This commentary has a whole new meaning after seeing “The Passion of the Christ”.
HIS AGONY AND OUR FELLOWSHIP
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called
Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, tarry ye here,
and watch with Me. – Matthew 26:36,38We can never fathom the agony in Gethsemane, but at least we need not
misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and Man in one, face to face
with sin. We know nothing about Gethsemane in personal experience.
Gethsemane and Calvary stand for something unique; they are the
gateway into Life for us.It was not the death on the cross that Jesus feared in Gethsemane; He
stated most emphatically that He came on purpose to die. In
Gethsemane He feared lest He might not get through as Son of Man. He
would get through as Son of God – Satan could not touch Him there;
but Satan’s onslaught was that He would get through as an isolated
Figure only; and that would mean that He could be no Saviour. Read
the record of the agony in the light of the temptation: “Then the
devil leaveth Him for a season.” In Gethsemane Satan came back and
was again overthrown. Satan’s final onslaught against our Lord as Son
of Man is in Gethsemane.The agony in Gethsemane is the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling
His destiny as the Saviour of the world. The veil is drawn aside to
reveal all it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of
God. His agony is the basis of the simplicity of our salvation. The
Cross of Christ is a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a
sign that Our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save
the human race. Every human being can get through into the presence
of God now because of what the Son of Man went through.