In sailing across the ocean, if we attempt to measure the depth of the water in different places, we shall find that it varies very much. There are hardly two places in which it is exactly the same. In some places it is easy enough to find the bottom. In others, it is necessary to lengthen the line greatly before it can be reached. And then there are other places where the water is so deep that the longest line ordinarily used cannot reach to the bottom. We know that there isa bottom, but it is very hard to get down to it.
And, in studying the history of our Saviour’s life, we may compare ourselves to persons sailing over the ocean. The things that he did, and the words that he spoke, are like the water over which we are sailing. And when we try to understand the meaning of what Jesus said and did, we are like the sailor out at sea who is trying to fathom the water over which he is sailing, and to find out how deep it is. And in doing this we shall find the same difference that he finds. Some of the things that Jesus did and said are so plain and simple that a child can understand them. These are like those parts of the ocean where a very little line will reach the bottom. Other things that Jesus did and said require hard study, if we wish to understand them. But then, there are other parts of the sayings and doings of Jesus which the best and wisest men, with all their learning and study, cannot fully understand or explain. These are like those places in the sea where we cannot reach the bottom with our longest lines.
We find our illustration of this in the garden of Gethsemane. Some of the things that were done and said there we can easily understand. But other things are told us, of what Jesus did and said there which are very hard to explain.
In speaking about this part of our Saviour’s life, there are two things for us to notice. These are what we are told about Gethsemane, and what we are taught by the things that took place there. Or, a shorter way of stating it will be to say that our subject now is—the facts—and the lessons of Gethsemane.
Let us look now at the facts that are told us about Gethsemane. It is a fact that there was such a place as Gethsemane, near Jerusalem, when Jesus was on earth, and that there is such a place there now. It is a fact that Gethsemane was a garden or orchard of olive trees then, and so it is still. Everyone who goes to Jerusalem is sure to visit this spot, because it is so sacred to all Christian hearts on account of its connection with our Saviour’s sufferings. The side of the Mount of Olives on which Gethsemane stands is dotted over with olive trees. A portion of the hill has been enclosed with stone walls. This is supposed to be the spot where our Lord’s agony took place. Inside of these walls are eight large olive trees. They are gnarled and crooked, and very old. Some suppose they are the very trees which stood there when Jesus visited the spot, on the night in which he was betrayed. But this is not likely. For we know that when Titus, the Roman general, was besieging Jerusalem, he cut down all the trees that could be found near the city. But the trees now there have probably sprung from the roots of those that were growing in Gethsemane on this very night.
It is a fact that after keeping the last Passover, and observing, for the first time the Lord’s Supper with his disciples, Jesus left Jerusalem near midnight with the little band of his followers. He went down the side of the hill on which the city stood and crossed the brook Kedron on the way to Gethsemane. It is a fact that on going into the garden he left eight of his disciples at the entrance. It is a fact that he took with him the chosen, favored three, Peter, James, and John, and went further into the garden. It is a fact that then he “began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he—my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” It is a fact that he withdrew from the three disciples, and, alone with God, he bowed himself to the earth, and prayed, saying, “O, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” It is a fact that after offering this earnest prayer he returned to his disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, “What! could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” It is a fact that he went away again, “and being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” It is a fact that in the depths of his agony, “there appeared unto him an angel from heaven strengthening him.” We are not told what the angel said to him. No doubt he brought to him some tender, loving words from his Father in heaven, to comfort and encourage him. It is a fact that he returned to his disciples again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. It is a fact that he went away again, and prayed, saying, “O, my Father, if this cup may not pass from me except I drink it, thy will be done.” It is a fact that he returned the third time to his disciples, and said—“Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold he is at hand that doth betray me.” And it is a fact that, immediately after he had spoken these words, the wretched Judas appeared with his band to take him. These are the facts told us by the evangelists respecting Jesus and his agony in Gethsemane. They are very wonderful facts, and the scene which they set before us in our Saviour’s life is one of the most solemn and awful that ever was witnessed.
