The Place Named Gethsemane

We learn a great deal from our Lord’s life especially the workings of salvation and the intensity of his love.  We see the picture of the struggle before him in Gethsemane.  Mark shows it in a practical perspective.  There is a parallel lesson we can identify with.

Mark 14: ³²And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. ³³And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; ³⁴And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. ³⁵And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. ³⁷And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? ³⁸Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. ³⁹And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. ⁴⁰And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. ⁴¹And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.

The place named Gethsemane—how do we identify with this?  We were on Jesus’ heart as an entire race but as individuals too.  That’s a lot of people to carry in prayer.  We tend to lump things.  We mean it, but we don’t necessarily feel the heaviness of it.  Jesus did.  The Lord wants us to see this as a guideline.  Jesus needed this place to pray.  We need a place of prayer.  It’s important to find our place, to understand why it’s there and what it means.  Then we must take time to use it.

I learned a lot from Mommy taking the old family Bible and showing us the pictures in it and telling us stories.  I also learned from the old pictures she used to put on the walls.  They were mostly of Jesus, and they spoke to my heart even as a child.  One in particular is the old classic of Jesus in Gethsemane kneeling at the big rock in the garden.  That was mommy’s posture when she went to the bedroom to pray.

This is serious instruction for the present moment.  It lets us know how much we need to pray and be alone with the Father.  We can deal with things in our life that way.  One reason Jesus took Peter, James, and John in farther with him was to show them prayer is how you work things out.  We’ll never be sorrowful unto death as Jesus was.  We’ll never sweat drops of blood.  Our torments will never be like those Jesus faced.  We can deal with them, whatever they are, in our Gethsemane place of prayer.

Mark tells us things the other writers do not.  Jesus prayed for the cup to pass, but he also prayed that the hour might pass.  Have you ever prayed to just get out of something?  The Father helped Jesus through this.  He’ll get us through too.  Jesus cried “Abba, Father.”  It wasn’t just a title. Jesus was saying that God was his only true Father.  We can bear anything if we learn to take it to God and recognize that he’s our Father.  There is nothing like his touch.  Paul said that “we can cry Abba, Father” when we pray.

Jesus left the communion table.  He left that cozy supper table of togetherness. He knew he had to go.  He knew the betrayal and arrest were waiting.  There was no place else to go?  In the impossibilities of life, we must realize there is no place else to go but to the Lord, to cold, quiet Gethsemane.  John said Jesus went there often.  Jesus traveled and had a place of prayer wherever he was.  The best place to ever be is in the garden with Jesus.  We need a space and place to go every day.  Jesus took his disciples with him, and I guarantee he’ll be there for us.

There is always time to go to our place of prayer.  God provided a way for Jesus to be alone with him before Judas and the soldiers came.  Satan cannot cut us off from prayer.  How many times have we gone to our Gethsemane and found the soldiers gone afterward?  Prayer changes things.  No one got to Jesus before he had time for Gethsemane.  This shows us how important it is to go through it and not around it.  We cannot face our demons without prayer.

Jesus felt the need to go there.  How much more do we need it?  How often do we go?  God will always give us the opportunity to pray about something.  Let’s not fail to do it.  When we leave our upper rooms, we have no idea what is waiting on us, but there is a God in the midst of the garden.  It’s important to meet him there.