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The Power of Pressure: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
05/03/2021
Do you ever see things on Pinterest or Instagram and think, "Oh yea, I can totally do that!"? For better or worse, this line of thinking has taken me on some wild adventures...especially in the home department. Flip furniture? Worth a shot! Paint murals on the walls? Of course! Redo my cabinets? Why not?! Actually, I could tell you plenty of reasons "why not", but for the most part (depending on who you ask) my lofty endeavors find a way of turning out. Occasionally though, certain visions of mine never quite come to fruition. One area that I keep tricking myself into thinking I can do well is taking care of indoor plants. But come on! The homes on Instagram filled with botanicals in every nook and cranny are just soooo dreamy. So naturally, if I find a plant on sale somewhere, of course I think I can nurture it and give it a long, healthy life. The plants are practically begging me to take them home. So when I found a $7 olive tree on sale at the store, it made perfect sense to buy it. Unfortunately, things took a dire turn for this little olive baby in a quite surprisingly short amount of time once it came home with me. Nevertheless, I discovered that I really needed an olive tree in that certain corner of my home. So I pivoted. Who needs a real tree anyway when there are so many good-looking fake ones?! Before I knew it, I found one online and one thing led to a bidding war and eventually, the fake olive tree was mine...well, after I convinced my husband to drive an hour to go pick it up. Little did I know that when he walked in the door with it, it would easily fit in the palm of his hand! I KID YOU NOT, the picture online made it look like a full-grown tree. Measurements, schmeasurements... right? Woops.
Though my olive tree quest didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted, I still keep it on my desk, and it often causes me to think about Jesus. I know, that was a weird turn. Let me explain...
What does Jesus have to do with olives?
When Jesus was alive olives were extremely valuable. The hard little fruit, mostly used for its oil, provided people with multiple resources such as light, spiritual anointing, food, and medicine.
Jesus experienced these uses of olive oil throughout his lifetime, especially in his final days on Earth. For one, he was anointed with a young woman's expensive perfume that likely contained a mixture of olive oil. Later, he and his disciples ate the Passover feast with bread dipped in olive oil, and following the meal, Jesus and his close disciples went to pray in a grove of olive trees called the garden of Gethsemane.
THE PRESSING
In Hebrew, Gethsemane actually translates to "olive-press". Gethsemane is where oil was carefully and laboriously derived from olives. To extract the oil in ancient Israel, a large animal, like a donkey, walked around in circles pulling a heavy stone to put pressure on the fruit. Then the squeezed pulp was placed into baskets that went through three more pressings to derive every drop of oil.
So in Gethsemane, in the very place where olives were pressed, Jesus too was facing immense pressure. In Matthew 26:38, we're told that as Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, he was well aware that in moments his arresters would come for him. We read in Matthew that Christ was pressed and "overwhelmed with sorrow, to the point of death" as he faced the brutality to come.
Jesus prayed for the cup to pass and pleaded with his Abba Father.
Not once, not twice, but three times.
As olives were pressed 3 times in Gethsemane, so too was Christ.
Likely, you've never been in this situation that Christ was in, but I'm sure you have been in a place before where you've felt pressure. Life is pretty good at that, and yet, 2 Corinthians 4:8 tells us,"You might be pressed on every side, but you will not be crushed."
I love that verse; however, my heart isn't always so sure about it. At times life can feel pretty defeating. So how do we hang on to the hope that despite the pressure of life, we won't be crushed?
Let's go back to Jesus in the garden.
THE CRUSHING
In the garden, Jesus agonized over God's will and his closest friends couldn't even stay awake to endure the sorrow with him. Then he was arrested and endured insults, mockery, and beating. After hours of torture, Jesus eventually gave up his last breath on the cross. Jesus was pressed all the way to the cross, and as was predicted long before in Isaiah 53:5, "He was crushed for our iniquities."
Jesus endured the crushing so we wouldn't have to. He endured the cross so that we can proclaim "pressed but not crushed." Jesus took our place, "by his wounds, we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
Jesus was pressed, crushed, and poured out as an offering to heal us. Sounds familiar right? Remember the properties of olive oil discussed earlier? Food, light, and healing. Healing was and still is a very important property of olives. But isn't Jesus so much more and so much better? Yes, olives provide healing, food, and light...but Jesus provides complete healing, never-ending nourishment, and light that can never be overcome.
"I am the bread of life," Jesus told them. "No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again." (John 6:35)
"In him (Jesus) was life and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:1-5
Jesus is the ultimate healer, nourishment that can ALWAYS SATISFY, and light that will NEVER FADE. Before Christ's death, a lamp fueled by olive oil continually burned in the Temple, however when He died that requirement went away. Through His death which defeated the darkness, Jesus diminished the need for the continually burning lamp because through his resurrection, His light never stops shining for the world.
We certainly will be pressed. This world was never promised to be easy.
We have our own crosses to bear. (Matthew 16)
We groan and are burdened. (2 Corinthians 5:4)
We will have trouble. (John 16:33)
We will have body aches, sicknesses, hurtful relationships, unfulfilled desires, and broken hearts.
But because of Jesus, WE WILL NOT BE CRUSHED.
We will not be crushed, because He endured the crushing for us... and he ROSE ABOVE IT.
"Take heart (says Jesus) for I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
Yes, we will suffer and share in sorrows like Christ's death, but because of his resurrection, we share in his LIFE. 2 Corinthians 4:10 "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."
Because he overcame, so we can we. When life knocks us down, we get back up. We have hope in a better life after this broken Earth. We can find joy through the pain. Power in the pressure.
So the next time you see olives (or maybe even a fake olive tree) remember that you will face pressure, but you will not be crushed. Jesus took our place and we can receive the oil of healing, nourishment, and light.
I pray for you who mourn that God will give you the oil of gladness. (Isaiah 61:3)
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