The Garden of Gethsemane

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Maunday Thursday
The Garden of Gethsemane
April 1, 2010

TEXT:  (Matthew 26:35-46 NKJ) Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples. 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." 39  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 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. 46 "Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."
 
This is the night that we look at the suffering of our Lord Jesus—the Christ—the Son of God—we’ll look at the events that took place in the garden of Gethsemane—just prior to Jesus’ arrest—on this night of Jesus’ arrest, the disciples—Peter—and all of the 11—were prepared to defend their Lord unto their own death if necessary—this is validated later when Jesus was arrested
 
(Luke 22:49-51 NKJ) When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this." And He touched his ear and healed him.
 
Now let’s continue our lesson in the garden—Jesus could have prayed alone in the upper room—but the Gospel clearly states that He took the disciples with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane—surrounded by His 11 faithful disciples—why did He go to the garden?—why this particular garden?—is there any significance to this place?—is there significance to the details we are provided?
 
Consider the walk to the garden—Jesus crossed the Brook Kidron—the same brook crossed by King David as he fled Jerusalem to escape death at the hands of his rebellious son Absalom—this was the beginning of the split of God’s people
 
(2 Samuel 15:23 NKJ)  And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness.
 
King David escaped death and the Tribes of Israel were separated—the King of the Jews—Jesus the Christ—crossed the brook to die and unite all believers into His Body—the Church
 
(John 18:1 NKJ)  When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered.
 
The Brook Kidron is part of Jewish history—when King Hezekiah ordered the priests to remove the idols and false gods from the temple—he had them burned, crushed, and the ashes thrown into the Brook Kidron
 
(2 Chronicles 29:16 NKJ)  Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the LORD to the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron.
 
The garden of Gethsemane was a favorite place for Jesus to pray—it was secluded—it was near the temple and Jerusalem—and it was a quiet and peaceful place—Judas knew this place—and he would deliver the soldiers—and the other workers of Satan for the arrest—but it is more than a quiet place that Judas could find—it was fulfillment of Scripture
 
As we’ve discussed many times—names mean something in God’s Word—Gethsemane means oil press—and this garden was probably named Gethsemane because it contained an oil press—this same word would be used to describe a wine press—essentially the same device—sometimes as simple as a trough in which grapes were placed to be trampled for their juice
 
Now let’s go back to the Old Testament—to the book of Moses in which the Savior is promised—Genesis chapter 49—hear the last words of a dying Jacob as he spoke to each of his sons—especially the words to his son Judah—the tribe of Israel through which the Savior was promised
 
(Genesis 49:10-11 NKJ) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. 11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
 
On Palm Sunday we read about Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem on the first day of the week we call Holy Week—Jesus told His disciples that they would find a donkey tied to a tree—they would also find the colt of a donkey—Genesis chapter 49 says Jesus’ robe will be washed in the blood of grapes—Revelation says our robes will be washed in the blood of our Savior
 
(Revelation 7:13-14 NKJ) Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" 14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
 
And now we ask the question—why the garden of Gethsemane?—because the prophet Isaiah prophesied it—it all fits—we read the words of Isaiah the prophet
 
(Isaiah 63:2-3 NKJ) Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3 "I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes.
 
To clearly see who it is that is treading in the winepress—we need to look at one more verse
 
(Joel 3:13 NKJ) Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow-- For their wickedness is great."
 
As the Gospel is preached to all the world—just as Jesus said it would be prior to the end of time—the world is condemned—then the harvest—the final harvest of the return of Jesus—will come
 
(Revelation 14:14-20 NKJ) Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
 
To get an idea of how much blood is spoken of by Isaiah—we need to understand that 1600 furlongs is about 200 miles—understand that the words of Isaiah would have made no sense at the time he spoke them—but they make perfect sense to us now—Gethsemane oil press—wine press—grape press—a place to trample out the blood of the grapes to make wine—trodding alone—no one was with Me—we now see clearly why Jesus had to go to the garden—why He took the 11—why He went forward with His beloved 3 disciples—and why they couldn’t stay awake—why Jesus prayed alone in the garden—all this fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah—even those closest to Him—and being invited to go—could not go—because the prophesy had to be fulfilled
 
“I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me.”
 
In this garden—Jesus began to trod alone to provide the blood of our salvation—so much was this grace and mercy of God—that the vats overflowed—the beginning of sin was in a garden—that garden was called Paradise—and God promised to defeat sin and death for all mankind—God promised to crush Satan
 
NIV  Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Gen 3:15 NIV)
 
God would provide man access to the garden paradise of heaven
 
(Revelation 2:7 NKJ) "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'
 
As we consider the of events in the garden of Gethsemane—we are reminded of the Old Testament—at the giving of the Law—let’s review the events of Exodus chapter 19—first, God tells Moses that He will appear on the third day
 
(Exodus 19:11 NKJ) "And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
 
Moses allowed the people to approach the mountain with Him—then Moses and Aaron went up the mountain—but Moses advanced to the mountain top to speak with God alone—while Aaron waited
 
Jesus went to the garden with the 11—advanced with His chosen few—and went on to speak with God alone--Moses was about to receive the Law from God—Jesus was about to free us from the bondage of that Law—what an example of the harmony of the Old and New Testaments
 
There’s another example provided for our learning—8 disciples were at the entrance of the garden—they viewed the suffering of Christ from a distance—3 were closer to the suffering of Jesus as He agonized over the temptation of the devil—and the cup of sorrow He had to drink—and so it is today—our suffering as Christians is not equal—some are closer to the suffering of Christ than others—some will always remain distant—all 11 remained Apostles—all saw the suffering of our Lord—all were willing to go anywhere Jesus asked—but only some were asked to be closer to the suffering—it remains so today—some of us are drawn closer to the cross of suffering—while others are kept distant
 
Jesus, being the Son of God, knew the suffering that was about to come—He brought the 3 disciples for the comfort of knowing they would carry on the fight with Satan after He was gone—but they were not much comfort—they couldn’t even stay awake—they were close enough to hear Jesus prayer to God the Father—but didn’t stay awake—even as our Savior cried out and shed tears of grief and pain
 
Because He was sinless—He should not die—but because He was sinless and holy—He willed to die for our sins—Jesus’ time in the garden was not a time of decision—His decision was made when He came to this world as a human—to defeat death and pay for our sins—Jesus as the Son of God knew all that was to come—and Jesus the man would have to endure all as a man—a sinless perfect man—He prayed for strength—and He prayed so hard that His human body was about to burst—the Bible says He sweat blood—then God sent Him strength—in the presence of an angel
 
(Luke 22:43-44 NKJ) Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
 
Then came the betrayal—the arrest—the mock trial—the beatings—the denial by His disciples—the crucifixion—and the burial—it all started in Genesis—in a garden Paradise—it progressed to a garden called Gethsemane—and for each and every believer there is hope—God promised all who are obedient—all those who hear the voice of Jesus—that we will spend eternity with Him—in the garden of Paradiseheaven!
 
. (Philippians 3:20-21 NKJ)  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!