41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (English Standard Version Bible, Luke 22:41-44).
The Garden located on the side hill of Mount of Olives called Gethsemane derives its name from the Hebrew word for “Olive Press.” How remarkable that this garden so named was the place Jesus favored in His coming to His Father for times of prayer and fellowship.
The Son continually sought blessing, direction, and relationship with His Heavenly Father in all matters assuring that He might be in constant and complete unity with His Father’s will. On all the occasions up until this point, the Son had never had any difficulty with the Father’s will but now massive amounts of immeasurable heaviness were pressing in and on the body and spirit of the Son. It was a time of extreme and unbearable crushing in this place of “The Pressing.”
The Son staggers under the weight of the trial and condemnation about to be poured out upon Him. Although He never wavers in His submission to His Father … He does plead for a possible release from this course of destiny now before Him. Was Christ’s hesitation coming from the tremendous pain, torture, and suffering that was about to come upon Him? Was the massive heartache and agony that was crushing the Savior, coming from the knowledge that He would bear the weight of the sin of the world in His impending death? Was His very spirit in agony at the thought of His Father turning away from Him as He freely would give up His life on the cross?
Yet, here in the deepest of all mysteries of the eternal and the temporal, Christ was being crushed as He fulfilled all the prophecies of old as He was experiencing in His soul and spirit all that was ahead of Him.
The abandonment of the Father of Jesus in the flesh was required for the redemption of all people for all time from their sins. It would be at the cross that our sin was exchanged through our dying Lord for the righteousness of Christ. It was an incredible love our Savior had for us to lay down His life and to submit to this unfathomable crushing for our sins. We cannot imagine or comprehend the crushing that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane to our blessed Savior but we can be ever so thankful for the forgiveness and freedom it gives us. What was pressed out in the place of “The Crushing” was the willingness of our Blessed Savior to take the beginning steps in his walking towards the giving of His life on the cross and the amazing gift of our salvation. Thanks, be to God!
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed (English Standard Version Bible, Isaiah 53:5).
Albrecht Dürer (artist) German, 1471 – 1528, National Gallery of Art, Public Domain, Rosenwald Collection, Image 1943.3.3642
