Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 238

August 25;   Matthew 26:46;   26/260(II);   ‘Dealing With the Soul’

Matthew 26:46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand." 

The account of the Lord Jesus, praying in Garden of Gethsemane, is so sacred and profound as you read how Jesus literally ‘crucified’ His will, intellect and emotions.  The word Gethsemane means the olive press.  Olives would be put into this press and crushed until the olive oil came out.  That is exactly what happened to the Lord in Gethsemane.  It was as if Jesus was crushed by what was ahead, until the anointing (oil) of the Holy Spirit came forth to enable Jesus to do everything He needed to do to redeem us from sin, sickness and the curse that came upon humanity by the sin of Adam.  It was not the literal crucifixion that Jesus had to come to grips with.  Multitudes died by crucifixion.  Though death by crucifixion was incredibly painful, our Lord and Savior was well able to deal with that aspect of His sacrifice.  The Lord Jesus was sinless.  He never sinned, yet He was well aware of the horror, filth and degradation of sin.  His holiness and righteousness recoiled from what bearing all of the sins of the human race would be like.  Jesus was never separated from His Father.  Even when the Lord Jesus became a Man, their fellowship was intimate and sustaining. They have been together eternally.  On the cross the Father turned His back on Jesus when He became sin.  When Jesus’ spirit went to hell paying the price for our sins, the Father was not there.  The Lord Jesus had never been sick and He was about to take every sickness that has ever been upon Himself.  In Gethsemane, praying in unimaginable agony, Jesus dealt with His soul and was ready to do what was needed to save us.