Gethsemane was a small orchard well known to Jesus and the Twelve. In order to get to it they had to cross the Cedron brook, which separated the olive-trees of Gethsemane from the farm situated near the foot of Mount Olive. And this was to be the place where plants and insects were to be the only mortals to witness a sacrifice and a heroism without match in the history of the world. It has become known as the passion of Jesus, or the passion of the Christ. It was Easter.

1 WHEN Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. (John 18:1)

32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy, (Mark 14:32-33)

Jesus knew, and was well prepared for the events of this evening. But no preparation could build even God, the greatest of all, not to shiver at this ultimate sacrifice. And if it could, it would not be a sacrifice, and no atonement would have been made. The sacrifice had to be met with all the senses of his human faculties. Even at the onset of this enormous task he is very, very surprised at the painfulness of it (“began to be sore amazed”); and it had only just started (“and began… to be very heavy”)!

34 and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. (Mark 14:34)

He knew exactly where his sorrow was taking him. He wasn’t saying that he was sad that he had to suffer and die? Of course he was, but that is not what he was saying. No, he is already experiencing the sorrow for sin. He is beginning to carry the sins of man, and sin always brings with it sorrow. And ultimately, the wages of those sins are death. His words could just as well have been; the sorrow of sin is weighing me down, and it will kill me. But we must remember that the sins were not his; they were yours and mine. He was in himself pure!

35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. (Mark 14:35-36)

But this was not possible. If it would have been possible to save man without the willful sacrifice of Jesus, then the Father would have been the cruelest of us all, letting Jesus suffer as he did. But he is not cruel. The Father and the Son are equally merciful – merciful unto perfection. Therefore the Son persevered in his suffering – “not what I will, but what thou wilt”. The Father must have been tormented in his agony of withholding from his well-beloved. But not withholding altogether…

43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, (Luke 22:43-45)

Why did the disciples fall asleep? This account of Luke is somewhat comforting, to think that the disciples fell asleep due to sorrow, rather than from the lack of discipline, or worse still, from the lack of compassion. It must have been traumatic for them, hearing from Jesus about his approaching death. How should they manage without their Master? Seeing Jesus, their pillar of strength, this upset could easily have brought them to a state of mind that they would rather drift away from, into a merciful sleep.

37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?

38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly [is] ready, but the flesh [is] weak.

39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.

40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. (Mark 14:37-40)

Imagine the guilt they must have felt, when Jesus once again had to wake them up, seeing his blood-stained clothes and his face marked by agony. It is quite clear that their falling asleep wasn’t a regular fatigue of the flesh, but the kind of fatigue that God caused to fall upon the friends of Jesus, who, if they were awake, if they heard the groaning of their suffering Master, would have rushed to his aid, only to see a suffering that would have harmed them for life. For as horrible as was the crucifixion, the suffering in Gethsemane was worse. It was so intense; it was so sacred, that no man was allowed to witness it. Just think; during those hours all the wickedness and suffering of all the history of the world, met, and was swallowed up by the innocence, power, mercy, suffering and majesty of a carpenter.

41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take [your] rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.

43 And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead [him] away safely.

45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. (Mark 14:41-45)

48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? (Luke 22:48)

4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am [he]. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am [he], they went backward, and fell to the ground.

7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am [he]: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. (John 18:4-9)

49 When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? (Luke 22:49)

10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. (John 18:10)

51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. (Luke 22:51)

11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him  (John 18:11-12)

48 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and [with] staves to take me?

49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled.

50 And they all forsook him, and fled. (Mark 14:48-50)

And so it was when Jesus was taken from Gethsemane by wicked men.

The power of Jesus. But who was the man that made cowards out of the leaders of the Jews? They had their traitor, who kissed Jesus for a sign, yet, they dared not approach him. When Jesus boldly proclaimed; “I am he”, the armed group stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. What sort of a man, un-armed and harmless, could make evil, power-hungry men into groveling, spineless maggots? It was majesty! They were in the presence of Royalty! No matter how weighed down with sorrow and pain, he was still Royal Highness. He was the conqueror at Gethsemane, King of the Jews, King of Kings, Ruler of the universe.

But Jesus was aware that there was a cup to empty. This was not the time to fight the enemy. For when the day comes when the Lion shall fight the enemy in the flesh, it will all be over. But this was the day when the seed of Eve should crush the head of the serpent, the day when the bonds of sin and death would be broken, and Lucifer would see the end of his kingdom.

The Oil-press. It all started in Gethsemane. Is the place where it happened a coincidence? Gethsemane, the name of the garden, means; “an oil press”. This is how an oil press works. The Oil-press consists of two large, flat rocks. One of the rocks is placed on the bottom. The olives are placed on top of its flat surface, and an even heavier flat rock is lowered down upon the olives. Slowly, as the rock is lowered, the oil of the olives starts seeping out of the olives. The pressure is tremendous, and the oil starts to run over the surface of the rock, and as it runs over the edge, every drop is collected, so that none of the valuable oil goes to waste.

From every pore. So it was with Jesus. In Gethsemane the weight was upon him, every murder, rape, robbery, divorce, beating, thieving, and every malicious act or thought. No wonder then, that Jesus, under the horrible weight of this oil-press, bled from every pore. By truly repenting of our sins, and relying upon Jesus to deliver us from them, and live the lives that Jesus taught us, we can make every drop count that fell to the earth at Gethsemane.

Let’s recap some main points of what we learn from Gethsemane:

• At Gethsemane, God, the greatest of all, shivered because of pain, and wished that he didn’t have to empty the cup.
• Jesus knew that the suffering that began at Gethsemane was unto death, without escape.
• Jesus prayed at Gethsemane that, if it was possible, the cup might pass him by. But he knew it was not possible. This prayer was teaching us the depth of his suffering.
• No mortal man was allowed to watch the tormented Jesus in his ghastly suffering in Gethsemane. It was between him and the heavens alone.
• By truly repenting of our sins Gethsemane can become one of the most important places in our lives.