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The Gardenof
Gethsemane
God's Word
Luke 22:39-44“And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter 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.” Luke 22:39-44
Reflection
Near the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus taught His disciples to begin prayer with the words, “Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done…” Matthew 6:9-10
The heart of devotion is a prayer of surrender, and that’s exactly the kind of prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39
In the garden, the full scope of Jesus’ mission—and all that the Father’s will would require of Him—became readily apparent: the treacherous betrayal by one of His own; mocking by soldiers; a circus trial in which guilty politicians proclaimed judgment on an innocent man; brutal beatings; and then the cross, spiritually bearing the crushing load of every sin ever committed—past, present, and future.
As you gaze on the serene garden scene, consider the anguish Jesus must have felt and the mental strain as He tried to grapple with His Father’s will: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.”
Throughout the Old Testament, the cup signified God’s wrath; it was a symbol of God’s judgment against sin from which God makes the rebellious nations drink. Jesus is the only one who ever lived who had no sin to contribute to that cup, who didn’t deserve to drink God’s wrath—and yet, here, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He surrendered to His Father’s will: “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?” John 18:11
A powerful and healing lesson can be found here: Most of us have been disappointed by someone we love, perhaps by a parent, best friend, spouse, or sibling. Just when we needed them most, they betrayed us, deserted us, or hurt us. The Garden of Gethsemane teaches us that just when we needed someone the most, Jesus rose to the occasion. No one else could do for us what Jesus did and He was faithful to get it done, at great cost to Himself. We can rely on Him who was faithful to His Father, faithful to His mission, and faithful to us.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for accepting Your mission; thank You for being the one person in my life in whom I can fully place my trust, knowing You will never disappoint. Because of Your sacrifice, I can have new life. You knew what it would cost, yet You drank from the cup anyway. Help me to let go of all my other earthly disappointments and instead celebrate the fulfillment of this promise that You created a way to reconcile me to my Heavenly Father and to remove the burden of my sins from off my shoulders. In Your name I pray, Amen.