When it comes to knowing we are right with God “works don’t work!” What does – the only thing that does – is faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross.
The reformers rediscovered the glorious truth that we contribute nothing towards our salvation – Jesus does it all! In this passage we see that enacted in the Garden of Gethsemane as the disciples sleep whilst Jesus wrestles with the Cup of Wrath he would drink instead of us.
Why was Martin Luther called a heretic and excommunicated when so many others were calling for reform? Because he challenged the claim that the pope and the church sat above scripture and were immune from error. Luther knew that popes, church councils and in fact every Christian, all need to sit under the Word of God!