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Good Friday
The Garden of Gethsemane
April 10, 2009
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—is there any symbolism that we should
consider?—first we set the mood and condition of 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.
So we see the level of dedication and commitment the 11 had toward
Jesus—understanding the willingness of the disciples to die defending Jesus—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?
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.
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 the 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
The 3 disciples slept—they were tired—they surrendered to the weakness of their
human nature—Jesus asked them to keep watch—but they nodded off—these 3 were
like us—weak and helpless—but able to call upon God for strength—and that’s why
Jesus said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
These 3 cannot by themselves stay awake—but through prayer they can have the
power of God—through His Holy Spirit—provide the strength to overcome human
weakness—the 3 were yielding to the flesh—Jesus is encouraging them to go to God
for the strength of the Spirit—Jesus the man—by His human nature—faced the
horrible painful events ending with death on the cross—His obedience was His
decision
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—His visit to the garden is our view of the agony of
Jesus—He knew what had to be done—and He spent His time with the Father before
entering into the painful death He must endure
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
(John 10:27-30 NKJ) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow
Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall
anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is
greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30
"I and My Father are one."
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!