DAY 43

GETHSEMANE STONE

Leviticus 13 and Matthew 26:26-50

Today I am in Haiti, I posted this before we left - please pray for our team.

Briefly let me comment on the Old Testament. It would be interesting to compare the job of a priest in Moses day to today. A butcher, a dermatologist, and who knows what else seem to be part of the prior job description. The over 1,800 words today having to do with skin diseases that we read about today communicates to me the seriousness of this issue within the community, and God’s providential hand in providing them the detailed instructions. It was a serious issue for people. Hansen’s disease (Leprosy) still exists today.

Today there is a more serious issue for us to ponder…Jesus’ last night. We find ourselves at Table with Jesus, we are in the Garden sleeping while Jesus pours out himself to his Father. We, along with Peter and the other disciples, have pledged our allegiance to Jesus in verse 35 only to witness his arrest in verse 50.

Today I do not want to look at us, at the humans, but rather I want to look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In a later post I will share some thoughts I have regarding Holy Communion, but today what of this Garden. Gethsemane is a garden where olives are pressed for oil. The picture above is a Gethsemane Stone. The crushing weight of the stone squeezes every last ounce of oil out of the olive. You might not think the stone all that big, but think about the smallness of the olive.

This is where Jesus prays. This is the moment of great trial for Him. In the coming chapters He will answer the Chief Priests, the Scribes, and even the Roman Governor. He will give his back to the smitters, be dragged along the Via Dolorosa (the way of grief), and he will be crucified – all in relative silence. Tonight however we hear Him.

We hear the weight of “this thing” that He is called to do. This thing that He described as he lifted the cup and said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. The Unblemished One, selected just days ago as He rode into Jerusalem, is about to be slaughtered, but first He bears the crushing weight of our sin.

Three times he prays, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Throughout the ages the crushing weight of the sin of the world is racing down the corridors of time to bear upon the Good-Man, this God-Man. What is our response?