Gethsemane
I love Yeshua. He has saved me, healed me, delivered me, and made me a man of God. My capacity to declare all of his grace and beauty is pitifully inept. I doubt that I shall ever be able to fully express all that Yeshua is to me, nor all that he has done for me. No surprise that it pains me deeply when I hear preachers and pastors speaking of Yeshua’s experience in Gethsemane as if he were some cringing coward looking desperately for an escape plan. I offer this nugget of instruction as an apology for the utterly false notion that Yeshua was getting “cold feet” in Gethsemane.
Matthew 26:38-39
V. 38
Yeshua’s soul was troubled to the point of dying. He prayed to the Father to let, if it were possible, “THIS” cup pass from him. Yet, nevertheless, let the Father’s will be done.
Luke 22:42-44
V. 43
The first new piece of information is that an angel came to him, from heaven, and strengthened him. No doubt he was strengthened in what he was going to do; go to the cross. But the parameters of this scenario might be quite different than what we have traditionally been taught from the pulpit. (go to verse 44)
Next, an angel from heaven came and STRENGTHENED Yeshua. Finally, his sweat was as great drops of blood.
In John 12:27, prior to the last supper (which is definitely before the garden event here), Jesus said,
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. BUT FOR THIS CAUSE CAME I UNTO THIS HOUR.
Those who would have us believe that Yeshua was shrinking from his appointed mission on the cross never read John 12:27.
Also, in Psalm 88 (a Messianic psalm) verses 1-3,15; the psalmist says,
My soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth near unto the grave....I am afflicted and READY TO DIE FROM MY YOUTH UP....
We see that Yeshua knew why he was here on earth, and the Psalmist adds that Yeshua was prepared to die from his earliest childhood. Now, in the garden, Yeshua is experiencing the troubles spoken of by the Psalmist, and in Hebrews 5:7 we read,
For Jesus during his earthly life offered up prayers and entreaties, crying aloud and weeping as he pleaded with him who was able to bring him in safety out of death, and HE WAS DELIVERED FROM THE TERROR FROM WHICH HE SHRANK. —Weymouth Bible
First, we must acknowledge what the Scriptures say to us, and if what they actually say just happens to slaughter one of our sacred cows,so be it.
Those who would have us believe that yeshua was questioning whether the cross was really the way for him to go, and that he was seeking an alternative to the Cross need to look more closely at this verse of Scripture.
Whatever it was that was troubling him, whatever was causing him such great distress that he was sweating drops of blood, whatever it was...HE WAS DELIVERED FROM IT! If Yeshua was seeking to escape the Cross the in Gethsemane, then HE WAS DELIVERED FROM IT! But, wait, he actually went to the Cross. So it could not have been his death on the Cross that was bothering him. It was not his death on the Cross that HE WAS DELIVERED FROM!
When Yeshua prayed to be saved from death he was not seeking an alternative to the cross! This is a good spot to recap:
✦ He was in an agony in the garden.
✦ His soul was sorrowful unto death.
✦ He sweat drops of blood!
✦ He was ready to die from his youth up!
I propose that the torment Yeshua was experiencing was his concern that he would die in the garden and not live to make it to the Cross!
Yeshua NEVER shrank from the Cross! He NEVER halted at its purpose! Throughout the gospels he told his disciples that he must be crucified! He knew that was why he came into the world.
Now, in the garden, being ready to be offered up as the sacrificial lamb of God, his soul is troubled. He was to bring in the salvation of all humanity through his atoning death. He was ready to die. So ready in fact, that he felt his life slipping away in the garden.
An angel of God, from heaven, had to come and strengthen him. He prayed to the Father to let, not THE cup, but to let THIS cup pass from me. We are told in Hebrews 5:7 that he WAS DELIVERED from the terror from which he shrank, i.e., dying in the garden and not on the cross.
That Which Dies of Itself
Furthermore, we have in scripture the prohibitions on eating that which “dieth of itself.”
And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. —Leviticus 7:24
And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. —Leviticus 17:15
That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. —Leviticus 22:8
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. —Deuteronomy 14:21
Had Yeshua “died of himself” in the garden, he would have been unfit as our passover.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: —1 Corinthians 5:7
Messiah HAD to be SACRIFICED. He could not just expire. Had he died there in Gethsemane, the entire plan of salvation would have unraveled. Yeshua’s discourse in John 6:48-58 would have been rendered moot.
Conclusion
01. Yeshua’s purpose was well known to him; he knew why he had come into the world.
02. He was so well grounded in this knowledge that he was ready to die from his youth up.
03. In the garden, merely hours away from the apex of his earthly ministry his soul was in an agony.
04. He had reached to point of dying of himself as a result of that agony, so great was his trouble.
05. The strengthening angel helped sustain the life of Yeshua in the garden so he would make it alive to the cross.
a. It is interesting to note here that the angel did not “comfort” him, but, rather, strengthened him. That strengthening was needed because of his nearness to death.
06. He was already sweating out drops of blood, so eager was he to fulfill the work of salvation.
07. Yeshua prayed to the Father in the garden to be saved from death (Hebrews 5:7) and HE WAS DELIVERED FROM THE TERROR FROM WHICH HE SHRANK, thus enabling him to make it alive to the cross.
