What Gethsename Means

Warner Sallman, circa 1940-1968 A.D.

There is pivotal moment, when Christ our Lord felt the full might of human flesh. In the Garden of Gethsemane, on Mount Olivet, our Lord felt the weight of the flesh, how it presses on us and tries to manipulate our actions. The gospel writer records that the incident at Gethsemane made Jesus sweat blood, “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:4;). Interestingly, the apostle draws on this when he says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4). Most of us have never resisted sin to the point we sweating blood, to resist to the utter agony of our bodies. Christ Jesus our Lord did, but even He expresses how hard it was, “He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." (Matthew 26:39). The weight of sin pressed on our Savior, but He did not give in, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15). 

Gethsemane is a moment when God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, endures what all fallen man and woman must endure. The flesh (of sin) pressed on Christ’s own flesh and body, and the duress made Him confess how He felt but without sinning in a prayer to His Father. God felt what can motivate man, and so He is a perfect Mediator between God and Man, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the Son of Man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV and Aramaic Bible in Plain English). Gethsemane is where we connect with Christ in vulnerability, that He who is God (2 Peter 1:1, Colossians 2:9, Titus 2:13) knows exactly how we feel when we are tempted and can help us, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18). When we cry out in pain and emotional duress, Jesus understands! He dis the same to His Father. Empathizing with us and knowing our struggle is a trait only the True Triune God has. The false gods (fallen angels, see Genesis 6:4-11, Revelation 12:7-12) have no empathy for mankind, rather they trick and torture humans in their sadistic games. The True Almighty God became like us, human and suffered terrible torture  at Gethsemane and then  torture again at the hands of Pilate’s centurions (John 19:1) and finally He died a torturous death on the cross for our sins (1 Peter 2:24). Christ then rose from the dead on the third dsy having conquered sin and death (John 20 whole chapter and Hebrews 2 whole chapter NLT)

What happened at Gethsemane proves our True God and Lord Jesus has deep empathy for us, He is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15), in fact He declares, “In your weakness I am made strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Christ felt the totality of human frailty in the Garden of Gethsemane without sinning. When we falter and stumble in sin, He knows why and has compassion, and when we confess our sins to Him He amply forgives, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9), and advocates for us, “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1 John 2:1-2 NLT).  Christ knows the pressure of our sinful flesh, and how as Paul says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” (Romans 7:15-20 NIV). We must repent, and “If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us all sin and restore us to all righteousness,” (1 John 1:9) because His blood cleanses all sin, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 NKJV). However, let us not take advantage of God’s Grace and abuse it as the Romans did (see Romans 6:1-18, they mutated grace to let them practice sin) or practice sin which is trying to master being good at sin, seeing nothing wrong with sin,  and disregards Christ’s sacrifice and does not appreciate it (see practicing sin in 1 John 3:5-9, Galatians 5:20-21 NIV). Let us be thankful for Christ’s sacrifice and ever be repentant, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:19). Long as you trust in Jesus alone, and repent you will be fine; for only Jesus saves and cleanses us; repentance is an broken heart that admits (confesses) sin & feels  contrite of heart before God and asks Christ’s all sufficient blood sacrifice to wash them clean, “ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:7, 8-9), and “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1 John 2:1-2). Amen.