“He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’” (Mark 14:34 nlt)
Have you ever felt lonely? Have you ever felt as though your friends and family had abandoned you? Have you everfelt like you were misunderstood? Have you ever had a hard time understanding or submitting to the will of God for your life? If so, then you have an idea of what the Lord Jesus went through when He agonized at Gethsemane.
The book of Hebrews tells us, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of 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 most” (4:15–16 nlt).
The book of Isaiah tells us that Jesus was “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (53:3 nlt). But thesorrow He experienced in Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion seemed to be the culmination of all the sorrowHe had ever known and would accelerate to a climax the following day. The ultimate triumph that was to take place atCalvary was first accomplished beneath the gnarled, old olive trees of Gethsemane. Jesus shared His agony with His disciples. “He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me’” (Mark 14:34 nlt).
It’s interesting that the very word Gethsemane means “olive press.” Olives were pressed there to make oil, and truly, Jesus was being pressed from all sides that He might bring life to us. I don’t think we can even begin to fathom whatHe was going through. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed” (nlt). That’s the hard truth of our salvation: Jesus had to suffer and die in our place. He had to endure the punishment that we deserved. He was crushed and beaten for our sake. He could have walked away, but He submitted to His Father’s will so that the plan of salvation could be accomplished.
His crushing and beating brought about your salvation and mine. Because of what Jesus went through atGethsemane and ultimately at the cross, we can call on His name. Though His suffering and death were unfathomablyexcruciating, they were necessary for God’s ultimate goal.
Maybe you’re at a crisis point in your life right now—a personal Gethsemane, if you will. You know what youwant, yet you can sense that God’s will is different. Would you let the Lord choose for you? Would you be willing to say,“Lord, I am submitting my will to Yours. Not my will, but Yours be done”? You will never regret making that decision.
Reflection question: How would you explain the hard truth about Jesus’ sacrifice to an unbeliever?
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Greg Laurie is the pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California and Hawaii and of Harvest Crusades. He is an evangelist, best-selling author, and movie producer. His latest film ‘Jesus Revolution,’ from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, is now available on-demand worldwide.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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