Joey (that would be my handsome husband) said that he thinks the time Jesus experienced in the garden was far more difficult for Jesus to endure than the actual journey to the cross. The reason being, that the Bible notes an Angel came to strengthen Jesus in the garden, however there is no mention of that during Jesus' time on the cross.
That makes so much sense to me. The victory, in my opinion, was won in the Garden. In that moment, as Jesus is praying to God, He is asking God to take the cup from Him, if it is possible. But then of course He says 'not my will, but yours be done.'
All Heaven must have stood still in that moment, awaiting what God would do. Would the pain be too much for God to handle, unable to watch His Son in extreme sorrow, knowing what lay ahead for Him on the cross? Would God indeed take the cup and just call Jesus home? What would happen to us, man kind, if He altered the plan right then and there. He is God, He certainly could have done that.
But instead, He sent an Angel to strengthen His Son. Knowing it had to be done, a sacrifice had to be offered. And not just any sacrifice would do...
This Children's Bible has been blessing our socks off this week. There is a portion that describes what happened to Jesus in the Garden that is just so powerful:
'"Papa! Father!" Jesus cried. And He fell to the ground. "Is there any other way to get your children back? To heal their hearts? To get rid of the poison?" But Jesus knew - there was no other way. All the poison of sin was going to have to go into His own heart. God was going to pour into Jesus' heart all the sadness and brokenness in people's hearts. He was going to pour into Jesus' body all the sickness in people's bodies. God was going to have to blame His Son for everything that had gone wrong. It would crush Jesus.'
Wow. Now if that does not clearly explain Gethsemane, I don't know what does. Can you even imagine what Jesus felt like? Can you even imagine?
I know times when I have felt overwhelmed with my own self, analyzing things and over thinking everything...then I think of my sin, then I can look back at the times I've been broken, rejected, hurt & betrayed. I can think of times that I have fought sickness. I can vividly recall feelings of insecurity and of shame. But for me, those things have taken place throughout my entire existence, not all at once. Had I been overwhelmed with everthing all at once, I don't think I'd be alive. Nor would you.
So here is Jesus, with every single thing I've faced, stinging His heart. But what you can't wrap your head around, is that every single thing you have faced is stinging His heart as well. And every thing any human that has graced this planet or will grace this planet, stinging...
And so He is overwhelmed...He says in Matthew 26, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death." He felt He could die, right there in the Garden. And we can understand why.
So it leads me to think again of Joey's thought, the battle was the hardest in the Garden. Because once He left the Garden, He had a resolve. He had asked His Father to take the cup, but He did not. Instead, Jesus was given strength in that moment. And I believe, it's the strength that carried Him the rest of the way.
Sometimes God does not take the problem from us, no matter how strong our faith is. But instead, He strengthens us for the duration of the journey through that difficulty. We know why God did not take the cup from Jesus, because He loved us, and it was the only way for us to be with Him for eternity. Jesus did not question God in the Garden. He accepted His will. I, for one, am so glad He did. Sunday's a comin.
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