From Gardens to the Cross...

In the garden we find agony.

But it is not the first garden filled with agony. As Jesus prepared himself to take upon the cup of redemption; making reconciliation possible between man and God, as Jesus wrestled with the weight of all creation’s sin and burdened by the imperfection of all mankind placed on the most perfect being mankind had ever and would ever see, there was agony in this garden.

But Jesus, God in flesh, had seen agony in the garden before.

As He watched His perfect creation choose the lie of Satan over the promise of life, there was agony in the garden....except this garden was not Gethsemane, it was Eden.

Truth was traded for Lie. Life traded for Death. A perfect relationship with the creator-God, traded for a relationship now removed from His very presence.

The loving gaze of the Creator had to be quickly turned to agony as He watched His creation betray Him and fall. Fall hard.

Agony in Eden was the prequel for agony in Gethsemane.

But the garden was not only a place where Jesus retreated. It was not only a place filled with burden and struggle and the weight of the responsibility He was called to live out.

The garden was a battlefield.

“When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.” - John 18:1-3

Could you imagine the scene? A band of soldiers, potentially up to 1000 in number, pursuing the arrest of Jesus. There they were, complete with swords, lanterns, and torches. Ever wonder where Mary Shelley got the idea for the townsfolk descending on the castle in pursuit of the Frankenstein monster? Perhaps this is it.


Here was a mere teacher, with his disciples, being pursued by the religious officials and a whole accompaniment of armed soldiers. They were not serving a warrant. They came for BATTLE.

The garden was a battlefield.

“Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him,
went out and asked them,"Who is it you want?"
"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?"
And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
"I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away!
Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"
- John 18:4-11

From the soldiers falling back in fear and in response to the name of Jesus to Simon Peter taking his first swipe of aggression to one trying to arrest his leader, this was not the friendly confines of Gethsemane, it was a garden of betrayal, a garden of anxiety, a garden of uneasiness as to what was about to happen; a garden of battle.

But it was not the first garden of battle. A battle had already happened in a garden. Death had already replaced Life in a garden. A loving father had already been betrayed by His creation in a garden. A garden battle had already happened. From Eden to Gethsemane, these gardens were not foreign to agony - but they were also not foreign to battle.

But the battles were different.

In Eden, there was a battle. Because of the fall of mankind and the consequence of this evil, the battle became God against humanity because of sin. There would now be a barrier between God and His creation because of sin. The Battle of Eden was God versus humanity because of sin.

But Gethsemane was different. The cup Jesus was taking up was not a cup of war against man any longer, but a war against sin. This is where the Battle of Eden set the stage for the Battle of Gethsemane, but it was now a different battle.

This battle, this cup, was no longer God versus humanity because of sin, it was GOD versus SIN because of HUMANITY.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:45

“God made Him who knew no sin to be sin so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him.” -2 Corinthians 5:21

There may have been a battle started in Eden, but the war ended not at Gethsemane but at the Cross - and Gethsemane framed this final, victorious trek into battle, a battle that would not be only for His glory, but for the Hope of all humanity. That sin would forever be defeated....darkness forever made light....hell traded for heaven....and death for LIFE.

What started in one garden would be reconciled out of another.


Gethsemane; full of agony, burden, patience and suffering - but also where the battle is welcomed into the scene. 



But that was Thursday. Today is Friday. And Friday is good.....because today, today is the day that the battle’s final shot is fired, and as the final war cry echoes in our hearts, “IT IS FINISHED” And now we await Sunday....when a new Life in the Resurrection begins.


The battle for our souls finds its beginning in a garden, its end in a garden, and its placement on a cross....the center of our faith and the center of this day, Good Friday.