A Messianic Prayer

Remember that the Psalm is a prayer of Jesus Christ, the One who left the Ivory palaces of heaven to enter a world of woe; the One who laid aside the splendor of a Prince to wear a cloak of human poverty; the sinless One who came to bear the iniquity of a fallen race. Remember that as He prays He is fully aware of the suffering and shame that lay ahead.

Our salvation from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin; our peace and joy in an unfriendly world; our hope of glory—all these blessings and ten thousand beside—were to be accomplished by His servitude and suffering. (Manna, Moody Press)

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS CHRIST
There is a story about a poor migrant worker in Southern California who stole fruit from the orchards at night to sell the next day for profit. One night he took his son along to hold the bag while he dropped the fruit from the trees. He came to a cross path and stopped to look both ways. After climbing up a tree, he began to drop the fruit. His son, who had been attending Sunday School in a church nearby said, “You didn't look in every direction, Dad; you forgot to look up.” The man climbed down from the tree and never took the fruit again.

Jesus looked up to God the Father when He was being lured by temptation and when He did, God directed His eyes back down to the way of service. It is the way of the cross. The very heart of Jesus’ temptations and ours too is to escape the demands of the cross (Dan Ivins, Be Human Like Jesus).