SECTION 12: THE TRIAL – DEATH –
AND RESURRECTION OF THE KING
CHAPTER 62
JESUS IN GETHSEMANE
OR
THE AGONY OF DEATH OVERCOME
Scripture To Consider:
“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then Jesus said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.‘ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ “
“Then He came to His disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, ‘What, could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The Spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.’ He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.’ And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.”
So Jesus left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, he who betrays Me is at hand.’” Matthew 26.36-46
Something To Consider:
The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane would be difficult to explain or to excuse, if Jesus were but a man, suffering amidst the agony and dread of physical death. He, however, was about to die as a divine sacrifice for sin. The cup He was to drink contained a bitterness which no man had ever tasted. That impressionable scene in the garden can be interpreted only by the words spoken in the Upper Room, “This is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” It is this agony which adds to the mystery and the meaning of the cross.
Yet Jesus, too, was a man, and it was but natural to shrink from torture and from death. His sufferings enable Him to sympathize with a long train of martyrs who have and will follow in His footsteps and who taste in part the cup of His anguish. He Himself longed for sympathy. It was for this reason Jesus took with Him His closest inner circle as He entered the shadows of the garden, but in weariness or in carelessness they fell asleep. In their weakness the Master presented a picture of the loneliness and desolation which is inseparable from all sorrow and trial.
Therefore, the supreme recourse of Jesus is found in prayer. When the agony grips His soul most fiercely, He still prayed. And He was answered; not that the cup was removed, but that grace was given to drain its very agony, and therefore, death lost its sting, while the grave was deprived of victory, and Jesus became unto all who obey Him, the author of eternal salvation.
The spirit in which Jesus prayed was that of willing obedience to His Father. His matchless words are these, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” He won His victory by His submission to the will of His Father. When the traitor approached, Jesus was ready; the agony and the storm was past. Jesus then stepped forth to meet His enemies and His cross with kingly calm. What about us in our personal hour of trial?
More Scripture To Consider:
“And when Jesus was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.’ Then immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, ‘Greeting, Rabbi!’ and he kissed Jesus. And Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, why have you come?’ Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.”
“And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’“
“In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, ‘Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples forsook Jesus and fled.” Matthew 26.47-56
Something Else To Consider:
In contrast with the princely form of Jesus is the surprisingly evil figure of Judas. The manner in which he concludes his foul crime is in perfect keeping with its essential baseness. Into the garden where he knew Jesus was accustomed to retire for prayer, Judas led a great crowd armed with swords and clubs. It was there he betrayed his Lord with a kiss, a sign agreed upon, that one of the disciples might not be mistaken for the Master.
Thus, acts of disloyalty to Christ often seem the more repulsive because of the scenes in which they are committed and of the false display of love by which they are accompanied. Therefore, the fearless composure of Jesus is further contrasted with the conduct of His disciples. One of them with the impulse of mere physical courage drew his sword and impetuously attacked a servant of the high priest; but he was rebuked by Jesus, assuring him that the cause of his Master was not and is not to be advanced by physical violence.
And then adding a kingly claim appropriately recorded by Matthew alone, Jesus declared, “Do you think that I cannot pray to My Father, and He will provide Me more than twelve legions of angels?” Therefore, Jesus was conscious of His power and position, but He was equally convinced of His divine purpose.
Therefore, Jesus proclaimed that in His arrest and crucifixion the predictions of redemption were being fulfilled. Willingly He offered Himself as the ultimate atoning sacrifice. However, He rebuked the guilty agents of His death. He turned to Judas and his accomplices, resenting the implication of their coming to take Him by force. He further protested against the secrecy with which they were making His arrest. He had never been guilty of violence. His teachings had all been in public. And yet, He declared, that even their sinful conduct had been foretold by the prophets.
And yet, Jesus submitted to their insulting and humiliating seizure. And worse, His heart was saddened as He saw all His disciples forsake Him and flee. Only an hour before they had all with great pride boasted of their loyalty to Him. Even Peter had declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples. Thus, ignorant are we of our own potentially moral cowardice; thus, how often has our courage failed in the hour of our own personal trial?
Something More To Consider:
The agony of the certainty of death, even in the life of Jesus, created human sorrow and distress. To deny that fact is to attempt to deny the record of Scripture. According to Matthew, “Jesus took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John], and Jesus began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.” And also, according to Jesus’ own words, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.”
And yet, in the midst of personal private prayer, Jesus gained the peace and human courage to declare, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Therefore, even in the midst of the human agony over His unjust arrest, His inhumane treatment, and approaching cruel death that Jesus knew He would experience, He finally prayed, “Not as I will, but as You will.”
What then can we learn from the agony of death overcome by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? What should we learn even if we, in the future, find ourselves facing the agony of death, the betrayal of a friend or loved one, the forsaking of all those closest to us, or the humiliation of being falsely accused?
Hopefully, we should learn from this biblical life lesson garden of prayer and betrayal scene revealed to us from our Scripture to consider, is that prayer and enduring to the end crossing over faith in God’s grace to be sufficient through Jesus Christ. Are we assured by faith that His grace will be enough to sustain us as it did Jesus, our exceedingly great earthly example.
A Few Final Words:
Though Jesus was being wrongfully accused for crimes He had never committed, He knew that the Scriptures must be fulfilled. He understood that God the Father’s will must be accomplished. Jesus was fully aware that all things, even the agony of approaching death; that all things, even the betrayal and hatred He would face; that all things, even the awaiting cruel symbol of total submission in the form of an old rugged cross, that all things worked together for good to those who love God and who are called according to His purposes, according to His perfect will and not our own.
And yet, at times our human nature rears its ugly head causing us to become sorrowful and exceedingly distressed over present situations and circumstances totally out of our control. And when those troubling times occur, when perilous events enter our lives, our only hope of overcoming the agony of death, or desertion, or distress, is found in the peace that passes all understanding that floods our souls in and through private prayer and complete submission to God’s will.
Have we learned this most important life lesson? Have we freely availed ourselves of the power of prevailing prayer recently? If not, we will most assuredly have our opportunity in time! According to Jesus, “But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
In Closing:
At the age of twenty-five, I witnessed as a newly born-again prayerful onlooker, cancer slowly consume the life and body of my forty-three-year-old mother of nine children and enduring to the end true lover of God. Her last words spoken to her oldest son while lying in a hospital bed, were “You just don’t understand.”
She was right! I was distraught over the whole incident. I did not understand how God could take such a godly woman from her husband, from her nine children, and especially, from her newly acquainted with God eldest son. It was not until at her funeral, where I was informed that my mother had prayed, whatever it takes Lord, to bring my long-lost eldest son back to God.
For me, it took her dealing with and eventually dying due to literally being consumed by cancer. Yes, I am a firm believer that all things, not some or not many things, but that all things work together for good to those who truly love God and are called according to His purposes, and not our own!
Let’s Pray:
Our Father in heaven, help us to learn these lessons of a lifetime concerning the truth of Your Word, by whatever means You see fit. Thank You for the lessons to be learned by the agony Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. Thank You Father, that we can now see and understand that even in the agony of death itself, death and fear of the grave can be overcome by prevailing prayer and the knowledge of Christ believing that all things work together for good to those who truly love God and are called according to His purposes. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 