Gethsemane

[Complete]

THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
(Ref: Matthew 26.36+; Mark 14. 32+; Luke 22.39+​

“...They now reach Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives.” The word means ‘Oil-press’.

This was an enclosed piece of ground, which was apparently an olive orchard. The Lord takes with him the inner circle of three (Peter, James and John) and says to them, ‘Sit here while I pray’. Christ goes forward a short space by Himself, after asking them to keep awake and watch with Him.

The scene that follows is difficult to describe. Our Authorised Version is inadequate here in setting forth the tremendous test, spiritually, mentally and physically that the Lord experienced.

He said to them: ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’
Weymouth translates it ‘My soul is crushed with anguish to the very point of death’.

Luke, a medical man, tells us that, as He prayed, the sweat became like clots of blood dropping on the ground (22.44 Weymouth), and this shows that the Lord was not exaggerating when He said He was at the very point of death. Those words are not to be lessened or explained away as some expositors do.

A little while later, to the guards who arrested Him, He said, ‘this is your hour and the dark power has it’s way’ (verse 53, Moffatt). This shows that, behind the scene, Satan and the powers of darkness were working and having a last attempt to murder Him before the cross. There had been a number of attempts to do this before. eg.,

- In John 8.59, we read that the Pharisees ‘took up stones to stone Him’.
- In Matthew 2. 16-18, Herod attempted to murder Him when He was a child.
- In Luke 4.29,30, the Nazarenes tried to throw Him off a cliff.
- In Mark 4. 35-41, was the storm on the lake an attempt of Satan to drown Him when He was asleep?

The truth is not forwarded by trying to minimise all this, as some do. It is the testimony of the Gospels that Christ was at the point of death in the Garden and this was why an angel had to specially strengthen Him, so that He might be able to go on to Calvary and accomplish there the mighty work of redemption (Luke 22.43).

So many expositors miss the fact that there were two cups (of suffering and death) that Christ mentioned. ‘This cup’ was the one He was undergoing at that moment, of the murderous conflict with Satan and his hosts. In Mark’s account the Lord prays that; if possible the hour might pass from Him’ (Mark 14.35). This surely means the hour He was then undergoing, not the protracted future time of His crucifixion.

However, the cup appointed by the Father was yet future and so were the Lord’s reactions to it:
“...the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it? (John 18.11, and see also 12.27).

Here, there was no seeking to avoid the cup of death at Calvary on the cross, and I do not believe that there was any other point in the Lord’s life when this was true, for He had come to this earth for this very thing.

The epistle to the Hebrews revolves around ‘going on to perfection’ (maturity) (6.1), or ‘drawing back to perdition’ (10.39). The Lord Jesus is set forth in this letter as the supreme example of One who avoided the latter and went on to the full end. Not only this but in chapter 11 there is a long list of God’s people who did not falter and backslide to perdition.

Yet, if the usual interpretation of Gethsemane is accepted, Christ did draw back, if only momentarily, in the garden. How then can He be our example? God would be exacting from us a higher standard of conduct than from His Son. Moreover, this epistle contains a passage that bears directly on the happenings in Gethsemane, and this has often been ignored by expositors of Scripture: -

‘...Christ - Who in the days of His flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared; though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered...’ (Heb. 5. 7,8).

This can only refer to the experience of the Son in the Garden.

Note: He was saved from death, and His prayers were heard, that is they were answer. Now if the usual exposition is true, making ‘the cup’ refer to Calvary’s cross, He was not heard, for the Father’s will was that he should drink that cup completely, so that redemption might be an eternal reality.

We must distinguish between the two cups, and then from Hebrews we have a scriptural confirmation that our exposition is true, and we are delivered from the terrible idea that the Lord Jesus Christ drew back at the last minute and tried to avoid the Cross and all it entailed.

