Understanding the Garden of Gethsemane
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane… ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’… ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’ (Matthew 26:36, 38, 39)
Sociologists and psychologists are telling all who will listen that we are in a time where anxiety and depression are rapidly rising all around us. Events, both domestic and international, are pushing many to ask existential questions: Are these levels of destruction and chaos the new normal? If so, how can we emotionally cope? And going deeper, does God care about what is going on? The experience of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane may shine some much-needed light in a time of crisis.
The Garden of Gethsemane
Having left a time of great intimacy in the upper room with His closest friends, Jesus steps into the battle that has been waiting for Him for years. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is about to experience indescribable fear, anxiety, and the loneliness of abandonment as the powers of darkness begin their most targeted assault. I have always pictured this entire scene, and the arrest that follows, in somber shades of gray. In this garden, Jesus enters into the loneliness and sorrow of the human condition. At the beginning of His ministry, after His battle with temptation in the wilderness, Satan “departed from Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) Here, in the garden, that time has come.
This episode is best known for Jesus’ words, “If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) Beyond these words lie multiple layers of meaning, touching on topics such as the cost of obedience, Jesus’ divinity and humanity, and the cosmic battle taking place. All of these are worthy of our consideration, but today we will focus on the significance of the garden setting and on Jesus’ loneliness and sorrow.
The Significance of the Garden
John refers to a garden three times in his Passion narrative: at Gethsemane; at the place of Jesus’ burial near Golgotha; and again on the morning of Jesus’ resurrection when Mary mistakes Him for the gardener. In all of the Gospel accounts, every detail carries significance. Now on resurrection morning, where the risen Jesus is the “first fruits” of a whole new creation, we are carried back to the beginning of our collective history. God’s story with humankind begins in a garden.
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:8)
Unbroken communion with God was the greatest expression of life in the Garden of Eden. In this Paradise, there was perfect harmony with the elements, animal and plant life, and between man and woman. Imagine: continuous waves of Divine love, peace, and joy — a creation without decay or struggle. This is the primal echo of original life, of Paradise, which is at the root of our universal family tree. Beyond any memory, there is a deep knowing: the Garden is where we came from and where we are meant to be.
The image of the garden runs throughout the Scriptures, promising restoration and blessing. “Your life will be like a well-watered garden. You shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.” (Jeremiah 31:12; Isaiah 58:11) This continues through to the great climax of Scripture with the final chapter of Revelation, where we will dwell in the Lord’s presence in the eternal perfection of garden paradise.
However, the garden of Gethsemane also looks back to where the place of perfection became the setting of unparalleled catastrophe. Eden is where the first man and woman succumbed to the enemy’s temptation and lie, thereby suffering unspeakable loss, alienation, and anguish.
Therefore the Lord God sent them forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which they were taken. (Genesis 3:23)
Paradise became Paradise Lost, and since then, humanity has been trying to find its way back.
Jesus Understands Our Sorrow
In the garden of Gethsemane, we see the mystery of the Incarnation. As a man, Jesus is feeling fear and anguish in the face of His impending death. But He is also feeling the distress of the Son of God as He experiences the terrible accumulation of evil, sorrow, and suffering that He must take upon Himself in order to overcome it.
Since the first man and woman’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, sorrow has been part of the human condition. Richard Rohr has written that pain is the rent we pay for being human. When Jesus enters this garden at Gethsemane, He reaches across time and space to the place where humanity first fell; He begins to absorb this universal pain and sorrow into Himself. Beyond our capacity to understand, all of the fear, anger, wickedness, cruelty, suffering, and sin are now beginning to be focused like a terrible, dark beam upon Him. No wonder Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow unto death.” (Matthew 26:38)
In this season, when we are being confronted daily with the unimaginable suffering of men, women, and children in Gaza and Ukraine, it is important for us to remember Jesus in the garden. He feels, experiences, and takes onto Himself all of their pain and suffering. We pray to Him, the God of all comfort, that He will be with each father, mother, husband, wife, and child, reaching deep inside with His nearness.
The garden of Gethsemane reveals Jesus as compassionate, embracing all sorrow and pain. And yet, paradoxically, this same garden points us forward to our final destination: the garden-life of Paradise. We were made for a Person, and we were made for a Place.
Go Deeper With Impact Nations
Do you want to deepen your understanding of and commitment to God’s Word? Check out our podcast episodes, “Revealing His Humanity (Gethsemane Part 1)” and “A Man of Sorrows (Gethsemane Part 2)” where we continue to unpack these timeless teachings. Subscribe to our channel for more exploration of biblical teaching and its relevance in our modern world.
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