No
bible study or Christian teaching will be complete during Easter without the
mention of the Garden of Gethsemane. That was where Jesus began His journey to
the cross.
Bible recorded that Jesus always goes there with the disciples to pray. It was
a different situation on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion.
that day, Jesus went with Peter, James, and John. They were the three disciples
closest to Him. Jesus knew His time has come, hence needed to seek the face of
God in prayers, and didn’t need much crowd for that.
left the disciples at a location in the garden and went further to seek a quiet
place where He can be alone with God, to pray. He instructed the disciples to
pray along with Him though.
Unfortunately,
the disciples could not pray. Their eyes were heavy with sleep. Jesus came back
to meet them sleeping and resting, and He was disappointed.
Jesus
had to pray alone until He secured the victory that He sought. When Judas
brought the Jewish leaders to arrest him, He was ready for them.
Lessons from The
Garden of Gethsemane
are notable lessons God wants us to learn concerning what Jesus did in the
garden called Gethsemane.
Jesus prayed throughout His stay in the garden shows to us the importance of
prayer. He even told His disciple to join Him, but they fell asleep.
is also noteworthy to say that when Jesus was to start His ministry, He began
with 40 days of fasting.
Jesus
prayed with sorrow and a heavy heart. He was not afraid of death, but He
detested the real duty He was about to perform. That is, putting the sin of
humanity upon Himself.
had lived all His life without sin. Though He is God, He was a total man when
He was on earth. He was tempted but He never sinned. He gave one of His secrets
to the disciples in the garden as they were struggling with sleep.
told them; “watch and pray, so that you will not fall into
temptation.” For such a personality, to bear the sins of the whole world
is a big task.
surrendered to the will of God. We can see this in the words of His prayers. He
prayed, “not My will, but Thine be done.” Luke 22:42. What a life of
total dedication and selflessness?
is what God also wants us to do in our moments of trials, challenges, and
difficulties. He wants us to rely on Him completely. God is aware of whatever
we are passing through, and He is fully in control.
we allow Him to have His way, He will bring to pass His plans which are always
beyond our comprehension.
Joseph allowed God’s will in his life, and he did not take advantage of
Potiphar’s wife, nor seek to help himself in any way, he became the governor of
Egypt.
Jesus Christ, God sent an angel to strengthen Him so that He will not become
weak. God will always be on the side of those who are striving to do His will.
He will not abandon them in their times of difficulty.
Bible says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to
Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9. We will always win our battles if we allow God to
have His way.
Why Is the Garden of
Gethsemane Important?
is located across Kidron valley on the Mount of Olives. The name has been
translated to mean oil press, probably because of the many olive trees that are
planted there, and also the presence of an oil press.
is not the name nor the location of this garden that makes it popular and
important, but what Jesus experienced there. There ‘the son of man’ became a
man of sorrow. He was sorrowful to the point of death. There the hands of
sinners prevailed over Him because the scriptures must be fulfilled.
How Many Times Did
Jesus Pray in The Garden of Gethsemane?
recorded in Matthew 26:36, and Mark 14:32 Jesus came specifically to the garden
to pray, and He prayed three times before He secured the victory that He
needed.
prayed the same prayer throughout, Matthew 15:39 – Father if it were possible
let this cup pass over me. Jesus used
that to show us that whenever we need anything from God we should tarry in
prayer until our requests are met.
times we don’t get an answer to our prayers because we did not tarry long
enough. In Daniel 9:1-27, Daniel fasted and prayed for 21 days before getting
answers to his prayers.
God
answered him the first day he started the prayer, but the Prince of Persia held
back the angel that was bringing it, and he could not reach Daniel.
continual prayer of Daniel made God send a stronger angel who fought off the
demon and make way for the first angel to take the answer down to Daniel.
was a man of like passion like us. With prayers, he sealed the heavens for
three and half years, and there was no rain. With prayers, he opened the
heavens again, and rain fell.
a big lesson for us to learn from the prayer life of Jesus, Daniel, Elijah, and
other people who conquer their enemies on their knees. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16.
Garden of Gethsemane
Bible Verses
all the four gospels in the Bible give the account of Jesus’s prayers and
arrest, in the garden of Gethsemane. The passages are; Matthew 26:36-56, Mark
14:32-50, Like 22:39-53, John 18:1-12.
of them recorded the same thing; that Jesus came to the garden with three of
His disciples. He prayed three times while the disciples were sleeping. John in
his record added that God sent an angel to strengthen Him.
Jesus woke the disciples up and told them that those who would arrest Him are
close by. As He was speaking, Judas came with the Jewish religious leaders and
soldiers, and he betrayed Him with a kiss.
Jesus
was taken without a struggle, He rebuked his disciples who tried to fight back,
and told them that the scriptures must be fulfilled. Eventually, all His
disciples forsook Him and ran.
He
was cruelly beaten and humiliated, but He despised the shame, endured the
cross, died, and rose on the third day.