Daily Devotions
Another Look at Gethsemane
Reading for September 20th: Hosea 8-14
Weekly reading for September 20-26: Hebrews 1-5
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
Hebrews 5:7
Visiting a children's hospital can be difficult. It's hard to see an elderly person suffering immeasurable pain at the hospital; it's another thing to see a child go through that. Your heart not only goes out to the child, but for the parents who sit beside the bed, helpless to alleviate the suffering of their child. Sometimes the parent has to restrain their child as a painful procedure is administered. In spite of the screams and struggle, they hold down arms and legs for the doctors and nurses to do their job.
Think about what a Father and his Son were going through at Gethsemane. The gospel writers give us a glimpse into the intense suffering. However, the Hebrew writer opens the door a little wider for us when he describes the "loud cries" Jesus uttered there. I don't know if Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane is a quiet scene in your mind. It was anything but quiet. Jesus ' prayer was not quiet or peaceful. He was crying (shouting, screaming) out loud for help.
The disciples, Luke tells us, were "sleeping from sorrow" (Luke 22:45). Perhaps their hearts were heavy because they felt like we do when we hear a child screaming to his parent for help and relief when there is none to give. Maybe if we could hear the Son crying out to His Father in this way, we would come closer to understanding the agony in Gethsemane (Luke 22:44).
Father God, how did you let your own Son go through that for us! All we can do is bow in worship!
