Christ’s Victory in the Garden
He heavenly Lover who had nought to gain except to redeem our souls from sin and Satan, and to win our hearts for Himself, leaves the shining courts of His eternal glory and comes down as a Man, poor, feeble, and despised. He is so depressed at the thought of what is yet to be done and suffered, and under such pressure of Satanic influence, that He sweats drops of blood, falling upon the cold frosty soil in that moon-lit garden. Oh, the love of Jesus! Oh, the weight of sin! Oh, the debt of gratitude which you and I owe to Him! “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small: Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Our imagination is slow to fix upon this precious feature of the dolorous history. Though He had said, “If it be possible let this cup pass from Me,” yet presently we observe how tranquil and calm He is when He rises up from that scene of prostrate devotion! He remarks, as though it were in an ordinary tone of voice He announced some unexpected circumstance, — “He is at hand that shall betray Me; rise, let us be going.” There is no distraction now, no hurry, no turmoil, no exceeding sorrow even unto death. Judas comes, and Jesus says, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” You would hardly know Him to be the same Man who was so sorrowful just now.
One word with an emanation of His Deity suffices to make all the soldiery fall backwards. Anon He turns round and touches the ear of the high priest’s servant, and heals it as in happier days He was wont to hea! the diseases and the wounds of the people who flocked round Him in His journeys. Away He goes, so calm and collected that unjust accusations cannot extort a reply from Him; and though beset on every hand, yet is He led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opens not His mouth. That was a magnificent calmness of mind that sealed His lips, and kept Him passive before His foes. You and I could not have done it. It must have been a deep profound peace within which enabled Him to be thus mute and still amidst the hoarse murmur of the council and the boisterous tumult of the multitude. I believe that having fought the enemy within, He had achieved a splendid victory; He was heard in that He feared, and was now able in the fulness of His strength to go out to the last tremendous conflict in which He met the embattled hosts of earth and hell; and yet unabashed after He had encountered them all, to wave the banner of triumph, and to say, “It is finished.”