Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:36-56
There was something strangely significant even in the name of the place where Jesus endured His midnight agony. Gethsemane means oil press. It was the place where oil was crushed out of the olives. Olive oil was very valuable. It was used chiefly for food and for lighting. The sufferings of Christ have yielded the highest blessings to the world — food for men’s souls, and light to shine in darkness.
We cannot begin to understand the anguish of Christ that night. He said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” We should take off our shoes as we stand by the edge of the scene. Some of the elements of His suffering, however, may be suggested. Before Him lay the betrayal, the arrest, the trial, and then death on the cross. By his pre-vision He saw all these cruelties and tortures. Another element of His suffering lay in the falseness of the human hearts about Him. There were the traitorous kiss of Judas, the denial of Peter, the desertion by the other disciples, the rejection and crucifixion by the people He had come to save. All this He saw from Gethsemane. But that which made the essence of the anguish that night was that He died for sin. “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). What that meant we never can know. He was dying, the just for the unjust. He bore our sin in His own body on the tree. We may not try to fathom the mystery, but the fact we should never allow to be forgotten.
The humanness of Jesus also appears in the Garden. He craved the sympathy of His friends in His suffering. While they cold not lessen the anguish nor bear any part of it for Him, feeling with Him, would make Him stronger to endure. There is a picture which shows two women seated side by side. One is in deep sorrow. Some great grief has fallen upon her heart and crushed it. Her face tells of deepest affliction. The other woman has come in from without. She is sitting beside the sufferer, in silence, holding her hand, while her face expresses deep sympathy. The near presence of one we love when we are in any trial makes us stronger to endure. This suggests one way in which we may do good. True sympathy with those in trouble is often the best service we can render them.
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