The Power of an Hour: Garden of Gethsemane
How long is an hour? Seems like a senseless question, right? Unless it is you that has to wait the hour. Jesus certainly understood how long an hour could be. He also understood the power an hour could hold.
An Hour in the Garden
I prayed and asked God to provide me a word this year on which I could focus. I saw other people’s words like “hope,” “rejuvenation,” and “growth”; I got wait. Not exactly a fun word, but a necessary one. And it is on this word wait that I have based my time with Lord and in his word this year. Today, he brought me to the Garden to understand wait.
I have read the story of Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane for years. However, today it struck differently. Rather than focusing on the disciples sleeping or the arrest, I noticed the wait Jesus endured during this hour. Three times he prayed for “this cup to pass from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Matthew 26:42). For an hour, Jesus lay prostrate before the Father asking for the anguish to be taken from him. Yet, it remained. The betrayal, the arrest, the beatings, the crucifixion, it all remained. Jesus waited for it all. I cannot even fathom how difficult it must have been for Jesus to know the betrayal, the nakedness, and the darkness to come. Yet, he waited for it all.
Jesus’ time in the Garden provides a look into the power of an hour. What all Jesus felt, did, and would do, not for his sake, but for ours.
The Power of the Hour
There is so much power to these moments in the garden. Not only do we see Jesus facing the wait (or weight when you consider it all) of what is to come, but we also see his most human side. We see his sorrow and grief. We see his vulnerability on full display. The Passion Translations states, “My heart is overwhelmed and crushed with grief” (Matthew 26:38). That is rawness. That is an hour of intensity that our finite minds can only minutely grasp. An hour may have felt like eternity to Jesus, and in some ways it was. He was certainly fighting for our eternity in this hour and all the way to the cross.
Another power revealed in this hour is in Jesus’ request, “Father, if it possible, let this cup be taken from me. Not my will, but yours be done” (Matthew 26:42). This moment exhibits the need Jesus has to go to the Father. He knew he could express his deepest hurts and fears. He knew the Father would hear him. He also knew God would not tire of his request. However, Jesus would not give up his obedience to the will of God, no matter the pain that awaited Him.
Furthermore, power is observed as Jesus made the request for the cup to pass three times. Three is a relevant number in Scripture. It reflects completeness as well as offers repetition for remembrance as seen with Peter (Luke 22:34; John 21:17). Three also represented the completeness and fullness of the Trinity. And, it was on the third day Jesus rose conquering death and heal reminding the Enemy he has lost for all eternity.
Moreover, the power of this hour revealed that even in the face of Jesus, the flesh remains. Jesus requests of Peter, James, and John to keep watch with Him as he prayed. Upon his return after praying the first time, Jesus finds them asleep and says, “You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40-41). There are several speculations on what Jesus meant in this passage; however, as I read this passage, I cannot help but hear Jesus’ desperation for community in that moment. How lonely it must have been for Jesus to know that He was the only who could face and withstand what was about to be endured. No one around him could understand the power of this hour and the hours to come until they were in them; yet, he knew beforehand. He was fully God, but as the Garden shows, He was also fully human and desired the last moments with his Father and those near him.
Additionally, this passage reminds us that temptation will come. Some scholars believe Jesus was speaking directly to Peter knowing he would betray Jesus. While that may be so, we can also see the importance of these statements today for us. We are not beyond temptation. As followers of Christ, we may long to do what is pure, noble, and right, but our flesh also has its longings. And the Enemy would love nothing more than to take us down. We need to “Watch and pray” so that we do not give into the flesh, into temptations. Like Jesus, we can go before the Lord as much as we need knowing that we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Conclusion
The Garden of Gethsemane provides us a panoramic view of Jesus. We see his humanity and his Holiness altogether. Enduring such desperation, knowing the anguish and absolute travesty he would face, He still chose us. He still chose obedience to the Father so that we would have a way to go boldly before the throne. May we not overlook the power of an hour.