Places of the Passion – Gethsemane

Places of the Passion – Gethsemane, takes us to the olive press.  Jesus was pinned between heaven’s eternal expectations and hell’s terrible temptations.  Today we continue our Lenten series, “Places of the Passion,” and make our moonlit march from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus and the 11 disciples.

Oil Press

Gethsemane literally means “oil press,” and it was the name of a garden, or grove, of olive trees whose olives were pressed to make valuable oil.

• Here Jesus is pressed between heaven’s eternal expectations and hell’s terrible temptations.
• Here Jesus presses the cup of God’s wrath for the world’s sins to his lips and begins drinking its bitter sorrows in our place.
• Here the weak flesh of the disciples presses hard against their willing spirit.
• Here, in the midst of the greatest pressing this garden has ever known, Jesus triumphs over temptation—not just to show us that with his help we can do the same, but to save us from the times we haven’t.

Weakness

According to the Greek myth, Achilles, the great hero of the Trojan War, was dipped as a child in the waters of the River Styx by his mother to make him invulnerable. Later in life, however, the poisoned arrow of Paris found the spot in Achilles’ heel where his mother had held him, a spot untouched by the magic water. Even the strongest Christian is in danger of falling if that Christian doesn’t acknowledge his or her weak spots as Jesus did, because Satan observes Christians and seeks to plunge his poisoned arrows of evil into them every day.

• Acknowledge your weaknesses; then frequently go to the security of a familiar place of refuge and address them— just between you and God.
• Listen to God speak to you in his Word. Speak to him in prayer. Ponder what he says and how to apply it to your life.
• Finally, if you want to triumph over temptations, seek the companionship of a person who can help. Obviously, that person will be a Christian; perhaps that person will know the deep secrets of your soul, and that person should be able to tell you things you may not be telling yourself.

Jesus triumphed over temptation by keeping an active watch, and now he helps his disciples triumph over temptation by keeping an active watch over us. Be sure to let him help.

Want to hear more?  Watch this Sunday’s message taken from Mark 14, Places of the Passion – Gethsemane.