The Garden of Gethsemane

Where Jesus went. “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him” (22:39). Accustomed means it was His habit. Earlier that week, “at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet” (Luke 21:37). Matthew and Mark call the place Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:32), and John tells us there was a garden there (John 18:1). What Jesus knew. Just before they left, Jesus said, “For the things concerning Me have an end” (22:37). He knew the cross was only hours away. He did not run and hide. He went to the place He knew well, and He prayed. His first words. “When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation’” (22:40). Temptation is a pull to do wrong, or a pull to stop trusting God. To enter into temptation is to be pulled in and fall. Thinking of His friends. Jesus was about to face the hardest night of His life. Even so, He thought about His disciples. He knew their faith would be tested before morning. What this means for you. When a hard day comes, do what Jesus did. Go to your Father in prayer. Prayer is not the last thing to try when everything else fails. It is the first place to go.

As He was accustomed (22:39). “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.” All that week Jesus taught in the temple by day, and “at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet” (Luke 21:37). Matthew 26:36 and Mark 14:32 name the place Gethsemane, and John 18:1 says there was a garden there. Eyes open. Before they left the city, Jesus said, “For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors’” (22:37). He was quoting Isaiah 53:12. Jesus walked toward the cross knowing exactly what it meant, and He walked first to the place of prayer. Peirasmos (22:40). “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Temptation is peirasmos (say: pay-rahs-MOSS), a word that can mean a test or a temptation. That night would test the disciples' faith. Jesus knew how hard the test would be, so He told them to pray before it came. Enter into. Jesus did not ask that His friends would never face a test. He told them to pray that they would not enter into it, that is, be pulled in and overcome. Prayer does not remove every hard moment. It keeps us leaning on God in the middle of it. The praying Son. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and yet He prayed. In Luke's Gospel He prays at His baptism (3:21), all night before He chose the twelve (6:12), and here before the cross. If the Son of God depended on prayer, we need it even more. For you. When you know a hard day is coming, follow Jesus to the place of prayer. Ask God for strength before the test, not only after it.

Jesus knew the cross was very near. So what did He do that night? He went to pray. Jesus often went to the Mount of Olives. Matthew and Mark call the place Gethsemane. There Jesus told His friends to pray. He wanted them to pray for strength against temptation. Temptation is a pull to do something wrong. It can also be a pull to stop trusting God. Jesus knew His friends would face a hard test that night. He cared about them, even on His own hardest night. Prayer would help them stand strong. When you have a hard day, go to God first. You can talk to Him anywhere.

Jesus often went to the Mount of Olives. On His hardest night, He went there to pray. You can talk to God anytime too!

Alone to pray. “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed” (22:41). A stone's throw is about as far as you can throw a rock. Jesus went a little way off and knelt before His Father. The cup. “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me” (22:42). The cup was not a cup on a table. In the Old Testament, a cup in the Lord's hand was a picture of His anger against sin (Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17). Many Christians see the cup Jesus prayed about as this cup of God's anger. Jesus was about to take the punishment for the sin of the world. He knew how terrible that would be. Nevertheless. Then He said, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (22:42). Nevertheless means but even so. Jesus told His Father honestly what He wanted. Then He chose what His Father wanted. Not trapped. Jesus did not go to the cross because He had no way out. He chose it. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). He did it because He loved His Father and He loved us. Asked again. Matthew tells us Jesus prayed a second time: “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). What this means for you. You can tell God exactly how you feel, just as Jesus did. Then you can trust Him and say, “Your will be done.” God's will is always good, even when it is hard.

A stone's throw (22:41). “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed.” Mark says He “fell on the ground” (Mark 14:35), and Matthew says He “fell on His face” (Matthew 26:39). Each Gospel shows the Son bowed low before His Father. Abba (Mark 14:36). Mark records how the prayer began: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.” Abba (say: AH-bah) is the Aramaic word a child uses for father. In the darkest hour of His life, Jesus spoke to God with the closeness of a son. Thelema (22:42). “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Will is thelema (say: THEL-ay-mah), what someone wants and chooses. Jesus had a real human will. He did not pretend the cross was easy. He told His Father plainly what He wanted, and then He placed His will under His Father's. The cup. The psalms and the prophets describe a cup in the Lord's hand, full of His anger against sin, that the wicked must drink (Psalm 75:8; Jeremiah 25:15). Many Christians see this as the cup Jesus was about to drink in our place. Matthew records His second prayer: “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). Freely chosen. Jesus “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). The Son was not trapped. He chose the Father's will freely, in love for His Father and for us. For you. Honest prayer and surrendered prayer go together. Tell God what you want, and then trust Him enough to say, “Your will be done.”

