The Purposeful Place

By Shirley Mitchell

“When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.”

John 18:1

“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ ”\

Mark 14:32

Jesus finished the Passover, the Last Supper, with the disciples and left the upper room inside the walls of Jerusalem. Then He crossed the Kidron Valley – leaving the Temple Mount behind Him and went up on the western slope to an olive garden on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. They went to Gethsemane which means “oil press.” On Jesus’ final night, He was indeed pressed down. He went there to pray and to cry out to His Abba.

When I went to Jerusalem, I went to Gethsemane. There are eight olive trees in this garden that may well be 3,000 years old. They were there on this night. They still bear fruit. They are protected by a fence. Jesus spent the nights of His last week either in Bethany or in this garden. On this night, His last night, He spent the whole night in the garden of Gethsemane.

Scholars believe that Joel 3:14 is a prophetic reference to the Kidron Valley. This Scripture calls it the valley of decision. The Word would have known this as He made His way to Gethsemane that night. He had a decision to make. What would He do? Would He submit to the will of His Father? Would He lay His power down and redeem mankind?

John 18:2 tells us, “Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.” Jesus intentionally went to this garden because He knew that Judas would find Him there. It was an easy game of hide-n-seek. It was just like when I took my daughter Victoria to a gymnastics party. She tried to hide herself in the pit full of hundreds of foam square blocks. With one of the foam blocks covering her face, the rest of her body was sticking out. She said, “Mommy, you can’t see me!” I thought, Victoria, you hide about as well as God does from genuine seekers. Our God desires to be found by us. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells, ask, seek, and knock. He says, “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Not only does He not hide from genuine seekers, God doesn’t hide from His enemies and neither did the Son of God. Jesus could have gone to a different location and been more secretive. He could have hidden Himself from His betrayer and His enemies, but He didn’t. He was in a purposeful place where He knew satan-possessed Judas would find Him.

Jesus chose this place on purpose. He chose it so His betrayer could easily find Him, and He could be arrested by His enemies. He chose it to fulfill Scripture. It was His place of prayer so He could fortify His mind to do His greatest act of all, redeem mankind.

Pray with me: Almighty God, You are good! You knew we needed a Savior. So before the foundation of the world, the Lamb of God was slain.

Thank You, Jesus, for redeeming us. Thank You for laying Your power down. Than You for being willing to endure the cross. You fulfilled the plan of the Father even though it required great sacrifice. Thank You for loving us so much that You couldn’t live without us. Every time I read Your story, I’m astounded at Your great love for us and love for Your Father, Your Abba. Fill us with that love. Supply us and nourish us. Strengthen us so we glorify our Father, Abba, too. It is in the Name above all names, in Your Name Jesus that we pray, Amen.

Copyright ©2011 Christ Compels Ministry