So soon the parade and the jubilation was over! People all went
about their everyday lives, as if nothing important had
happened.
Jesus and the disciples, all
twelve, have spent hours fellowshipping together over the
meal--the Last Supper.. Jesus dips the morsel into the sop and hands it to Judus. Judas accepts it. Christ declares Judas the traitor. Judas leaves the upper room. John 13:26
The group now heads out into the night, where here and
there in the village lights from flickering candles can be
seen, as people partake of the paschal lamb.... And the
Lamb of God is moving moment-by-moment closer to His
sacrificial death, of which the Passover lamb is a symbol....
They walk through the eastern gate and down the hill, Jesus
and the eleven disciples--who love Him, but cannot comprehend
the meaning of the work He had come to do, nor of the hours
which lie imminently ahead. The full moon, its lights
shimmering on the waters of the brook Kidron, shines on the
group as they pass over the bridge.
Now they are nearing Olivet. Christ turns aside into a
garden, the thick branches of olive trees casting heavy
shadows on the path. Christ has been to this Gethsemane Garden
on many previous occasions, for prayer and for rest. But this
time it is different. This time His heart is very heavy. This
time His thoughts turn upon Himself, and upon the awful hours
that are coming up so soon. He does not want His disciples to
witness His agonizing ordeal; so He tells them to wait at a
certain spot while He goes further to pray. However, we have
to remember that even though He is God, He also is man. He
feels the desperate urge for human companionship, so He takes
with Him the disciples who were the closest to Him, Peter,
James and John. These were the three, alone, who had witnessed
the times of His greatest power and glory when He raised
Jarius' daughter, and when He was transfigured. Further the
four of them went, into the darkest part of the garden. It is
a comfort for Him to have His friends near, but here He stops.
He knows He must face this last part alone. He says to
them, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death: tarry ye here and watch with Me."
He goes forward a short distance to a spot where
the moonlight cannot penetrate, blocked out by the interlaced
branches overhead. Here He kneels in prayer. Here He feels the
awful quietness all around Him. He feels a terrible heaviness
upon Him. He pours His soul out to His Father. Matthew
26:39: "Oh My Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I
will, but as you wilt."
Here we see the human (versus the divine) nature of Christ
demonstrated. He asks His Father in heaven if there is any
other way to accomplish what He was sent to earth for, other
than the ordeal He is about to face. Mark 14:36 &
Matthew 26:39 The burden seems almost greater than He can
bear. The cup is too bitter for Him to drink. It is not only
from the death which He shrinks; it is not only that He feels
that His life on earth has not accomplished what He had wanted
it to accomplish; but it is for the sins of the people that he
suffers. It is for betrayal of Judas that He grieves; He loved
Judas as much as He loves the other disciples. It is because
the people of Jerusalem, His own people, have rejected Him,
and are about to condemn Him to death--Him, the Son of God.
And it is for the sins of the whole world that will be laid on
Him. These are the things that overwhelm Him. It is because of
these agonies that He sweats drops of blood as He prays.
He can bear the agony no longer. He staggers to His
feet and seeks the comfort of His friends. But they are
asleep. They have failed Him in His hour of need. It is as
though He is all alone. God had made it clear to Him that
there was no other way to redeem man from death, but by
His death; so for the time being, even God has deserted Him.
And his human friends have failed Him; His countrymen have
condemned Him; one of His associates has betrayed Him. With an
even heavier heart He goes away again. He repeats the prayer,
submitting Himself to the will of God. He again encounters the
Powers of Darkness, who do their best to weaken His will, to
make Him abort His mission of salvation. He could. He has the
power. He is God. But because He is God, He will not. He has
thrown off Satan's power. He has conquered death. Yes. He
has conquered death!
He leaves the Garden. His
greatest ordeal is over. He knows that in just a few hours His
travail will be over. The darkest hours were yet to come, but
the hardest hours are over. Totally exhausted, He is at the
point of death. Here in the Garden, as at the beginning of His
ministry, on the mountain when Satan had tempted Him so
sorely, an angel comes. Although His earthly friends have
failed Him, God has not. He has sent an angel from Heaven to
strengthen Him. He returns to His sleeping disciples, but He
no longer needs their help. His human weakness is finished.
During the following hours of suffering, the Savior never
again shows a trace of weakness. With perfect majestic
self-control, He meets His enemies.
© Helen Dowd
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with Study 3