This is part 2 of 2 of Lesson 13: Christ in the Crucible. Click here to go back to the introduction to this lesson.
The title is a bit of a misnomer. I don’t actually want to talk about the cross itself, but the suffering in Jesus’ preparation for the cross. It was in the garden that the battle really was won, not on the cross itself. Let’s go back to that Thursday night where the Creator of the universe was under an intense spiritual conflict:
Then [Jesus] said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matt 26:38,39 (NKJV)
Christ’s experience in Gethsemane is one of the most poignant expressions of God’s love for us anywhere in the Bible.
The passage above has three striking items.
The first is the fact that Jesus’ soul was sorrowful ‘even to death’. I don’t think Jesus was into being dramatic for the sake of it. I think this is a genuine expression of intense psychological/spiritual pain.
The second was that the human element of Jesus was struggling with the task at hand – and looking for an exit from the pain. For me, this proves that while Jesus while here on earth had some ability to understand the future, it didn’t take away from the absolute suffering of this experience.
The third is that Jesus was able to surrender to God’s will. Sometimes we might think that when on the Christian path, we might be changed such that doing God’s will comes automatically. Well Christ was the best Christian ever, yet He didn’t get away from the painful struggle that it is to do God’s will sometimes. For me this shows that the victorious life won’t always (if ever?) be on cruise control. As always, surrender of our own will is the key, and this is why we’ve spent so much time on this subject.
Once again I like Ellen White’s prophetic view of what was happening behind the scenes. I’d encourage all of you who would like a deeper understanding of the amazing event that Gethsemane was to read the chapter in her book Desire of Ages. Below is one of the key excerpts from that chapter:
Turning away, Jesus sought again His retreat, and fell prostrate, overcome by the horror of a great darkness. The humanity of the Son of God trembled in that trying hour. He prayed not now for His disciples that their faith might not fail, but for His own tempted, agonized soul. The awful moment had come–that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. It was not yet too late. He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, and leave man to perish in his iniquity. He might say, Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father. Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humiliation and agony? Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty? The words fall tremblingly from the pale lips of Jesus, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice. But now the history of the human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish. He sees the helplessness of man. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamentations of a doomed world rise before Him. He beholds its impending fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him perishing millions may gain everlasting life. He has left the courts of heaven, where all is purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that has fallen by transgression. And He will not turn from His mission. He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin. His prayer now breathes only submission: “If this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
…The Saviour trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him.
But God suffered with His Son. Angels beheld the Saviour’s agony. They saw their Lord enclosed by legions of satanic forces, His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. There was silence in heaven. No harp was touched. Could mortals have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as in silent grief they watched the Father separating His beams of light, love, and glory from His beloved Son, they would better understand how offensive in His sight is sin. Desire of Ages page 692, 693
This truly was a pivotal event in this universe’s history. Thank goodness that Jesus prevailed. That surrender triumphed over self – because this is the only way that love can triumph over and finally destroy sin.
As always I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this amazing sacrifice.
And as this quarter’s lesson is now at a close, my prayer is that the contemplation of God’s love through Christ, will be on your minds (and on my own mind) this holiday season and that it will truly change our own lives as we respond in love to Him.
A Happy and Blessed New Year to all!
