Gethsemane

In my humble opinion, the most overlooked part of Jesus' entire life is the night of his betrayal:

"Gethsemane" from Jesus Christ Superstar (Andrew Lloyd Webber)

Lyrics:

I only want to say,
If there is a way,
Take this cup away from me.
For I don't want to taste its poison.
Feel it burn me,
I have changed.
I'm not as sure, as when we started.
Then, I was inspired.
Now, I'm sad and tired.
Listen, surely I've exceeded expectations,
Tried for three years, seems like thirty.
Could you ask as much from any other man?But if I die,
See the saga through and do the things you ask of me,
Let them hate me, hit me, hurt me, nail me to their tree.
I'd want to know, I'd want to know, My God,
I'd want to know, I'd want to know, My God,
I'd want to see, I'd want to see, My God,
I'd want to see, I'd want to see, My God,
Why I should die.
Would I be more noticed than I ever was before?
Would the things I've said and done matter any more?
I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord,
I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord,
I'd have to see, I'd have to see, my Lord,
I'd have to see, I'd have to see, my Lord,
If I die what will be my reward?
If I die what will be my reward?
Have to know, have to know, my Lord,
Have to know, have to know, my Lord,
Why should I die?
Why why should I die?
Can you show me now that I would not be killed in vain?
Show me just a little of your omnipresent brain.
Show me there's a reason for you wanting me to die.
You're far to keen and where and how, but not so hot on why.
Alright, I'll die!
Just watch me die!
See how I die!
Just watch me die!
Then I was inspired.
Now, I'm sad and tired.
After all, I've tried for three years, seems like ninety.
Why then am I scared to finish what I started,
What you started - I didn't start it.
God, thy will is hard,
But you hold every card.
I will drink your cup of poison.
Nail me to your cross and break me.
Bleed me, beat me.
Kill me. Take me, now!
Before I change my mind.

--

[44] And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

(Luke 22:44 ESV)

Luke was a physician, which is the best explanation as to why he included the part about sweating 'great drops of blood', while the other Gospel writers chose not to put this small fact.

This idea of sweating drops of blood is seen in a rare medical condition called "hematohidrosis". A scientific explanation of this says that there are blood vessels that pass over sweat glands in the head and throughout the body. Under incredible stress, these blood vessels literally pop and the blood is fused into the sweat glands. Thus, when Jesus started sweating from spiritual and physical agony, blood literally emerged from his body the way sweat emerges from my body when I run. I rarely go through mental trauma and struggle strong enough to cause physical sweating, much less to literally pop blood vessels in my head.

The more I envision this scene at the Garden of Gethsemane, the more agonizing, real, and powerful it becomes. Jesus, fully God and fully man, engages in prayerful conversation with his father knowing that in only a few hours, he would be betrayed and turned in for his trial and subsequent crucifixion. See the prayer of Jesus:

[42] “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

(Luke 22:42 ESV)

I think the source of the agony of Christ came from the realization of what was truly happening within the next 24 hours. He was not simply dying a physical death; there was so much more to it than that. Christ the Messiah had the entire wrath of God placed on his shoulders in his experience on the cross. From the time sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, we have constantly been defying God and denying his ever-powerful-to-save grace that he so freely offers us. We choose our own paths, and for that reason we deserved death from the beginning. We are not worthy that God should love us and offer us hope for eternity. And the only reason we have that opportunity is because of the work of Christ on the cross over 2000 years ago. God took his entire wrath, rightfully deserved by sinners like me, and he threw it all on the very human, very weakened shoulders of his son Jesus the Christ. Jesus knew what had to happen; since the beginning of time he has known the redemptive plan. He was willing to become fully human to save completely undeserving sinners. I think that Jesus thought about his death a lot during his life and ministry. He always knew why he had to come. So why did he ask God to remove the cup from him? Didn't he know that the end of the war is already decided, and that victory will be God's?

This forces me to realize the weight that was being put upon his shoulders. It is unfathomable to imagine the wrath of God being put on someone who had become fully human.

So, sweating drops of blood? Seems like if anyone would, it would be Christ after this realization.

Listen to Michael Crawford's version of Gethsemane and try to tell me it doesn't send shivers down your spine.

Just think about the night at Gethsemane, the night before the Messiah would bear the weight of our sin in its entirety and die the most excruciating death imaginable.

Think about it. I am.

--

I have about 3-4 sections of Calculus I still need to do this week before my test on Friday. I'm nowhere near being ready for that test either. I have a history test Wednesday. I have 2 sections of Transitions due Friday. Yet when I start thinking about the things I've talked about in this post, all of those things seem to move from important to trivial. I know education is important; I know I need to get a good education. But not thinking about things like Gethsemane, not growing as a spiritual thinker, it seems, would hold many more consequences than getting a bad grade on a test or in a class.