In Luke 22:42, Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." He honestly asked for another way and then chose to trust the Father's plan.

What were Jesus' last words on the cross in Luke?

In Luke 23:46, Jesus called out, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit," and then breathed His last. Earlier He had prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

Why is it called Good Friday?

Good Friday remembers the day Jesus died on the cross for our sins. What looked like defeat was God's plan to cancel our debt, triumph over evil, and open the way back to Him, and it was followed by the resurrection.

How can I trust God when life feels out of control?

Proverbs 3:5 to 6 calls you to trust the Lord with all your heart and not lean on your own understanding. Follow Jesus' example by praying honestly, then placing the situation in the Father's hands and trusting His character.