The Battle And A Garden—communion Meditation  PRO

THE BATTLE AND A GARDEN-- COMMUNION MEDITATION

It is interesting that Jesus went to the “Garden of Gethsemane” on the Mount of Olives. The garden still exists today, including a number of olive trees which may date back to the time of Jesus. “Gethsemane” comes to us from the Hebrew into the Greek and then the English. Originally, the name meant, “oil press,” and could have originally been an area designated for pressing olive oil.

In a sense, the two greatest “battles” of history were fought in gardens. In the Garden of Eden, Adam chose to disobey God, bringing sin to the human race. He did not resist temptation, but chose his will over the Father’s.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, chose the Father’s will over His own (human) will. Although the pain and spiritual misery of the cross awaited Jesus, it seems as though the internal battle was fought in the Garden. Just as Adam’s decision in Eden affected all who are related to Adam, so Christ’s decision in Gethsemane affects all who are related to Him by faith. Jesus, as both God and man, had a sinless human nature and a divine nature. He had a human will and a divine will that worked in harmony. In Gethsemane, we get the clearest picture of how He submitted His human will to the Father.

This is what we remember at communion-- Jesus submitting to the Father, and dying...