Garden of Gethsemene

The passage I've chosen is the account in Luke 22:40-46

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. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

All four gospels give us details about this scene. The words used to describe the Messiah in the other passages are "greatly troubled", "overcome with sorrow", "distressed", "in agony", "to the point of death"... Matthew and Mark each detail for us that Jesus went three times to pray. Between each of those sessions, He came back to further pain of disappointment; for these three – Peter, James & John (his closest friends) – had fallen asleep. It is from this place that His disciples flee, and desert Him. It is here, in this place, that Judas betrays Him with a kiss.

Our Savior is in angst.

John's account of this scene is limited - perhaps because he was one of the ones to have fallen asleep - but he does tell us that Judas knew where to find them on this night - that this was a place that the disciples would have frequented with their Rabbi, surely in happier times.

This place was a respite in what would have been busy-festival-Jerusalem. A quiet grove of olive trees, which some speculate was owned by Mark's mother – hence a place they would have had access to. It was a miniature Galilee in the midst of the city. All of Yeshua's disciples were from Galilee, except Judas. But Judas knew where to find a Galilean.

Back to the passage in Luke - some observations:

v. 41 A stone's throw... He had the support of those close to Him, but approached the Father alone.

v. 42 He boldly made known His request, but - more importantly - He submitted His will to the Father.

v. 43 An angel appears to strengthen Him; no other account includes this detail

v. 44 His sweat became like drops of blood on the ground – Colossians 4:14 tells us that Luke was a doctor. Including this medical phenomenon underscores the intensity of this moment.

v. 45 The disciples were found to be sleeping from SORROW - they, too were drained. The other gospel accounts do not include this detail - only that "their eyes were heavy." Yeshua's rebuke in Matthew & Mark is "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"

With this passage in mind, I want to shift our focus to Hebrews 12:2-4. There are some phrases there that shed significant light on the scene in the garden.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

The passage in Luke began & ended w/ Yeshua telling the disciples "pray that you will not fall into temptation." Perhaps He meant the temptation to allow a willing spirit to give in to a flesh weakened by sorrow. Note the similarity in verse 3 of Hebrews 12, where it says "consider Him...so that you will not grow weary and lose heart..."

Verse 4 goes on to say, "you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin"

The Author & Perfecter of faith, on the other hand, has resisted to just that point. We think here of the shed blood at Calvary, but the shedding of blood began here, as his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.

His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.

Gethsemene – the word comes from 2 words which together mean "The place of pressing". Look around you. These are olives trees. The olive is crushed, and pressed. The oil that comes forth is valuable and useful. It was used in the temple for anointing & healing. It was used in the home for the preparation of food; for illumination as the lamp was filled; for lubrication of the olive press; and ultimately the remaining pulp was fed back to the animals. That which is most valuable from the olive comes only by pressing, and nothing is wasted..

His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.

Finally, backing up to verse 2 - "who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame..."

We see "the joy set before Him." We see HOPE - and that's what I want to come back to.

I want to talk about hope within suffering - especially at the point where the suffering is not yet realized - the anticipation of suffering can be its own kind of suffering. Suffering is part of our humanity, and it was part of Yeshua's humanity, even before this point here in the garden.

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and farmiliar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

I grew up in an unbelieving home, with a father who drank & a mostly absent mother, in an environment that included abuse and what most would consider neglect. I came to fear and avoid suffering at any cost. Always aching for relationship, but never willing to truly connect with people I feared & mistrusted – instead, I embraced a shallow clinginess. Manipulation and control were frequent hallmarks of unhealthy romances. It was the kind of addictive personality that frequently gets called "codependent", but what it ends up looking like is AFRAID – terrified – and in all the graphic words used to describe the Messiah in this scene, FEAR is not mentioned.

II Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline...

I John 4:18 – there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.

How can this be? How can one not fear such suffering?

The writer of Hebrews has an answer. "...for the joy set before him..."

Yeshua's agony was real, but so was his hope.

Psalm 30:5 - Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning

Paul speaks of a suffering which he refers to only as "a thorn in his flesh"

II Corinthians 12:8-9 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness"

Jesus & Paul both plead three times, showing us that it's right to pray. Jesus was strengthened by an angel, and I suspect the angel might have said something to the effect of "His grace is sufficient..."

In the end, Paul was brought to a point where he could say:

Phillipians 3:10 -11 I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the FELLOWSHIP OF SHARING IN HIS SUFFERINGS, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow to attain the resurrection from the dead.

