Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples….”Stay here and watch with Me.” —Matthew 26:36, 38
We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us.
It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.
The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.
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Journal DJR
Good morning Lord,
Chambers says that at least we don’t have to misunderstand Christ’s agony in Gethsemane… I’d say I’m a long way from understanding all of the intricacies of that event. But I have been clear, ever since Mel Gibson’s movie, that Jesus, stomping the snake in the Garden, was in a way, the central point of the story and all of history. After that, You seemed to just march thru the pre-determined script …. The purpose of your coming was dying. But the part done as the Son of Man and the Son of God, the powers and limitations and results of each…. I’m still working on that.
It’s OK. Theologians have for 2000 years, and Pharisees even longer than that. I’m not saying that understanding those things has no value. I’m saying don’t let them distract you from the main thing, which is relationship and intimate connection with me. That comes thru the things I’ve been teaching you, not intricate theological understandings. As Paul said,
1 Corinthians 8:1 (NIV)
… But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
Eugene Petersen amplifies in the Message…
We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.
So focus on me and our relationship and I will reveal things to you in due time. Time when you won’t abuse them but humbly weave them into your life, knowing that you’ll never know it all… until you get here. When my truths are revealed in humble surrendered connected living, they are sweet in your soul and make you bright amongst your company. When you dig them out with hard intellectual labor, they make you hard and cold and divisive and judgmental, like those Pharisees… So rest in me. Press in, but rest. When you are perplexed by a question like how much I did as the Son of Man vs what I did as the Son of God … just press in, and rest. Know that I love you, died for you, have plans for you, plans for good, and will make all things work together for good for you. Don’t mess yourself up by over thinking and over expounding on things that are secondary. I can reveal everything to a humble heart. I reveal nothing to a proud Pharisee.
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