Jesus took Peter, James and John with him to pray in Gethsemane. He was deeply sorrowful and asked them to keep watch with him. He prayed to God that if possible, to take away the cup of suffering from him, but to do God's will. Later passages discuss how God uses weakness and foolishness to shame the wise and strong, and that through weaknesses, Christ's power is made perfect. Believers should consider trials as joy knowing that perseverance developed through testing leads to spiritual maturity.

6. 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a
place called Gethsemane, and he said to
them, “Sit here while I go over there and
pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee along with him, and he began to
be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said
to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with
sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and
keep watch with me.”

7. 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his
face to the ground and prayed, “My Father,
if it is possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

8. Jesus says, “If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself, take up
his cross daily, and follow me.”

9. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing, but to those who are
being saved it is the power of God.”

10. “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks
look for wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles…For the foolishness of
God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and
the weakness of God is stronger than
man’s strength.”

12. But God chose the foolish things of the world
to shame the wise; God chose the weak things
of the world to shame the strong.

13. “I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest
on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake,
I delight in weaknesses…For when I am weak,
then I am strong.”

15. 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his
face to the ground and prayed, “My Father,
if it is possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

17. 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you
know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its
work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you
lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it
will be given to him.

19. Jesus says, “If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself, take up
his cross daily, and follow me.”