There is another kind of suffering which has nothing to do with what Yeshua underwent here, but it is relevant to my own olive press. I did not follow the example of hope set here. Instead, I walked in rebellion & mistrust away from what I knew to be the only source of comfort & healing, in my own attempt to avoid suffering.

And I found myself capable of sins I never thought possible – anyway

And I watched my marriage disintegrate – anyway

And my mother got cancer & died – anyway

And my heart broke in a thousand pieces – anyway

God is faithful to the work He started in me, and I ended up right back in the place I was running from. The heart which broke was a stiff necked & rebellious heart – a heart of stone which had to be replaced with a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

We know that Yeshua would have learned the trade of carpentry. In that day, in this place, it would have qualified him as a stone mason also. The stone that is cut and shaped becomes a living stone. He Himself submitted to this very same work right here, in this place. He does not ask me to suffer anything to which He Himself did not submit.

Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses...

I Peter 2:4-5 – As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house…

Hope is more reasonable than fear, no matter what suffering may come. Hope is more productive than fear, because hope motivates while fear paralyzes. Hope is safer than fear. And hope is more biblical than fear.

Job 13:15 - though He slay me, I will HOPE in Him nevertheless

And hope does not disappoint us (Romans 5:5). Everything Yeshua anticipated in this place came to pass, but Hebrews 12:2 shows us hope realized..

"…and (He) has set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

We are on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. A little further up these slopes is the Church of the Ascension, where it is believed two men in white appeared to some bewildered onlookers in Acts 1:11

"They also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

And here is our hope: He will return – right near the place of pressing – and this very mountain will be split in two.

Acts 20:22a - And now, compelled by the Spirit, I go to Jerusalem...

The countdown is over. It's Friday night. Tomorrow the journey of a lifetime begins. I ask you now to pray with me as one part of the journey ends, and another part begins.

Please pray for our whole team - there are 2 dozen of us.

Below are some of the requests that the team has shared.

It is my burden to pray that God would prepare each of us for what will surely be a life changing experience to whatever extent we can break ourselves open to it. I am overwhelmed in these days before the trip by such a strong desire to be faithful to the investment God is making in me.

I want to genuinely connect with the members of this team, I want to passionately love & serve the people of Israel, and I want to powerfully influence my social & spiritual circles with a better understanding of Israel's place in our past, present & future on my return. And if everyone would please pray for my children & for me, as we prepare to be apart for 15 days - we are all three of us expecting an abundance of grace to get us through what will be our longest ever time apart..

pray for the team that we become one in the Spirit together. That we speak with one voice the love of the Messiah to Israel and each other. I want us to pray for Justin as he leads this team. That under his leadership our hearts and bodies will be in the right place at the right time. I want us to pray for Brent that the Lord will touch and direct him in just the gifts and talents he needs to draw us into a spirit of worship. I want us to pray for Sara that as she guides us that every site where she teaches will be as new and real as when Yeshua was there. I want us to pray for the person whose life is going to be changed forever on this trip. This person will start an entirely new life and walk with the Lord as a result and we need to lift them up.

Today it is my fervent prayer that everyone can draw near to Jesus. I just spent an hour talking with a friend, and with all the business of preparing for this trip, with all the requirements at work & at home & at church - all the things I try to do to prepare everyone for my absence - all the things I try to do to prepare myself for this trip - I was convicted as she suggested that I take time to be still - to know that He is God.

Martha Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her... Luke 10:41-42.

As I do so, I would love to pray for and with everyone. I hope God lays it on the hearts of everyone to utilize this medium to share, until we can connect in person.

I have a few prayer requests to add to the list :) I am in a big transition in my life and I would ask that my heart will be settled with peace. Please pray my health would be strong and I am asking to draw closer to the Lord.

I love the people of Israel and I want to be a blessing. Pray for those divine appointments and to be an encouragement to others. Prayer that our whole team becomes unified. Pray for the weather. It has been very hot. Past 100 everyday. Pray we will have breezy weather and that know one experience sunstroke or dehydration. Please pray for my family to be saved.

Pray that we don't lose any luggage, that everyone is safe. Pray for the testimony that we will have on our return, some of us to unbelieving Jewish families.

I don't know what connection I will have in the Land, and my cell phone won't work, so I'll be leaving it with my daughter, Rachel. Pray for her as she tours the homes of hospitable & generous friends & family. Pray for Jessica at Camp, as she'll be there without her sister and with the "older kids" - that she finds good friends & doesn't spend even one minute lonely.

Thank you for your prayers, and for sharing this journey with me!

In Messiah's Embrace,

Jennifer