WHY GETHSEMANE

WHY GETHSEMANE

For the last several weeks I found myself drawn to Gethsemane and what transpired in the garden.  We are approaching what is known as the Holy Week (Jesus’ last week before the crucifixion).  The more I thought on Gethsemane I began to wonder why Jesus chose to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His arrest.  I realize in John 18: 2, it tells us that Jesus often met with His disciples in this garden; it was a familiar place.  When I think of gardens I think of a beautiful place, giving little if any thought to what took place to make the garden beautiful.  The more I dwelt on this and considered the process involved to make and maintain a garden I began to realize what a perfect place this was for our Savior to pour out His heart.  This was not just a garden of flowers but of olive trees and the very name Gethsemane means; oil press[i].  Jesus certainly was pressed beyond our comprehension.  According to Matthew 26:38 and Mark 14:34, His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  In Matthew 26:39 it says he fell with His face to the ground to pray.  Luke 22:44 tells us Jesus was in such anguish; He sweat blood that fell to the ground. 

I cannot come close to comprehending the sorrow that Jesus bore.  Only a few times in my life have I felt my heart so heavy with pain and anguish that I wondered will I move past this.  The few times this has happened, it was not about me personally, but about someone I loved dearly and was grieving for.  During these times as I poured my heart out to the Lord Jesus my chest felt as if it were going to explode, the weeping and wailing was incredibly intense.  My heart was in pain for the ones I loved. 

Jesus was bearing the sin and sorrow of everything evil and unholy for the sake of His children, the ones He loves.  As a mother I can slightly understand this because I would die for my children or take their places of pain, if I could.

Jesus did not go to this garden alone He took His disciples with Him.  Special invitation was given to Peter, James and John.  They went a little further with Him and were asked to watch and pray (Matthew 26:36, Luke 22:40, Mark 14:32).  They were told to do this so they would not fall into temptation (sin, the very thing Jesus would pay the price for).  I wonder if some of the sorrow Jesus felt was the disappointment that; three times He went back to ask the disciples to watch and pray with Him and they fell asleep (these were the very men He had spent the last three years with).  In fact in Mark 14:37, He asked Peter if he is asleep, but He calls him Simon.  I find this interesting because Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter earlier according to John 1:42.  The name Peter means “rock/stone” (John 1:42 NKJV).  Unfortunately very soon Peter would deny Christ three times.  Jesus foreknew this would happen (Matthew 26:31-35).

The hour was drawing near; Jesus poured His heart out to the Father with great travail He sowed righteous tears of anguish.  The Bible says in Psalms 126:5 (NIV), Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.  What better place could our Savoir have sown tears than in a garden, the holy tears that would set the stage for the greatest miracle of all.

There is another hour that is drawing near, the last hour.  Our Lord has asked of us to fulfill an assignment.  God forbid that we fall asleep as the disciples did.  This is the hour that will lead to the return of our King.  What will our King find us doing?  Will we be going about life, tending to ourselves and our family, paying little attention to the lost world around us?  The Lord Jesus has called us now, what shall we do?  God has been working on my heart.  I sense a great stirring going on, to wake me up….Jesus help me, I do not want to fall short!

The Great Commission:
Mark 16:15-18(NKJV)
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 
they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Part #2 coming soon:  Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?

© 2011

[i] James Strong, S.T.D.,LL.D., Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible with Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries. (Christian Hertiage Publishing Company, Inc., 1988), G1068

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freechristimages.org/biblestories/agony_in_the_garden.htm

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