Matthew 26:36-38-38, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”
Let us go to the garden of Gethsemane and see why Jesus cried. This was not the first time Jesus shed tears but it was the first time his tears were caused by such emotional and spiritual pain. Let us try to feel what Jesus felt as He prayed.
He had just been teaching in Jerusalem and had just told His disciples what was about to happen. The shadow of the cross was looming large. Vs 38 we get a glimpse of His emotional state, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.”
Jesus knew all this had started in a garden and now it was coming to an end as He prayed in this garden. Three times He prayed for other options.
He saw Jerusalem as a city where religion and gone wild; a place where idols of gold and silver were worshiped in place of the God who created the heaven and earth. This hurt. Everyone in Jerusalem should have seen Him for who He was but none did. How that must have hurt? What must He feel as He looks on us today here is America?
He took His most trusted friends to the garden to watch and pray with Him. As He was agonizing in the garden these who had said they would die for Him were asleep. They were more concerned with taking a nap than they were with Jesus. How many today fit into that same mold?
What must Jesus feel about those who fill church rolls but never darken the doors? Or those who sing ‘Oh how I love Jesus’ on Sunday morning and take His name in vain on Monday. Do you think that brings a tear to His eye?
The greatest pain may have been about the lost souls He was about to die for. Jesus knew He was about to die for the sin of all mankind. He was to become sin and the penalty for that was DEATH.
He prayed not my will but thine be done.
I know they don’t love me---but I will gladly die for them.
I know they won’t serve me- -but I will gladly die for them.
I know they will wander off-- but I will gladly die for them.
I know judgment day is coming and I will have to cast many into a lake of fire--- but I will gladly die for them.
This may be just a small peak into why Jesus was crying in the garden. Are we still making Him cry by our actions and rejection of Him?
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