Marian
Scriptures: Matthew 26:36-38 Isaiah 53
‘...Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
We all know the story well. Our precious Lord Jesus who had done so much good during his earthly life – healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, raising Lazarus from the dead, feeding the thousands after a day of teaching, plus countless other amazing miracles. This man was good. Yet here we find Him in the garden of Gethsemane so deeply distressed and so full of fear that blood droplets were forming on His brow. It is impossible to grasp even a tiny fragment of the extreme emotions our dear Lord was experiencing. Here was the Son of the Living God, the Word who became flesh and tabernacled among us, the One who spoke the world into being. Yet here we encounter Jesus, so overwhelmed with fear that blood drops oozed from the pores of His forehead.
Why would Jesus allow this to happen when He was fully God, as well as fully man? The miracles He performed were immense and numerous, humanly speaking they were impossible. Surely He could put a stop to what lay ahead of Him. He didn’t even need to do anything spectacular at this point. He could simply have walked away and hidden until the crisis was over.
So why, in this sin filled world where His goodness was rejected, even spoken of as blasphemous by the religious leaders, did He not walk away from the place where He would soon be arrested? This has been a question I asked myself over and again as I tried to make sense of it all. Then one day, as I was reading again through the Scriptures, the scales fell from my eyes and I saw so clearly the full purpose of His coming to earth to die in my place. Before that moment of enlightenment, I had struggled with the whole concept of His sacrificial death. Surely He could forgive me without needing to allow mankind to treat Him so cruelly that I found it unbearable to even try to imagine. As I read again the words in Isaiah 53, I saw so clearly that no man had the power to put Jesus to death, had it not been for the Sovereign will and plan of Father God, who SO loved the world that He sent His Son to die. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)
That day, as I looked into the blood stained face of my dear Saviour on the cross, I felt I had been stripped naked spiritually, and I fell to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably as my sinfulness loomed huge above me. I saw the wrath that I deserved being heaped upon Jesus, and in that same moment I saw so clearly just how deeply He loved me. It was in that precious yet heartbreaking experience that I knew I’d been fully born again – born of His Spirit through the washing clean by His precious Holy and sacrificial blood. It was that day, as I read again those well known words from Isaiah that I understood the cross. No man had the power to put Jesus to death against His wishes. And, painfully, my eyes were fully opened to see and understand that it was His Heavenly Father who had been willing to crush Him. This had been the plan that would secure my salvation since before the beginning of time. This was the immensity of His love for me.
Today our world is completely broken. Nation rises against nation in war. Christian persecution is rife in many lands. We hear of earthquakes, floods, tornados that tear apart everything in their wake, extreme heat that is scorching the earth and killing the vulnerable. Even in our own so called civilized land we hear of teenagers knifing other teenagers to death. Abortion has reached unprecedented numbers as billions of little babies are torn apart and discarded. Rape and sexual practices that violate the commandments of God continue to rise and even church officials have made unbiblical decisions that are tearing God’s people apart and placing burdens on the shoulders of the many clergy who stand upon biblical truth.
Our world is a mess, and many are hurting and broken, not knowing how to cope with the future. Jesus warned that these days would come. So how are we to find courage to walk on into the unknown future? I believe the only way is to place our hand firmly into the hand of our dear Saviour and walk on into the unknown future with our known God who promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He alone is our courage bearer. The One who cried out in the garden the immortal words, “Yet not my will, but Yours be done. Jesus knew that His Father would not abandon Him even through the darkest night, and in His returning to His Father He has not left us comfortless, but has sent Holy Spirit to give us courage that rises above human ability, enabling us to stand firm in the day of testing.
This is a startling picture of Jesus. Jesus is emotionally overwhelmed, He feels a crushing anguish, yet trusts His Father implicitly throughout His darkest hours. This is an important lesson for all we who are His followers.
Prayer: Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever, Amen.
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