Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-39
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."

 

(Jesus sweat great drops of blood in the garden.)

Jesus' sufferings began here in the garden of Gethsemane.  In Hebrew it means means "oil press."  This is no coincidence.  The Holy Spirit is drawing pictures for us again.

The word itself is derived from two Hebrew words: gat, which means "a place for pressing oil (or wine)" and shemanim, which means "oils." 

(Ancient olive press, Israel.)

Olive presses have been used since the Greeks first began pressing olives over 5,000 years ago.  The press works by applying pressure to olive paste in order to separate the liquid oil and vegetation water from the solid material. The oil and vegetation water are then separated by standard decantation which is a process for the separation of mixtures.  It acts to remove a layer of liquid, generally one from which a precipitate has settled.

In ancient Israel, heavy stone slabs were lowered onto olives that had already been crushed in an olive crusher.  This is the kind of work that Samson did after he was betrayed by Delilah, his eyes gouged out and he was taken captive by the Philistines.  

(Samson working at the olive press.)

The first mention of "Gethsemane" in the Bible is here in Matthew 26 and is recorded only 7 times.  Seven meaning "completeness, promise or oath," in Bible numerics.  Doesn't it remind you of Isaiah 53:5?  It says “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

Just as our Father promised, when Jesus died that day, He completed the work.  His Father swore an oath to deliver us.  Think about it:  The One Who is Faithful and Ttrue, Who CANNOT lie, swore an oath and He delivered up His own beloved son to die for us all. For our sakes, Jesus poured out of Himself everything He had so that we could cry, "Abba! Father!"

IT IS FINISHED!!!

Way back in Genesis 49, Jacob called his sons to himself just before he died to speak a blessing over each of them.  All except Joseph and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim are recorded here.  Joseph's sons blessings appear in chapter 48.

  

Here is the blessing he pronounced over Judah:

“Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh {Jesus} comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, HE WASHED HIS GARMETS IN WINE, AND HIS CLOTHES  IN THE BLOOD OF GRAPES.  His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.”  Genesis 49:9-12 

Wine is made in much the same way as oil in that they must be crushed, trodden underfoot to release their sweet juice.  To the Hebrew mind the idiom is "the blood of grapes."  

(Tabernacle menorah.)

It may interest you to know that the process of pressing olives to extract their oil consisted of three steps.  The oil from the first pressing was used in the temple for the lamp which provided  light in the temple.  The oil produced from the second pressing was used for medicine and that produced by the third pressing was used for the manufacture of soap for cleansing. Pretty descriptive if you ask me!

In the Garden of Gethsemane, He Who would become the the Light of the world was taken captive.  At the scourging post, the second "pressing," He took all our sicknesses upon Himself for it says," By His Stripes we are healed."  Finally, on the cross, He paid for all our sins by His perfect sacrifice.  He cleansed the sins of our entire lives by His precious blood.  He washed us with heavenly "soap!"

Thank you, Jesus, for loving us and going through the oil press in our stead; that is, through "Gethsemane."