Agony in the Garden
“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and said unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder……And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Matthew 26:36,39
Throughout the gospel accounts of Jesus’ earthly life He endeavored to prepare His disciples for this time of His ultimate purpose for coming to earth, His crucifixion to pay man’s penalty for sin, and His resurrection to bring eternal life to all who will receive Him as Lord and Savior. I believe that even as a child, Jesus knew this day would come. God chose Him from the foundation of the world to save man from his sin. This was His destiny.
Jesus and His now eleven disciples finished the sharing of the bread and wine, symbolic of the giving of His life and His blood, Judas Iscariot was on his way to betray the Son of God, and now it was time for Jesus to meet with His Father through prayer one last time before His ultimate sacrifice. The Garden of Gethsemane was at the foot of the Mount of Olives. The name Gethsemane means “oil press” which symbolized how Jesus would be crushed for our iniquities, revealing His precious blood which would flow to cover our sins.
When they reached the garden, Jesus told them to sit, but He took Peter, James, and John a little further into the garden. Jesus loved all of His disciples, even Judas, but these three were His “right-hand men”. They were with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration and saw Him in His glorified state (Matthew 17:1-9). They had been privy to divine revelations of which the other disciples had not. If Jesus could count on anyone to support Him during this time of severe emotional agony, it should have been these three men.
They came to a stopping place and Jesus gave them a simple, sincere command: wait here, stay awake. He didn’t even tell them to pray at that point. They wouldn’t have known what to pray. They had no idea at what was about to take place shortly. Jesus stepped a little way away from them to pray in solitude. He wanted no distractions. I’ve seen paintings in which artists have pictured Jesus kneeling, His hands folded propped up on a rock, and looking toward heaven. However, His sheer agony caused Him to fall on His face to the ground as He cried out to His Father. To put one’s face on the ground is the most humble position that one can take before a holy God. It was from the dust of the ground that God made man. If Jesus felt the need for that kind of humility and submission as the sinless Son of God, how much more humble and submissive should we be before the sovereign and righteous Lord of heaven and earth?
God was the only One who could give comfort to Jesus as He knew what He was about to face. Jesus prayed that God would take away the cup of His wrath which was about to be poured out on His sinless Son for the sins of mankind. But Jesus knew there was no other way. Sin is such a horrible, grievous offense and insult to the God of all creation, who is perfect and holy, that only a sacrifice that is perfect and holy could satisfy the required penalty for man’s sin and bring forgiveness and reconciliation to man. Jesus’ only desire was to fulfill His Father’s will.
After Jesus finished praying, He returned to Peter, James, and John, who were all fast asleep. I think Jesus was disappointed in these three best friends that they couldn’t even stay awake for Him while He was in such a state of sorrow. Their seeming lack of real concern for Jesus’ request to them gives us an indication that they will all desert Him, as He foretold. Jesus them gave them another chance as He went to pray again, but again they failed Him. He told them to pray for themselves, because they were going to need help from the Father. The third time when He returned from the agony of pleading and then submitting to His Father’s will, Jesus told them to rest for shortly the betrayer would come.
Before we attempt to judge the disciples, we have to admit that we, too, are weak. We like to think of ourselves as being so committed to Jesus that we would always stand firm and strong for Him, but we never really know until our faith is tested. Next time: The arrest and trial.