The Garden of Gethsemane
Luke 22:39-46
And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you do not come into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you do not come into temptation.”
The Passion of the Christ rightly begins with a dark scene from the Garden of Gethsemane, for there, in that olive tree grove, the fate of our salvation was to be wrestled out.
Jesus, being very God and very human had an eternal mission to achieve, but on the brink, to His pure soul, the revulsion of facing the wrath of the world's of sin [past, present & future] seemed too great.
He prayed for alternatives, any other way to bring salvation....
For us, when we face some awful task, we don't know the full extent of it. Yet Jesus had and has perfect foreknowledge. He knew exactly what was entailed in bringing us out of exile back to face to face fellowship with God the Father.
Now, as we peer into Gethsemane, we see His humanity recoiling at the agony and humiliation set before Him.
Luke makes plain the immense pressure He was feeling. He even started to haemorrhage blood [Bloody sweating is called hematohidrosis; It may occur in individuals suffering from extreme levels of stress. Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form, which constrict under the pressure of great stress].
Devoid of human support [his closest disciples had fallen asleep], an angel was sent, from His Eternal home, to strengthen Him.
This is holy ground, dear folks. A different decision from Jesus' Will at that point would have damned us to Hell forever.
If you will, take your Bible and linger in that olive grove and marvel at our Lord's resolve to do the Father's bidding no matter the cost.
For me it was in the garden
He prayed not my will but thine
He had no tears for His own grief
But sweat drops of blood for mine
How marvellous - how wonderful
And my song shall ever be
How marvellous - how wonderful
Is my Saviour's love for me
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