Satan, the murderer, was defeated, and the Lord died by an act of His own will when the tremendous work of redemption was completed on the cross. He had to become a curse for his people who were under the curse of a broken law, and this could only be by hanging and being crucified on the tree (Gal. 3.13,14. That was God’s appointed way for redemption to be worked out, and death in any other way or time could not be allowed. Death on the cross was essential.

This is part of an exposition from ‘The Berean Expositor’ by Stuart Allen

The Chapel of the Opened Book – The Berean Expositor

In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[civic]

In Matthew 26:39, Jesus says, "If it be your will, let this cup pass from me." Jesus tells us precisely what the cup was. It was the cup of his suffering, which meant that He would die an agonizing death as a martyr. In the passage below, Jesus told His disciples that they would also drink of the same "cup": All but John died a martyrs death.

Matthew 20:17-
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

1Thessalonians 5:9-For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we see above it was not the cup of wrath Jesus was speaking about but it was the suffering He was going to have to endure for our sins. God has not appointed us to wrath and the cup means the suffering of Jesus and that the disciples would also suffer death as martyrs. In fact, many scriptures testify that believers too will suffer persecution for being a follower of Jesus. Suffering persecution is a promise for a believer who follows Jesus, it is something we should expect to happen in our life.

2 Timothy 3:12- Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

John 15:20
Remember the word that I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.

Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

[Complete]

'Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane,
and saith unto the disciples,
"Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder."
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them,
My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death:
tarry ye here, and watch with me."
And He went a little further, 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."
And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter,
"What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying,
"O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done."
And He came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
And He left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
Then cometh He to His disciples, and saith unto them,
"Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand,
and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.'
(Mat 26:36-46)

'And He came out, and went, as He was wont, to the mount of Olives;
and His disciples also followed Him.
And when He was at the place, He said unto them,
"Pray that ye enter not into temptation."
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast,
and kneeled down, and prayed, saying,
"Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly:
and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples,
he found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto them,
"Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation."
(Luke 22:39-46)

'And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane:
and He saith to His disciples, "Sit ye here, while I shall pray."
And He taketh with Him Peter and James and John,
and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
And saith unto them,
"My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch."
And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed
that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said,
"Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me:
nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt."
And He cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter,
"Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak."
And again He went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.
And when He returned, He found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,)
neither wist they what to answer Him.
And He cometh the third time, and saith unto them,
"Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come;
behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand."'
(Mar 14:32-42)

 

[Complete]

In Matthew 26:39, Jesus says, "If it be your will, let this cup pass from me." Jesus tells us precisely what the cup was. It was the cup of his suffering, which meant that He would die an agonizing death as a martyr. In the passage below, Jesus told His disciples that they would also drink of the same "cup": All but John died a martyrs death.

Matthew 20:17-
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

1Thessalonians 5:9-For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we see above it was not the cup of wrath Jesus was speaking about but it was the suffering He was going to have to endure for our sins. God has not appointed us to wrath and the cup means the suffering of Jesus and that the disciples would also suffer death as martyrs. In fact, many scriptures testify that believers too will suffer persecution for being a follower of Jesus. Suffering persecution is a promise for a believer who follows Jesus, it is something we should expect to happen in our life.

2 Timothy 3:12- Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

John 15:20
Remember the word that I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.

Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

'Who in the days of His flesh,
when He had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears
unto Him that was able to save Him from death,
and was heard in that He feared;
Though He were a Son,
yet learned He obedience
by the things which He suffered;'
(Heb 5:7-8)

Hello @civic,

Thank you for your response. I do not deny the truth of your statements, and the verses you have chosen, but in regard to the struggle that the Lord Jesus Christ underwent in the garden, I do not believe that 'cup' was the cup relative to His death on the cross: but one that was being imposed upon Him, and could have caused His death prematurely. Hebrews 5:7 being descriptive of His deliverance from that death. He was able to therefore go on to fulfill His Father's will, which He had come into the world to fulfill, by dying on the cross of Calvary. That cup of suffering which only He could drink, because only He was worthy.

May the Lord show me if I am in error.

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris