In the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22:39-53 When the Lord Jesus Christ had finished His teaching in the upper room, they all sang together. It was likely one of the psalms commonly sung at the Passover. There is a unique blessing when God’s people join their voices in harmony and fellowship. All who participate in singing think the same things at the same time, for the same purpose, and by using a tune, their voices blend harmoniously, in contrast to merely speaking or chanting at the same time. The words are the same, but different speaking tones make the whole thing sound confusing.
Singing has the purpose of blessing others and being blessed ourselves by them. We edify one another and ourselves as we sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. There is comfort in times of sorrow when we sing together. A unifying bond is formed when singing occurs just before one of those groups leaves on a journey. Praising the Lord from our hearts is a fundamental part of the Christian experience. Joy can often express itself in the best possible way when an appropriate hymn or spiritual song is raised either privately or in unity with others. “Whoso offers praise glorifies God.”
To have heard the Lord singing with them would have remained in the minds and hearts of the disciples later in their experiences as they were suffering and dying for their testimony of faith in Him. Everything changed when they crossed the Kidron Valley and Brook and came to Gethsemane (the olive press), which John referred to as a garden in his account. Instead of a unified group, the omniscient Lord separated His disciples into two praying groups. Then He went another two hundred or so feet away from all of them to pray alone.
He didn’t pray with His disciples because He is the One who hears and answers prayer. He couldn’t come as a supplicant like them because they sinned in times of temptation and failed under pressure. He could not sin, stumble, or fall in any way because of the powers of darkness opposing Him. His prayers to the Father were those of equals maintaining personal communion and joining in carrying out the plans that the divine Persons share.
“A stone’s cast” also had an implication that relates to the death of a criminal in that Jewish economy. Our Lord Jesus withdrew to stand in the place of sinners, where He alone, before the justice and will of God, would suffer the righteous judgment of God for us. He who knew no sin was separated from everyone when He bore the sin and guilt of sinners as He suffered in the outside place. Where He knelt and then prostrated Himself on the ground, His intense suffering began, as Luke alone wrote, “He sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Our representative Passover Lamb was alone. “Alone! Alone! He bore it all alone! He gave Himself to save His own! He suffered, bled, and died, Alone! Alone!”
Just before Jesus left His disciples to pray by Himself, He told them what to pray for themselves. Temptations are always around us as well as in us. There are temptations to sleep when we should be awake, to put off doing what should be done now, to run away from what we have to face. Instead of going forward despite what we may perceive to be dangers, we are inclined to maintain what we have done and accept the status quo as all that should be expected of us.
Physical and life-threatening challenges will often tempt us to stop doing what we have been called to do, rather than go forward knowing that there will be difficulties, but confident that the Lord will be with us all the way through them. Jesus knew the journey He was on led to the cross, where He would suffer and die for the world's sins. That “cup” was one that even the Perfect Man knew would be excruciatingly painful to His body, soul, and spirit.
It is not wrong to open the pain of our hearts to God and express our fear of what lies ahead. At the same time, we know that trials will come, and He will be with us through the trials He allows. We may not be able to escape from many of them, but His promise to be with us will assure us as we move forward in faith. It is not God’s intention that we have an easy journey through life, although He does allow us to recover and regroup from time to time. Our only recourse and resource is God’s will and Himself, who promised to be with us. He alone can keep us from falling into the temptation of whatever kind it is.
The Lord repeated His charge to His disciples that they pray not to enter temptation when temptation dropped right into their laps. He was actually saying those words to them again when the crowd of people came into the garden right to where He was, led by the betrayer Judas. We read in one of the Gospel accounts that even before Judas got to Jesus, He walked toward them as the One who was in control of the whole event.
When He asked them specifically who they were looking for and they told Him, He said, “I am He!” As He identified Himself, they all went backward and fell on the ground before Him. Jesus asked Judas two questions, which revealed to him that the sign of betrayal was a kiss of deception and evil. Even then, Judas had to cover his base and earn money by kissing. Remarkably, Jesus allowed that evil man to come near Him as a friend and betray Him.
It was then that Peter was ready and wanted to start the battle for the kingdom of God and have Jesus smite to death all His foes, but the Lord said, “Enough of this!” It was not the Lord's time or purpose to eliminate all opposition to Him by His almighty power. He had a higher and more important work to do. He came here to save His people from their sins. God still wants people to share His life and glory with them, but He wants them to know and love Him, not fight for Him.
He wants people with Him who trust Him and live by faith in Him, not by being afraid of Him. Only those who don’t have sin in their soul cannot be afraid of a holy, righteous God. The Lord Jesus came here to make that possible by taking our place and bearing our sins in His own body on the cross. His sufferings in the garden were insufficient to pay the wages of sin and death. An angel came to support Him when He was suffering in the garden. He could have called twelve legions of angels to deliver Him from those frail mortal men. Instead, He had to suffer alone for our sins on the cross to free us from the guilt of our sins by paying for them legally and fully Himself.
The leaders were there in the garden. The chief priests, temple officers, and the elders of the people were present, but it was the Lord Jesus Christ who was in control of the situation. The soldiers were lying helpless on the ground before Him, and they knew it. Judas knew by the fact that Jesus had seen the sign of the kiss that Jesus was in control. For some reason, the disciples didn’t and ran. Peter and John stopped running and followed at a distance as they saw Jesus let Himself be bound without resistance. Even that would have been unusual to most soldiers, and likely, they were a bit fearful at first until they sensed that Jesus was yielding to them. “They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed.”
The healing of Malchus’ ear in front of all those people would have made them all wonder what would happen next. In audible words so all in that garden could hear, Jesus spoke to the religious leaders. “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come with swords and clubs?” He had openly preached and taught daily in the temple, but they hadn’t touched Him there. Their cowardice and fear of Him and the people moved them to bring armed soldiers, even in the dark of night. What were they expecting to happen that night?
The Lord again demonstrated by His words and actions that He was in control, but allowed them to do what they came to do. He openly submitted to them because “your hour” had come, even though it was a brief period of time. Their association with “the power of darkness,” when spiritual and moral darkness reigned briefly, began then and would not last.
Such submission can only be attributed to the amazing grace of God. “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. That though He was rich, for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Oh, the riches of His grace to undeserving people like us! No wonder we worship in our minds and hearts at Gethsemane, as well as in the upper room, or in our minds as we follow Him back down the slopes of the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley and Brook, into the house of the high priest.