Holy Week reflection: Jesus in the Garden [p1]

Daniel Hill

April 15, 2014

During each Lent I try to focus on a particular passage from the Holy Week account. I then meditate and reflect on it for an extended period of time, hoping to see things revealed in the story that I have not noticed before. This year I have been focusing on the excruciating experience that Jesus had in the Garden of Gethsemane. Some version of it is recorded in each of the Gospels, but it is Mark’s account that I have really been focused on:

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Mark 14.32-42)

The detail(s) that jump out to me from this encounter that are unique and important has to do with the intensive nature of the experience Jesus has here. The impending reality of the Cross was not a surprise to Jesus – it was prophesied in the OT and by Jesus himself. Yet clearly something is happening at a level beyond anything he had previously experienced. Consider some of the phrases in this text:

“He began to be deeply distressed and troubled”
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”
“He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him”
“Take this cup from me.”

Luke adds that he was in such agony that his sweat looked like drops of blood. An angel from heaven had to come to give him enough strength to continue on.

So what is happening in the Garden of Gethsemane?

I think the key is in V33: “he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.”

Jesus knew the Cross was coming. Yet even still, it was in the Garden that something began. And what began there is one of the secrets to understanding the full dimension of the Cross and Resurrection.

—

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Daniel Hill

I am a lifelong Chicagoan, a pastor at River City Community Church, and an author who writes a lot about resisting and confronting white supremacy from a faith lens. Our church was founded in January of 2003 in the west Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, and is centered on the core values of worship, reconciliation, and neighborhood development. We long to see increased spiritual renewal as well as social and economic justice in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and entire city, demonstrating compassion and alleviating poverty as tangible expressions of the Kingdom of God. It is also through the gift of this faith community that I have learned to see the profound historical and spiritual impact of the stronghold of white supremacy, and where I have been challenged to broaden and deepen my understanding of discipleship in the hopes of becoming a serious enough Christ follower who is able to meaningfully participate with those who have risen up in defiance of this evil principality. The lessons learned in this journey have been captured in a pair of books on race. The first, White Awake, explores the barriers that white people tend to face – white Christians specifically – when we attempt to awaken to and understand white supremacy through a faith lens. I spend a lot of time here addressing the internal defenses that are bound to go off when this journey is taken seriously, and I chart out a path for developing a resilient spirit that steadfastly moves towards truth, justice, and equity. The second, White Lies, further builds out the path for the white Christian who longs to actively participate in the resistance and confrontation of white supremacy. I spend a lot of time here exploring why it is so hard to tell the truth about race, as well as expose the lies that sustain it, within white, Christian, Bible-believing environments. I then propose nine practices that position us for engaging in this task. On the personal front, my career started in the marketplace, as I was part of three dot.com startups in the 90’s. My vocational path shifted when I joined the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in 1998, and I spent five years working there. I started River City Community Church in January 2003 and have been happily serving here ever since. On the education front, my undergrad was in Business (Purdue University), my graduate degree in theology (Moody Bible Institute), and my doctoral degree in community development (Northern Seminary). On the family front, my wife is a Professor of Psychology, and we have two amazing children (Xander and Gabriella).

2 responses to “Holy Week reflection: Jesus in the Garden [p1]”

Something “began” for Jesus in the Garden – what was it? | Daniel Hill's Blog

April 16, 2014 at 8:59 am

[…] the last post I began a reflection on the encounter that Jesus had in the Garden of Gethsemane. He entered in a […]

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April 19, 2014 at 9:07 pm

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