The Greatest Miracle, Ever!

The Garden of Gethsemane, at the base of the Mount of Olives, was a familiar place for Jesus and His disciples. It was a place of rest, solitude, fellowship and prayer. Also, it was a time of intense agony for our Savior. It was a time when He urged His disciples to pray diligently but they slept soundly.

Jesus prayed by Himself, a short distance away from His disciples, requesting that His heavenly Father remove the cup, the symbol of His sufferings to come. I. Howard Marshall, He does not seek to disobey the will of God, but longs that God's will might be different. Have you had similar prayers? There is nothing wrong with the request as long as we choose to submit to the will of our Heavenly Father.

Some have asked why Jesus, fully God and fully man, would be so distraught at the prospect of death. It is said that Jesus prayed so intensely that His sweat became like great drops of blood. Warren Wiersbe states ... there is a rare physical phenomenon known as hematidrosis, in which, under great emotional stress, the tiny blood vessels rupture in the sweat glands and produce a mixture of blood and sweat. Jesus knew He would die and rise again. Again, why was He so upset?

The questions warrants an answer which is not tied to the physical trauma but the spiritual. Consider 2 Corinthians 5:21, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus’ agony was a result of the thought of becoming sin, the Sinless one, covered with your sins and mine. God does not allow sin in His presence. For the only time, past, present and future, Jesus was to be separated from His Father because He chose to submit His will for our good.

It is interesting to note that God sent an angel to minister to Jesus. The cup was not taken away from Jesus but He made the choice to submit. I can affirm the statement from Darrell Bock, God does not always spare us trials, but He provides strength to face them. How about you? Can you give a hearty amen to the words of George Morrison, Every life has its Gethsemane, and every Gethsemane has its angel.

I encourage you to consider the words of William Barclay, There is no scene like this in all history. This was the very hinge and turning point in Jesus’ life. He could have turned back even yet. He could have refused the cross. The salvation of the world hung in the balance as the Son of God literally sweated it out in Gethsemane; and he won. Yes, Jesus won, and all who place faith in Jesus Christ alone.

This is the greatest miracle, ever! The sinless one became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus chose not to turn away from the cross. It is frightful to think of where we would be if he chose not to take our sins upon Himself.

As a Christian, not every situation or circumstance is painless. Submit to the will of God in advance, expect God’s comforting angel and rest in God’s grace.

I encourage you to examine The Miracles of Jesus series under the Topical Studies tab.