Gethsemane

“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch” (Mark 14:34)

What was it like for the soul of the Lord Jesus, to be so sorrowful, he needed prayer from his closest friends? In the verse prior, Jesus “began to be greatly distressed and troubled” (Mark 14:33). And now here he was, sorrowful, even unto death. According to the Berean Study Bible, “The Greek words "ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι" (ekthambeisthai) and "ἀδημονεῖν" (adēmonein) convey a profound emotional turmoil. "Ekthambeisthai" suggests being struck with terror or amazement, while "adēmonein" implies a deep anguish or anxiety.” This incredible revelation of Jesus’ inner feelings and emotions underscore just how vast and complex the humanity of Jesus is.

We read in Hebrews that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Just how far to the edge of temptation did Jesus get? I think this was the moment that he went the farthest anyone could go without sinning. At any moment our Saviour could have called the whole thing off. He could have rebelled and thrown his fists to heaven and told his father that he would not submit. He could have chosen to relent to the emotions, to the fear and temptation. He could of, like Adam, decided to take the fruit of the tree of rebellion. Certainly, the enemy was there, every possible moment, with a legion of his dark ones, circling as close as he was allowed by the Father, foaming at the mouth and hungry to convince the prince of men to abandon the plan he came to the earth to fulfil. Here the words of Matthew Henry on this verse:

“The terrors of God set themselves in array against him, and he allowed him to contemplate them. Never was sorrow like unto his at this time. Now he was made a curse for us; the curses of the law were laid upon him as our Surety. He now tasted death, in all the bitterness of it. This was that fear of which the apostle speaks, the natural fear of pain and death, at which human nature startles. Can we ever entertain favourable, or even slight thoughts of sin, when we see the painful sufferings which sin, though but reckoned to him, brought on the Lord Jesus? Shall that sit light upon our souls, which sat so heavy upon his? Was Christ in such agony for our sins, and shall we never be in agony about them? How should we look upon Him whom we have pierced, and mourn!”

But oh what sweet delight is there for us in the strength and resolve that he did leave that wretched garden with! Once our Saviour Jesus had settled in his heart and in his mind and soul that he would submit his mortality to the plan of the Father with the words, “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36), all the power and sound and fury of the gates of Hell were no match for the passion of the lamb. Here he was, my sweet and lowly Saviour Jesus with every breath of his being, with all the humanity of his creation, and all the glory of his deity, moved with compassion, but something greater and more ancient than that, resolved to complete the task for which he was born, namely, the cross. We are forever grateful for the drops of blood he sweat during his prayer, for the sorrow and anguish he experienced, and most importantly, for his death and resurrection. He is that sweet and blessed Saviour!