Jesus came with them to a
place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples…."Stay here and watch
with Me." —Matthew 26:36, 38
{CHAMBERS} “We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the
Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the
agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot
learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary
represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us. It
was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He
stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern
here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. […]
Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness
temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).
In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault
against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane. The agony in Gethsemane
was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the
world. […] Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has
been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.”
{ELGIN} (Hebrews 9:11-15) “But when Christ came as high priest of the
good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more
perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a
part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and
calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus
obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a
heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that
they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a
ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
There is a lot of focus on
the physical pain the Lord endured when He was crucified, sometimes I think
perhaps too much. John 15:13 says that
there is no greater love than to lay your life down for others. Jesus “stepped out of heaven” as the Son of
God to offer himself as the “Lamb without spot or blemish”, an eternal
sacrifice, for mankind. Certainly the crucifixion
was physical, but it was so much more than that. Salvation is much more than getting a ticket
to heaven. From the time you say “yes Lord”,
you are adopted into the family of God.
If you are a Christian, you are a child of God, today and forever. Why would you not be encouraged to be
separate from the world .. to not love the things it offers … to abandon your
life of sin and self-gratification .. to not worry about what you will wear or
eat? In Romans 12 Paul encourages us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices ..
not conformed to this world but transformed.
For many Christians, that seems impossible and perhaps not even
preferable. Watch the news tonight to get a glimpse of how well the world is
doing without God.
(Luke 12:22-31) “Then Jesus
said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more
than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow
or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more
valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to
your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about
the rest? “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I
tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of
little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not
worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father
knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given
to you as well.”
Embrace the reality of your
salvation – both the spiritual and the physical. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely
dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
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