Jesus went a little way from His friends. He knelt down to pray. He talked to God as His Father. Jesus asked His Father to take away the cup of suffering. The cup was a picture word. It meant the hard things Jesus would suffer on the cross. Jesus is God's Son, and He is also a real man. The suffering would be terrible, and Jesus told His Father so. But He prayed, “Do what you want, not what I want.” Jesus chose His Father's way. He chose the cross because He loves us. You can tell God how you really feel. Then you can trust Him to do what is best.

Jesus prayed to His Father. He said, “Do what you want, not what I want.” Jesus chose God's way because He loves us.

Very sad. Matthew tells us Jesus “began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed” and said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:37-38). Jesus felt real sorrow. Long before, Isaiah had called the coming Savior “A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Help from heaven. “Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him” (22:43). The Father sent help. The cup was not taken away, but Jesus was given strength to keep going. Agony. “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (22:44). Agony means a very great struggle and pain. Earnestly means with all His heart. The harder it got, the harder Jesus prayed. Why was it so hard? The cross meant more than pain from people. Jesus was about to carry the sin of the whole world. “And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Iniquity means sin. He understands. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus knows what deep sadness feels like. What this means for you. God does not always take a hard thing away. But He gives strength to His children. When you are sad or afraid, pray. Then keep trusting Him.

Deeply distressed. Mark says Jesus “began to be troubled and deeply distressed,” and He told Peter, James and John, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch” (Mark 14:33-34). The Son of God had a real human soul, and it was full of sorrow. Strengthening Him (22:43). “Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.” The Father did not remove the cup, but He did send strength. At the start of Jesus' ministry, in the wilderness, “the angels ministered to Him” (Mark 1:13). Now, at the end, God sent help again. Agonia (22:44). “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Agony is agonia (say: ah-goh-NEE-ah), a word for an intense struggle. Jesus answered the struggle by praying more earnestly, not less. Vehement cries. Hebrews 5:7 says that “in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death,” He “was heard because of His godly fear.” Vehement means strong and urgent. The weight. The suffering ahead was more than nails and a cross. “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). He would carry our sin. For you. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Bring Him your sorrow. He has been there.

Jesus was very sad and troubled that night. Jesus said, “My heart is breaking with sadness.” Then an angel came from heaven. The angel came to help Jesus and make Him strong. God did not leave His Son alone. Jesus kept praying. He prayed even harder than before. Why was this night so hard for Jesus? He was getting ready to carry our sins. Jesus knows what it is like to be very sad. So you can tell Him when you feel sad. He understands, and He will help you.

God sent an angel to help Jesus. Jesus prayed very hard. God helps us when things are hard too.

Sleeping from sorrow. “When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow” (22:45). They were not careless. They were so sad that they could not stay awake, and “their eyes were heavy” (Mark 14:40). A question and a call. “Then He said to them, ‘Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation’” (22:46). Lest means so that you will not. Jesus did not give up on His friends. He called them to get up and pray. Willing, but weak. In Matthew, Jesus said, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). The disciples really did want to stand with Jesus. But wanting was not enough. They needed God's strength. Jesus stayed faithful. His friends slept, but Jesus kept praying. Where they were weak, He was faithful. He went on to the cross for the very friends who fell asleep. What came next. “And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude” came (22:47). The hard hour had arrived, and Jesus met it ready, because He had prayed. What this means for you. You may want to do right and still feel weak. That is why Jesus says to pray. Ask Him for strength before temptation comes, and lean on Him when it does.

From sorrow (22:45). “When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.” Their sleep came from grief. Sorrow can drain a person's strength until even good intentions fail. Heavy eyes. Each time Jesus came back He found them asleep, “for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him” (Mark 14:40). Only hours before, Peter had said, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death” (22:33). His love was real. His strength was not enough. Willing and weak. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). The flesh here means our human weakness. A willing heart still needs God's power. Again and again. Jesus went back to pray a second and a third time, and each time He found them asleep (Matthew 26:43-45). His faithfulness did not depend on theirs. Rise and pray (22:46). “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” Moments later, “while He was still speaking,” the crowd came (22:47). The test had arrived. Jesus met it having prayed; His friends met it having slept. For you. Jesus did not throw away His sleeping friends. He went to the cross for them, rose again and made them strong. He calls you the same way: rise, pray, and lean on His strength, not your own.

Jesus finished praying and went back to His friends. They were all asleep. Why were they sleeping? They were so sad that they had become very tired. Jesus woke them up. He said, “Why are you sleeping?” Jesus' friends really loved Him. But they were not strong enough on their own. Matthew tells us what else Jesus said. Their spirit wanted to do what is right. But their body was weak. That is why they needed to pray. We need God's help too. Jesus said, “Get up and pray for strength against temptation.”

Jesus' friends fell asleep. Jesus woke them and said, “Get up and pray.” He always stays faithful to us.