In the Garden, He Loved Us

As I sit and meditate on the love Jesus has shown me over the last several years, my mind wanders to the Garden –not a garden, but the Garden of Gethsemane.  The Garden of Gethsemane is an olive tree garden, where in Jesus’ day olives were plucked and then pressed for their precious commodity of oil. Let the symbolism of an olive being pressed linger in your mind. It was no coincidence that here Jesus came to pray prior to the crucifixion.

When contemplating Christ’s love for the world, we tend to focus on the Cross, and how Jesus bore our sins the day of His death. Though that day is marvelous within its own right – go with me to the Garden. This is the place we associate with distress and agony as He came to speak with the Father concerning all that was about to happen.

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:36-38 NLT

But there was something else that was happening in the Garden, love was about to surface, to fully bloom. Here is where Jesus’ love for mankind became fully evident. Here is not just where he prayed a simple prayer, but where he wrestled with the events to come. So heavy were His thoughts.

He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. Luke 22:44 NLT

Yet, His love for us was stronger. Here was where the decision of all decisions was made –turn back or do God’s will.

He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:35-36 NLT

And where were the disciplines during the Lord’s hour of need –sleeping nearby. Three times the Lord would find them asleep. In truth, the events about to take place had not impressed upon their minds yet. They did not realize that the reality of it all was so close at hand, and so, they gave in to their bodies’ exhaustion and slept. In honesty and in our humanity, we would probably have been as weak them. Thank goodness He is stronger.

Yes, remember the Garden. It is the place where the plan for our salvation began to unfold. How fitting that our connection with God, being lost in a garden –the garden of Eden, was now taking root again in another garden –the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Garden, He loved us. So important is this piece of the overall story, that it is recounted in all four of the Gospels. In the end, we see our Savior, decision made, stepping into His destiny without hesitation.

Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. I am he,” Jesus said. …  John 18:4-6 NLT

So I say to you, to view the Cross in its fullness, first we must visit the Garden.

Blessings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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