The two most important decisions pertaining to all mankind occurred in a garden: the garden of Eden and the garden of Gethsemane. Both of these gardens illustrate the importance of one decision made. The decision to sin (made in the garden of Eden) was ill-advised, while the decision to bear that sin (made in the garden of Gethsemane) would forever bring redemption to a broken world.
The consequences of both these decisions continue to manifest in the world around us. The garden of Eden was the place where: Adam sinned, Adam hid, and the sword of God was drawn. It was God's mercy that refused to let Adam and Eve live in an unending place of sin and separation from God.
In the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus submitted His will to His Father, we see how love conquers over the depth of man's depravity. It is here that: Jesus conquers, Jesus boldly presents His body as a sacrifice, and the sword of God is sheathed. Once again, it is God's love and mercy that bring he eternal provision of a life spent with God.
While it is true that our feet may never tread in the place where the garden of Eden existed or traverse through the olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane, it is also quite likely that our spiritual journeys will include a stop at both of these gardens. Symbolically, our garden of Eden comes when we are presented with the truth of the Gospel and the person of Christ. We make a decision whether we will choose to follow Jesus, commune with Him, and obey Him. This is the first step of our journey
Once we have accepted Christ and have walked with Him for awhile, we will quite likely encounter our individual garden of Gethsemane. The characteristics of this garden will include: feeling overwhelmed, feeling like your life makes no sense, feeling like your problems are too great to bear, and feeling like you cannot go on another day.
While it was God's cup of wrath from which Jesus recoiled, each one of us have places in our hearts and lives that we believe are too big for us to handle. And, without Christ, they probably are. This is where a clash of wills can begin. However, God sees the greater good. He sees the positive consequences that will occur when we submit to His will and not our own.
When Jesus entered the garden of Gethsemane, eight of his disciples stood at a distance while three disciples (Peter, James, and John) stayed to pray with him. Even the three closest to Jesus couldn't stay awake to help Him pray... Jesus' anguish began to overwhelm Him, proving that God truly became incarnate. John Calvin writes, "Those who imagine that the Son of God was exempt from human passions do not truly and sincerely acknowledge Him to be a man." Despite Jesus' profound grief and undisputed humanity, He still did not sin (1 Peter 2:22).
Jesus did not question God's wisdom when He asked for God's cup of wrath to be removed from Him. Instead, He submitted to God's will while honestly admitting the dread He felt for what was going to happen. John Calvin also addresses the fact that Jesus trembles in Gethsemane "because He has before His eyes the dreadful tribunal of God, and the Judge himself armed with inconceivable vengeance; and because our sins, the load of which is laid upon Him, presses Him down with their enormous weight."
Today, our gardens of Gethsemane may look very different than Jesus' did. nd yet, when we face the deep sorrows of: dying loved ones, illnesses, broken marriages, children on dark paths, lost jobs, etc., we are still faced with an anguish that is consuming. In addition to our own Gethsemanes, we may also be invited in to pray in another persons garden of Gethsemane.
More than likely, this garden is a lonely one. However, we are never alone. Hebrews tells us, "This High Priest of ours [Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it" (Hebrews 4:15-16).
The ultimate triumph that occurred at Calvary was first accomplished among the twisted olive trees in Gethsemane. The word Gethsemane literally means "olive press". Just as the olives are completely pressed to make oil, so was Jesus "crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5).
Jesus' submission accomplished great things! When we surrender to God, we relinquish all our rights to Him. At times we will be pressed and even feel crushed. As we continue to lay down our will, our dreams, our rights, and our goals, we begin to see that Jesus is a wise and beneficent Lord who desperately longs to bless us!
"The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender."
William Booth, founder of Salvation Army
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