Gethsemane Prayer (4)
[Luke 22:39-46]
When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, where did he pray? (Place of prayer) Jesus placed 8 disciples at the entrance of the Garden of Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray” (Mt. 26:36). And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (v. 37), James and John (Mk. 14:33), and went into the Garden of Gethsemane (Mt. 26:36-37) and went about a stone's throw away (Lk. 22:41) and prayed. Wouldn't it have been better for Jesus to pray with at least three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, when He was deeply grieved, to the point of death (Mt. 26:37-38)? Look at Ecclesiastes 4:12 – “And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” However, Jesus did not pray with them, but went alone enough to throw a stone from where they were and prayed to Heavenly Father alone. Why did Jesus so distance Himself from His disciples and pray to God alone? According to Dr. Yoon-sun Park, Jesus' distance from His disciples in this way seemed like the temple system (Park). In other words, in the temple, there were the court of the Israelites, the court of the priests, and the holy of holies, which only the high priest could enter once a year. Jesus put 8 disciples at the entrance of the Garden of Gethsemane (the courtyard of the Israelites), and the 3 disciples, Peter, James, and John, entered the Garden of Gethsemane and put them there (the courtyard of the priests), and from there Jesus went as far as a stone's throw (the holy of holies) and prayed to Heavenly Father alone. Here, the holy of holies was the place where God dwell, and there were three things in it: (1) The ark [in which (a) the Ten Commandments written by God Himself on two stone tablets, (b) At the time of the Exodus, when the Israelites lived in the wilderness, there was a pot of manna containing manna sent down from heaven by God and (c) Aaron's rod that budded], (2) The mercy seat [two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide, covering the Ark of the Covenant made of pure gold (Exod. 25:17)], (3) Two cherubim [two cherubim were placed at the two ends of the mercy seat so that the wings of the cherubs covered the mercy seat (25:18-20; 37:6-9)]. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest took the blood of the sacrifice and entered the holy of holies and sprinkled the blood on and in front of the mercy seat to atone for the sins of Israel (Lev. 16:14-19). Look at Exodus 25:22 – “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.” At the mercy seat (“There”) Jehovah God (“I”) met Aaron (“you”) the high priest. In other words, the mercy seat symbolically means the place where God meets the Israelites (Exod. 30:6; Num. 7:89). The place where Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane, put Peter, James, and John, and was about to throw a stone there, was the holy of holies where God met.
How are we today? The Apostle Peter said: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9). In other words, we are “a royal priesthood.” And the Bible says that Jesus is “a great high priest.” Look at Hebrews 4:14 – “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” Jesus is the high priest greater than the high priest Aaron. Today, as a royal priesthood, we can meet God at the mercy seat through the crucifixion of Jesus, the great high priest. Look at Leviticus 16:2 – “The LORD said to Moses: ‘Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.’” There was no time when the high priest could go in front of the mercy seat and meet God. Then the high priest could have died. However, through the death of the greater high priest, Jesus Christ, on the cross, we can enter the mercy seat at any time. Look at Matthew 27:50-51: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” Because of the death of Jesus, the veil of the sanctuary, which prevented anyone from entering the holy of holies, was torn in two from top to bottom, and now we can freely enter and leave the holy of holies. Look at Hebrews 10:20 – “by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” Now, as children of God who have been justified by faith, we can always and indefinitely approach God through faith through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2). So, we have become people who have received great blessings, always praising and worshiping God and giving glory to Him. And we can always pray in the Holy Spirit. Look at Ephesians 6:18 – “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” The Holy Spirit who dwells in us helps us in our weakness when we do not know what to pray for as we ought, and Himself makes intercession for us according to God's will with groanings inexpressible (Rom. 8:26-27). Therefore, we must pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17).