Commonly known as the Passion of Jesus, here is an insight into the agony Jesus felt the night before He was betrayed into the hands of the Romans. In Gethsemane Satan came back and was again overthrown. Satan's final onslaught against our Lord as Son of Man is in Gethsemane*. The Son of Man was in such anguish, Jesus sweated blood while He prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
The temptation of Jesus would often be misconstrued as His hesitation to suffer the pain from the blows of the soldiers, the jeers and shame from the crowd, and the crucifixion. The physical suffering was incomparable to the hatred and separation He was to face.
If we understand the character of Christ, His capacity for compassion and mercy, we would understand another dimension to His struggle of accepting the cup from God...It was the grief, the tremendous grief He would carry. I was through an experience when someone I loved had sinned. I was terribly grieved at the evil that was allowed to happen as well as grieved because I saw the separation of that person from God. My realization then, if I feel this tremendous load of grief for this one person, this one situation, Jesus who has infinite compassion and has promised to take on all our burdens , is feeling what I am feeling a billion gazillion (count each and every person in the world) times more! Imagine that grief and pain...
And if we understand who Christ is and His oneness with the Father, we would understand one more dimension to Christ's struggle. I think this was the most difficult part for Him to deal with. I remember those times when I just felt hollow, lost, restless, tossed in waves -- not anchored anywhere. Those were the times when I was clearly separated from God because of my sins. Jesus Christ, Son of Man, who is pure and without sin and is also the Son of God, who is one with the Father, volunteered to be separated from God! He sacrificed Himself to die (for 3 earth days). I could not imagine how He could have borne separation from the Father who He is one with...it was more than depression, devastation...but because His death needed to happen to reconcile us back to the Father.
The amazing wonder of Jesus' resurrection is the glory of Him rising above the power of death and emerging victorious over evil to win the battle for our souls. This was the end in sight. But the struggles of Christ could not be overlooked nor easily dismissed, what He overcame to emerge triumphant could not be taken for granted. An understanding of the bleakness and emptiness He faced magnifies the sacrifice He made and glorifies His authority over the heavens, the world, and darkness all the more.
Worthy is the Lamb. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ!
* Oswald Chambers, My Utmost, His Agony and Our Fellowship
