Station 6: The Garden of Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-46

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

FOR FURTHER READING
Luke 22:39-36 | John 17 | Matthew 26:47-56
Jesus’ Arrest: John 18:4-14

REMEMBER

As they left the Passover celebration, Jesus had a heavy heart. With three of His closest companions, He went into the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. This was the site where olives were pressed to create olive oil, and it is a great parallel as we see how Jesus was pressed here, preparing to be poured out for our sins, only to rise again. This is how He refines all of us, being pressed so the most fruitful parts of our lives can be seen and experienced by all, to show the life and light of Jesus through our actions.

After begging His friends to stay awake with Him and pray during this trying time, He confesses the weight of His soul being overwhelmed – a very human reaction to what He knew was about to take place. We see a moment of transparency in Jesus’ prayer with the Father as He begs to have the cup taken from Him (three times actually), knowing the calling on His life was far too great a burden. Instead of giving up and walking away, He commits His will to the Father’s, saying, “yet not as I will, but as you will.”

He shows a moment of honest, raw confession to God and in the same breath, Jesus surrenders the weight He was carrying so that He may be obedient to fulfill what God has asked of Him. The entire time He was overwhelmed with this moment, He kept thinking of His friends who were in the garden with Him. He encouraged them to stay awake and aware, praying continuously to the Spirit because He knew they would need to be strengthened by God for what they would soon experience. John 17 reveals what Jesus prayed that night – for His life, His friends, and for all believers (meaning you).

Even as Jesus was preparing for His own death, the heaviest calling anyone could face, He was thinking of others. He had a surrendered and trusting heart to the will of His Father, and He submitted time to prayer, confession and release, moments before the soldiers entered the garden to arrest Jesus, thanks to Judas, who betrayed Him for money.

RECOGNIZE

Pause for a few moments and imagine what it must have been like for Jesus, just hours before the crucifixion, as He agonized over what was to come. His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow. The only place He could find solace was in the presence of His Father.

If you are able, take some time to kneel before God and allow yourself to consider the suffering of Christ. Name some of the emotions He might have been feeling.

What is your heart feeling in this moment? What pain, loss, or loneliness are you facing, similar to what Jesus was feeling?

What is a part of the calling on your life that feels too heavy of a burden to carry, something that you may have asked God to take from you as Jesus did? Are you willing to surrender that to God, claiming “if not my will, your will be done”?

As the story goes, when the soldiers came for Jesus, Peter lunged at one of them with his sword, slicing a soldier’s ear off. Peter’s response to confrontation and danger was to attack his accusers. Jesus’ response was to surrender to the will and plan of the Father no matter the cost. What would happen if your response to adversity was to lean into the will of God?

RECEIVE

God, I seek you in moments of grief, loneliness and pain. My soul longs for You. I’m laying my desires at Your feet, and I pray you would surround me with Your presence so I can live life to the full. God, carry me through the challenges life throws my way, so I may be able to follow through on the call You have given me. I know I will be fully satisfied in Your presence – You are my hope alone.