Go To Dark Gethsemane

Go to dark Gethsemane, ye that feel the tempter’s power;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see, watch with Him one bitter hour.
Turn not from His griefs away; Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

See Him at the judgment hall, beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned;
O the wormwood and the gall! O the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss; Learn of Christ to bear the cross.

Calvary’s mournful mountain climb; there, adoring at His feet,
Mark that miracle of time, God’s own sacrifice complete.
“It is finished!” hear him cry; Learn of Jesus Christ to die.

Early hasten to the tomb where they laid His breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom. Who has taken Him away?
Christ is risen! He meets our eyes; Savior, teach us so to rise.

This is the second installment of the “Hymn of the Week” for this Passion Week. The hymn challenges us to go to certain places in our minds. Places where Christ was the last week of His earthly life – The Garden of Gethsemane, the Judgment Hall before King Herod and Pilate, to Golgotha, and to the Tomb. The hymn is a reminder for us of what happened in all these important places that week, but it also contains three challenging admonitions that I wanted to highlight:

• Learn of Jesus Christ to pray – To learn from Jesus to pray, we must answer the question – How did He pray? Many times in the Gospel you see Jesus going to a quiet place to pray and spending time with God. Some of the words that describe Jesus praying, in my mind, would be frequently, earnestly, intensely, and purposefully. That is one way we can follow His example and learn from Him how to pray.
• Learn of Christ to bear the cross – To learn from Jesus to bear the cross, we must answer the question – How did He bear His Cross? I think about the description of Jesus in the Gospels that says “As a lamb before His shearers is silent…” Unlike the thief on the cross who cursed God and others, Jesus remained silent before His accusers. He knew that there was a purpose in the Cross. He bore the Cross out of love for us. Not because it was easy. Not because it was glamorous. But He bore the Cross in love and in forgiveness. Two virtues that all of us could practice more in our lives.
• Learn of Jesus Christ to die – There are lots of words that could be used to describe how Jesus died. One of my favorites would be sacrificially. He died that we might have life. His death brought victory and salvation. His death had purpose. In life and in death, we too can have a purpose, and can be used by God during these points in our lives to be a witness of His grace and mercy.

Have you ever been told by someone who has come back from a trip “You have to see it to believe it.” Maybe that person has been to the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. Maybe the Pyramids of Egypt or one of the other wonders of the world. Places where pictures just don’t do it justice. They tell you – “You have to see it, to believe it!” The author of this hymn encourages us to go to certain places mentioned in the Bible, and the reality is that each of us can actually visit some of those places mentioned in Scripture (Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, etc.), and see for ourselves these places that have such a huge importance in history.

The difference is, however, you don’t have to see it to believe it. You don’t have to go to Golgotha to believe that He died on the Cross. You don’t have to visit the empty tomb to know that He is risen. You don’t have to see it. You just have to believe it. The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” No passport required. No list of places you have to visit or checklists you have to complete before you get the “merit” badge. No birth certificate confirming your national heritage is required. No bowing six times a day towards Jerusalem. The only thing any of us had to do was believe.

So I encourage you to spend some time this week remembering the events of Easter, and be thankful for the price that was paid there. I also encourage you to spend some time in “Gethsemane” – a place of prayer. It is definitely a place we all need to go.