Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

To me, the importance of the Garden of Gethsemane (and, specifically, of the Bible's account of Jesus' experience there immediately prior to His arrest, trial, and crucifixion) is that it provides the clearest evidence of Jesus' humanity, as well as of His obedience and submission to God the Father's will, both of which should serve as an example to Christians.

His prayer to the Father to have the cup of His forthcoming suffering and death (in which the punishment for the sins of all humanity from eternity past to eternity future would be inflicted on Him) pass from Him is (to my knowledge) the only evidence in the gospels of Jesus showing any hesitancy or fear about doing His Father's will. This assures us as His followers that God will not reject us for experiencing the same emotions regarding any earthly trials that we may pass through.

At the same time, His ultimate voluntary submission to the Father's will (despite the suffering and death that it would entail) provides the supreme example to us of the willingness that we should exhibit in enduring whatever earthly opposition or trials that our allegiance to Him may cause (even to the point of resulting in our own temporal deaths), knowing that (as Paul said to Timothy) if we die with Him, we will also live with Him, and, if we endure, we will reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:11-12).

January 26 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report