Why Gethsemane?
Matthew 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Set ye here , while I go and pray yonder.
Why did Jesus “Yeshua” chose the garden of Gethsemane to spend the last few hours before facing the Cross, and Galgotha?
The more I read the Word of God, the more understanding He gives me. The more I realize nothing in the Bible just happens. everything has a purpose. Everything has a reason. There was a reason Yeshua chose the garden of Gethsemane. He could have stayed in the room where they ate the Passover meal. He could have went to the Temple and prayed ( how appropriate could that have been.) Instead he left the walled city, went out through the gate toward the Mount of Olives. There in the Kedron valley he entered a orchard of Olive trees known as Gathsemane.
Now, lets go back to the time when the original Passover meal occurred in Egypt. The Jews waited afterwards for the call to leave Egypt. In those few hours after the meal was the time they contemplated becoming free of bondage. Likewise this was a time Jesus contemplated what lay just a few hours ahead of him. If only the disciples who were supposed to be praying with Jesus there in the garden had known. They two were waiting for there bonds to be broken. To be set free.
Very often we ( like the disciples) are not aware of what is happening around us. We don’t understand the significance of the moment.
But back to the subject of… Why Gethsemane?
THE CHOSEN ONE:
To know that, we have to go back and lay some groundwork. All the way back to the time right after that first Passover. Moses had led the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and into the desert. It was the time God had instructed Moses to chose a high Priest.
Exodus 29:1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office.
The word hallow means. To make holy. To set apart. To consecrate. To reverence.
Moses had to chose someone. To set apart someone to serve the Lord in a very special way. To serve as High Priest. To fill the gap between God, and man. Aaron was the choice for Moses back then.
But it was Jesus who was the choice for God.
Moses was the forerunner of Jesus as one who would lead his people out of Bondage, But Aaron was the forerunner of Jesus who would stand in the Gap offering a sacrifice for mankind.
But just choosing someone was not enough.
If you are going to be successful in the work of the Lord, It is not enough to simply choose, you need the anointing of God on your life.
We are not saved to sit down. There is a task that lies ahead of the believer. To perform that task, (what ever it might be) We need the anointing, the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:2 Paul asked the young converts at Ephesus: He said unto them, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
Paul realized for them to build a new church at Ephesus they needed spiritual tools.
That is what the Holy Spirit supplies us with.
THE ANOINTING:
God told Moses in:
Exodus 30:30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
God Instructed Moses to anoint Aaron. The process of anointing someone involves some formality. First there was particular clothen to be warned. A certain type of headdress. And there was the place the anointing was to take place.
Now the place Moses anointed Aaron and his sons was called the courtyard.( new international version) He could not anoint them outside the fenced courtyard.
You can’t receive Gods anointing while in the world ( outside the courtyard).
He couldn’t anoint them in the Holy of Hollies. You had to be anointed before you go there, or you could die.
The courtyard was the place designated for all preparation to take place concerning the Priest.
The courtyard was between the outside world, and the ark of the covenant. There you made preparation for the sacrifice which was to come. Gethsemane was Christ’s courtyard.
But why Gethsemane?
The anointing was preformed by pouring Olive Oil over the head of Aaron, and his sons. The oil would run down over his head, down through his beard, and drip onto his vesture. Now, before we answer “Why Gethsemane?” Let’s first ask
Why Olive Oil?
Because olive oil was the #1 staple good in the camp of Israel. It was used for everything.
They could not exist without olive oil. It was used in cooking almost everything. It was used for medicinal purposes. It was used as a lubricant. It was used in the lamps to light the night. God did not choose something that was rare, or hard to find. But something right at there fingertips.
God never gives you a task without supplying everything you need to perform that task. Sometimes we want to do things for the Lord, but we think in terms of exotic places, and doing grandiose things. When all along, all God wants is for you to apply the oil, and he will do the rest.
So now we have:
1 Chosen the one to be High Priest.
2 Assigned him the job of making the sacrifice.
3 Placed him in the location to receive the final anointing prior to entering the Holy of
Hollies.
Who are we talking about here. Aaron, or Jesus? WERE TALKING ABOUT BOTH!!!!
Aaron was chosen to be the High Priest.
Jesus was chosen to be the High Priest.
Hebrew 9:11 But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.
Aaron was assigned the job of offering up the sacrifice.
Jesus was the Sacrifice.
Aaron was placed in the courtyard, there to be anointed.
Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashia went to the garden of Gethsemane.
Do you know what Hamashia means? It means the Anointed One!
Do you know what Gethsemane means? It means the Oil Press!
There in a garden (much different from the Garden of the first Adam.)
There among the Olive trees ( the supply of anointing oil.)
There where his SWEAT ran down his head, through his beard, and dripped onto his vesture like the anointing oil Moses had poured over Aaron.
Gethsemane was the place of Anointing for the task which lay ahead. It was the place of prayer, and waiting upon the Lord.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew there strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
And as for Aaron who adorned himself in Temple apparel, we should adorn ourselves with spiritual apparel, for we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Paul said in 1Thessaloneans 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
Prayer: Lord may I visit Gethsemane daily. There to receive your anointing on my life. There may I tarry in prayer. There to commune with you. There to sometimes bask in the Holy Spirit. And other times wait upon you.
Why Gethsemane? Why indeed. Sermon by J. C. Prince
