PRESSED TO
STRETCH
Second of
fourteen devotions in Gethsemane series
Matthew
26:36-46
Matthew
26:36: “Then
Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to
them, ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’”
Gethsemane
[geth-SEM-an-ee] was Jesus’ favorite garden.
Its Hebrew name means “press” as in a mill—a mill where olives are pressed,
crushed to extract the oil. This was where
Jesus regularly went to “get away from it all.”
Fittingly, Gethsemane is at the foot
of the Mount of Olives. This was also where
Jesus fled the last free night of His earthly life. He might have smirked at the irony of fleeing
to that very place when He felt “crushed”.
Constantly surrounded by people,
Gethsemane was where Jesus went to pray.
Alone time with His Father. But
this night, Jesus invited eleven friends. This night, Jesus needed human
support.
He pressed further into the garden
with Peter, James and John. There, he
admitted, “My soul is overwhelmed [crushed] with sorrow
to the point of death.” (Matthew 26:38).
Acting typically like a human, Jesus
pleaded to His Father, (Please, remove this cup)! Acting typically like God, Jesus humbled
Himself before the Father, and obeyed (Your will be
done). Luke 22:44 says that Jesus
sweat blood from extreme anxiety.
Let’s appreciate Jesus’ obedience: crushed,
humbled.
Jesus knew that He’d be betrayed, arrested,
disowned, deserted, interrogated, tried and sentenced to death.
Matthew 27:26 says, “Then he
[Pilate] released him [Barabbas] to them [the crowd]. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over
to be crucified.”
Some days are simply too long and
hard (See lesson linked below). Jesus
understands being pressed to the point of despair. Jesus comes to us during these times
encouraging us to stretch (keep the faith)—like He did.
Take Home Nugget
Looking on the bright side, we
aren’t beaten to within an inch of our lives.
That’s what “flog” means. Jesus
was whipped with leather strips embedded with metal and glass shards. Each lash ripped His skin wide open. Can you imagine the blood pouring freely from
His wounds? Can you count His exposed
bones?
Then Jesus lugged His cross as far
as He could before collapsing to the ground.
His hands and feet were nailed into the wood. Can you hear the “thud” when the cross fell
into the hole…then yanked upright?
The worst over, Jesus fulfilled the
remaining Scripture. Finally, He
said, “It is
finished.” John 19:30 says He bowed
His head and gave up His spirit.
Your stretching will never be this hard or dramatic. But before your death, I pray that your
finish will be as complete.
Jesus stretched to a point
that He died a victor.
Adapted from “Getting Away with God.” Dr. Charles Stanley. March 1, 2015. In Touch magazine.
J.D. Griffith
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My background is a life time of worship, but seriously following Jesus came with age. Spiritual maturity is a leap of faith. Sometimes we don’t know what we’re missing until living on the edge of God’s leading. My life of self sufficiency ended abruptly when losing my job as an analytical chemist after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now living on the edge of God’s leading has become a way of life that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.
Surrendering one’s will to the Lord can be scary. Why did I wait so long to do it? Diving into an intimate relation with the sovereign God of creation is the most secure position in the universe. Will you share your experience with me? Will you let me give you my testimony? May I introduce you to the Jesus I know?