When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jürgen Moltmann explains that "Here for the first time, he does not want to be alone with his God, and seeks protection of his friends." WJC p. 166
Moltmann keenly observed that Jesus had previously gone into isolation to pray for long durations. But in the garden, Jesus does not want to be alone for even an hour.
The anxiety of Jesus including his bloody sweat was his awareness that his entry to Jerusalem was not going as expected. Jesus sensed the danger that was inconsistent with the mission he had received in his baptism. The voice of the father had left him.
In his baptism, Jesus heard the voice of the father "this is my son" but the last word of Jesus in Matthew and Mark are "my God, why have you forsaken me". A stark contrast from an audible voice to divine silence.
Moltmann says in Mark, "Jesus began to 'shiver and quake'" And in Matthew, "He began to be sorrowful and afraid." The 1611 Bible adds "even unto death"
Even the prayer of Jesus has now changed to "that the cup of suffering might pass by him" but elsewhere Jesus had said "the father and I are one.
The interpretation that Jesus was fearless and scolding the disciples for their impious napping is untenable.
Moltmann explains that Psalm 22 "do not solve the conflict, for the prayer ends with a prayer of thanksgiving for rescue from deadly peril."
Moltmann says "there was no such rescue on Golgotha"
And Moltmann adds that "Early manuscripts of Mark's Gospel intensify the cry into: 'Why have you exposed me to shame?' and 'Why have you cursed me?'"
"God-forsakenness is the final experience of God endured by the crucified Jesus on Golgotha, because in the end he knew he was God's son" — Jürgen Moltmann
