In the garden

Jesus is praying to God, in the garden of gethsemane. He knows what awaits him. This is one of the most moving scenes in the Bible and in history. Jesus, completely sinless, full of grace and compassion: love incarnated, God; is in agony.

Some people misunderstand the incarnation and believe that Jesus was God, just in a man's body. But that's not the truth. He was fully human, yet without sin; and fully God, setting aside his powers as God.

Jesus on the night before his crucifixion was in agony. Unlike us, he had no emotional blockages. He was in full awareness of his feelings. He was in severe emotional pain. This is the part of the gospel that really touches me. Jesus does know what emotional pain feels like, completely. I can never see him as removed from my experience of pain. He knows. He has been there. Not figuratively, but actually. It's always a lie that splits us off from God, to believe He does not understand or is removed from our pain.

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."
Mark 14:32-6

Bob Dylan wrote a song called "In The Garden".


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