When we hear of the garden of Gethsemane today, many of us see Jesus kneeling in such spiritual agony that blood drips from his brow. Others may envision the scene from Passion of the Christ, in which Jesus is visited by Satan in the ominous garden, to tempt him in his weakest hour. Still others may recall the moment when Judas Iscariot arrives and betrays his master with a kiss. Only two of the four gospels (Matthew 26 and Mark 14) depict what occurred there that night, prior to Jesus’ arrest; and their accounts contain little of what the majority of us have come to associate with the small garden known as the ‘ olive press”.
What we do read is that the Christ took his disciples with him after the last supper, crossed the Kedron brook, and came to the garden of Gethsemane(John 18:1John 18:1
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested
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1 When Jesus had finished praying, he and his disciples crossed the Kidron Valley and went into a garden. b garden: The Greek word is usually translated “garden,” but probably referred to an olive orchard.
WP-Bible plugin). There he told them to sit while he went on ahead to pray, because he was “sorrowful to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38Matthew 26:38
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
38 and he said to them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”
WP-Bible plugin). He took his trusted threesome, Peter, James and John, deeper into the darkness, and there asked them to watch over him while he ventured alone to pray, in solitude.
This is perhaps the most poignant painting of Jesus talking to His Father, though it is definitely not the only time in scripture that we see him seek solitude with God. John’s gospel shows Jesus praying with his disciples on several occasions leading up to the night of his betrayal. But at the crucial time, with the weight of his coming sacrifice and the pain he would endure for it bearing its full measure upon him, Christ sought solitude with His Father, in a place he most likely had visited many times before.
Solitude is not necessarily the absence of noise or people, but rather the willful ability to focus on God and His word to you, as the distractions around you fade away. It is most certainly a discipline, as focusing on anything for more than a minute is all but impossible in our subliminal culture today. In our fever-pitched lives, few of us have that ‘secret’ place we seek out in order to commune with our creator. Even those closest to the Lord faltered in the garden that night, as He came twice to find them asleep. As he did throughout his ministry on Earth though, Jesus, even in his darkest moments, displayed for us the model of what we need to live and prosper in a life of following Him. In Gethsemane, we see the same weakness in our flesh that caused the disciples to deny their master, and we see our Savior’s love and resolve to save us from an eternity without God. In Gethsemane, we can see a place, not of darkness and betrayal, but of comfort and strength, where we can venture to find God, waiting to listen and speak to us; when we seek Him in solitude.
Meditation: Read Matthew 26:36-46Matthew 26:36-46
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Jesus Prays
36 Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. When they got there, he told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
37 Jesus took along Peter and the two brothers, James and John. z the two brothers, James and John: The Greek text has “the two sons of Zebedee” . He was very sad and troubled,
38 and he said to them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”
39 Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, don't make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. a having me drink from this cup: In the Scriptures “to drink from a cup” sometimes means to suffer . But do what you want, and not what I want.”
40 He came back and found his disciples sleeping. So he said to Peter, “Can't any of you stay awake with me for just one hour?
41 Stay awake and pray that you won't be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak.”
42 Again Jesus went to pray and said, “My Father, if there is no other way, and I must suffer, I will still do what you want.”
43 Jesus came back and found them sleeping again. They simply could not keep their eyes open.
44 He left them and prayed the same prayer once more.
45 Finally, Jesus returned to his disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? b Are you still sleeping and resting?: Or “You may as well keep on sleeping and resting.” The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners.
46 Get up! Let's go. The one who will betray me is already here.”
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Prayer: Ask God to show you a place and time to commune with Him in solitude. Pray for strength to focus on not only talking to God, but really listening as well. Thank Him for Gethsemane.
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