The idea that Yeshua was getting cold feet, or having second thoughts in the garden is, to my mind, both absurd and out of balance with the rest of Scripture.
V. 38
Yeshua’s soul was troubled to the point of dying. He prayed to the Father to let, if it were possible, “THIS” cup pass from him. Yet, nevertheless, let the Father’s will be done.
Luke 22:42-44
V. 43
The first new piece of information is that an angel came to him, from heaven, and strengthened him. No doubt he was strengthened in what he was going to do; go to the cross. But the parameters of this scenario might be quite different than what we have traditionally been taught from the pulpit. (go to verse 44)
Next, an angel from heaven came and STRENGTHENED Yeshua. Finally, his sweat was as great drops of blood.
In John 12:27, prior to the last supper (which is definitely before the garden event here), Jesus said,
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. BUT FOR THIS CAUSE CAME I UNTO THIS HOUR.
Those who would have us believe that Yeshua was shrinking from his appointed mission on the cross never read John 12:27.
Also, in Psalm 88 (a Messianic psalm) verses 1-3,15; the psalmist says,
My soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth near unto the grave....I am afflicted and READY TO DIE FROM MY YOUTH UP....
We see that Yeshua knew why he was here on earth, and the Psalmist adds that Yeshua was prepared to die from his earliest childhood. Now, in the garden, Yeshua is experiencing the troubles spoken of by the Psalmist, and in Hebrews 5:7 we read,
For Jesus during his earthly life offered up prayers and entreaties, crying aloud and weeping as he pleaded with him who was able to bring him in safety out of death, and HE WAS DELIVERED FROM THE TERROR FROM WHICH HE SHRANK. —Weymouth Bible
First, we must acknowledge what the Scriptures say to us, and if what they actually say just happens to slaughter one of our sacred cows,so be it.
Those who would have us believe that yeshua was questioning whether the cross was really the way for him to go, and that he was seeking an alternative to the Cross need to look more closely at this verse of Scripture.
Whatever it was that was troubling him, whatever was causing him such great distress that he was sweating drops of blood, whatever it was...HE WAS DELIVERED FROM IT! If Yeshua was seeking to escape the Cross the in Gethsemane, then HE WAS DELIVERED FROM IT! But, wait, he actually went to the Cross. So it could not have been his death on the Cross that was bothering him. It was not his death on the Cross that HE WAS DELIVERED FROM!
When Yeshua prayed to be saved from death he was not seeking an alternative to the cross! This is a good spot to recap:
✦ He was in an agony in the garden.
✦ His soul was sorrowful unto death.
✦ He sweat drops of blood!
✦ He was ready to die from his youth up!
I propose that the torment Yeshua was experiencing was his concern that he would die in the garden and not live to make it to the Cross!
Yeshua NEVER shrank from the Cross! He NEVER halted at its purpose! Throughout the gospels he told his disciples that he must be crucified! He knew that was why he came into the world.
Now, in the garden, being ready to be offered up as the sacrificial lamb of God, his soul is troubled. He was to bring in the salvation of all humanity through his atoning death. He was ready to die. So ready in fact, that he felt his life slipping away in the garden.
An angel of God, from heaven, had to come and strengthen him. He prayed to the Father to let, not THE cup, but to let THIS cup pass from me. We are told in Hebrews 5:7 that he WAS DELIVERED from the terror from which he shrank, i.e., dying in the garden and not on the cross.
That Which Dies of Itself
Furthermore, we have in scripture the prohibitions on eating that which “dieth of itself.”
And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. —Leviticus 7:24
And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. —Leviticus 17:15
That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. —Leviticus 22:8
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. —Deuteronomy 14:21
Had Yeshua “died of himself” in the garden, he would have been unfit as our passover.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: —1 Corinthians 5:7
Messiah HAD to be SACRIFICED. He could not just expire. Had he died there in Gethsemane, the entire plan of salvation would have unraveled. Yeshua’s discourse in John 6:48-58 would have been rendered moot.
Conclusion
01. Yeshua’s purpose was well known to him; he knew why he had come into the world.
02. He was so well grounded in this knowledge that he was ready to die from his youth up.
03. In the garden, merely hours away from the apex of his earthly ministry his soul was in an agony.
04. He had reached to point of dying of himself as a result of that agony, so great was his trouble.
05. The strengthening angel helped sustain the life of Yeshua in the garden so he would make it alive to the cross.
a. It is interesting to note here that the angel did not “comfort” him, but, rather, strengthened him. That strengthening was needed because of his nearness to death.
06. He was already sweating out drops of blood, so eager was he to fulfill the work of salvation.
07. Yeshua prayed to the Father in the garden to be saved from death (Hebrews 5:7) and HE WAS DELIVERED FROM THE TERROR FROM WHICH HE SHRANK, thus enabling him to make it alive to the cross.
The idea that Yeshua was getting cold feet, or having second thoughts in the garden is, to my mind, both absurd and out of balance with the rest of Scripture.
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