In the Garden Alone

Jesus led the disciples from the upper room, down to an old established garden at the bottom to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26).  The Garden of Gethsemane was a good place to be quiet and a place where He could wrestle with difficult decisions.  He found Himself having to say the same prayer repeatedly. Gethsemane means the Olive press. It was a beautiful but painful place. Even the old olive trees seemed distorted with stress.  In the garden among the old olives there were two invisible trees: the tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  His choice was clear but the struggle was still real. The tree of Life looked a lot like a cross and the other, caused the Son of God to shudder. Jesus had left the nine disciples behind and took his three friends into the garden to pray. Then leaving the three, He went even further to pray alone. He struggled with things the Father wanted that He didn’t want for Himself. He hoped His friends could strengthen him in His time of pain and returned to them a few times that afternoon. Each time they were asleep and could give Him nothing.  

In the Olive press we can feel separated from others and it seems that the only one going through this “garden” is us. Sometimes we go back to find people asleep and then God says, “If this Gethsemane does not change, My grace will be sufficient. Eventually Jesus was able to say to those from whom he looked to find help and support, “Let’s go” because He heard again the promise from his Father, “On the other side of the cross is resurrection life.”

Friend, if we keep going back and talking to Father in your garden we will receive grace for our “cross,” strength and power from the Tree of Life, and favor from the One who never slumbers nor sleeps.