The Heartrending Hurt

By Shirley Mitchell

“He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them.  ‘Stay here and keep watch.’ ”

Mark 14:33-34

“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed.”

Luke 22:41

On Jesus’ last night, He took all of His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Then, He positioned Peter, James, and John closest to Him.  He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond His disciples, knelt down, and prayed.

Did you hear His words in the verses above?  Jesus said that His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Did you see how He was deeply emotional about this night?  It says that He was distressed and troubled. 

The Greek word for “distressed” is ekthambeo, which means “to utterly astonish, greatly amazed from distress of the mind; it’s antonym is to keep peace or to be at peace.”  This means that the Prince of Peace was distressed and without peace.  So He went to the One who could give Him peace.

The Greek word for “troubled” is ademoneo which means “to faint, be depressed and almost overwhelmed with sorrow or burden of mind.”  I find this interesting because Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Jesus said come to Him, and He will bear your burden.  He will give you rest.  But here in Gethsemane, we see that the Burden Bearer was burdened.

Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow.  The Greek word for “sorrow” is perilupos which means “surrounded with grief, severely grieved, very sorrowful.”  The Rest Giver was grieved.  His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  The One who is supposed to give us peace, take our burdens, and give us rest went to His Father so He could lay down His burden and find peace.

I want you to hear the sobs of His soul.  I want you to feel the ground shake when He falls to the ground in sorrow.

In the passion play, there are two crowd spots that are becoming my spots where I gain the deepest insights.  One of my spots is the level below where Jesus is in the garden.  Jesus was on the 2^nd floor of the stage, and we were down below.  The lights are out, and then dozens of women come in carrying candles.  There is a spotlight on Jesus.  It’s a beautiful scene.  The directors positioned me on my knees closest to Jesus as He prays in the garden.

The spotlight shone on Him like the moonlight.  Only my friend Terri was nearby to my left and slightly behind so I could only hear her sweet singing voice in my ear.  I was so close that I could see the wrinkles on His knuckles.  I could hear His sobs of grief even when His microphone was off.  I felt Jesus’ sorrow that night.  It was like I was on the ledge below of the Mount of Olives.  I wanted so much to comfort Him.  I longed to go back in time and to somehow give Him whatever strength I could.  The Son of God experienced soul-searing agony.

Do you understand how Jesus felt?  The disciples were there, but they were not attentive.  Jesus was sweating blood and in a massive struggle between earth and heaven.  He was on the precipice of giving His life for all mankind.  He was lonelier than anyone has ever felt.  His suffering on the cross was for us, but His suffering in the Garden was for Himself. 

Why did it hurt Him so much?  He was getting ready to bear the sin of all mankind.  He was going to be separated from His Father.  We can’t begin to understand the fullness of all of that, but we can be grateful that He chose to do it for you and me.  What a Savior!

Pray with me:  Oh, Jesus, we can’t imagine what You went through on Your last night.  You were in anguish.  You were troubled and overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  You experienced everything as a man.  You know what it feels like to be overwhelmed and in complete anguish.  Yet, You never sinned.  You went to the One who could fortify Your mind, give You peace, and supply You with strength to do what You came to do.  Thank You!!  Jesus, it is in Your Name, the Name above all names that we pray, Amen.

Copyright ©2011 Christ Compels Ministry

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

They Fell Down

They Fell Down

“Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, ‘Who is it you want?’
‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied.
‘I am he,’ Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”

John 18:4-6

Jesus had been praying all night long in the Garden of Gethsemane. He poured out His anguished heart to His Father. When Judas led the detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees to Jesus, He knew all that was going to happen to Him. He went out and asked them who they wanted. With torches and weapons in their hands, they replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

Even though Jesus was in so much agony before the soldiers arrived, when He replied “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. The presence of the mighty Son of God knocked them down. His deity and might was not diminished by His sorrow. In fact, the power of His presence seems to be even stronger than normal. Perhaps it is because of His intensity. Additionally, there was a hidden power in His words that is revealed when one studies the original text. In the statement, “I am He,” the word “He” was added to make it proper English in the NIV version.

God says in Exodus 3:14-15 that He would be remembered throughout all the generations by the Name “I AM.” The Great I AM…Yahweh…The most glorious, sacred name of God…The name that the Hebrews would not say. Every time a scribe had to write it, he would remove his dirty clothes, take a bath, and put on clean clothes. He would pick up a new pen, write it, and then throw it away. “Yahweh” means ”the self-existent One.” God is saying, “I have always been, and I will always be.” He doesn’t change because He doesn’t need changing! There are no improvements to be made in Him. He is all we will ever need. When Jesus said this sacred and yet powerful name – I AM – the mob’s knees buckled over the power of the declaration.

Peter was probably aiming for the neck of the servant who saw the sword coming and tilted his head away just in time. Only his ear was cut off. The angry throng heard the Man they had come to arrest rebuke His loyal follower for coming to His defense. Jesus was determined to drink the cup that His Father had given Him (Luke 22:42).

The chief priests and solders who accused this man saw Him touch Malchus’ face. The ear was healed at once. They knew He was no ordinary man. They knew what the people were saying had some truth, but they didn’t care. They didn’t read His Miranda rights to Him or gently place the handcuffs on His wrists. No, it was closer to something that would spring a lawsuit for police brutality today. They slapped the ropes or chains on Him. Little did they understand that at any moment Jesus could break the ropes that bound Him, and they would fall to the ground. He could walk away. He let them bind Him. It was only the beginning of the pain that Jesus would feel this day.

Our beloved, forgiving, merciful Savior submitted Himself to the will of the Father. Because He was committed to His Father’s plan, Jesus let the soldiers seize Him and march Him off. No one knew that Jesus was actually the winner at this point. It looked pretty dismal. He laid down His power that made His accusers fall to the ground. He used His power only to heal one who was seeking to harm Him.

Just when it seemed like all was lost, Jesus was headed for the crown and the throne through the cross. At this seemingly dark point, only the Father knew that Jesus was the Champion who was taking the walk to become the Title Holder of Redeemer and King of Kings. He was walking toward victory. He endured the cross and this agony because of the joy set before Him when He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God having redeemed us. He did it all because of His great love for His Father, for you, and for me! Hallelujah!

Pray with me: Oh, Jesus, Your strength and restraint is amazing! Just Your words alone made mere men fall to their feet. Just Your tongue makes them fall to the ground. They did not realize whom they were coming to harm and to arrest. Gosh, we can’t begin to grasp the fullness of Your power. You are the Great I AM! You have always been, always are, and always will be. You are in control of our lives through every seemingly dark point. Enable us to submit to the Father’s will and take the walk of champions and bring victory to the family. It’s in Your Name, Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.

Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study,
Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels