Resurrection Trees

"Then they went to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, Sit down here while I pray.

And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be struck with terror and amazement and deeply troubled and depressed.

And He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sad (overwhelmed with grief) so that it almost kills Me! Remain here and keep awake and be watching.

And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and kept praying that if it were possible the [fatal] hour might pass from Him.

And He was saying, Abba, [which means] Father, everything is possible for You. Take away this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You [will].

And He came back and found them sleeping..."

Mark 14:32-37, AMP

It's hard to believe that I was standing in Gethsemane, just across the valley from Jerusalem a little more than one month ago. Holy Week...Passion Week...Easter Week; whatever you call it - it will never be the same for me. Gethsemane was an amazing place, I wrote about it here. But I want to share one more amazing thing from that garden. After we had our devotion time, we crossed a small street to enter a courtyard of a large Catholic Church built next to the garden. The oldest olive trees in the garden are protected here. Our guide stood in front of the tree pictured below and told us something interesting about olive trees. 

They don't die.

They live for about 80 years, then die - appearing completely dead and fruitless for about 30 years.

Then they come back to life.

New branches will sprout out of a long dead tree and grow to be healthy and fruitful.

Can you see it?

Can you see the little sparrow nestled in the new branches?

The trees in this part of the garden are ancient; dying and coming back over and over the centuries.  Could this tree have been there on the night Jesus prayed and was arrested? 

Probably not, but maybe so. 

I'm sure He knew about the trees, did He think about how they resurrect as He suffered with His decision to die? Did it comfort Him? Look at the tree and imagine Him. Close your eyes and imagine Him, hold on to the intimate glimpse we get into His ordeal. He suffered. It wasn't easy, this dying for mankind thing; it was horror coming.

From here He was arrested and taken to the house of the high priest, where He would've walked up these steps and faced the first of his trials and Peter's betrayal (Mark 14:53-72). 

The next morning He was taken to Pilate's headquarters just next to the Temple. He was tried.....beaten within a breath of death and finally crucified at the foot of this hill, underneath the skull (Mark 15:1-40).

No, Golgotha isn't the end of the story. But sometimes we rush past it too quickly, not taking time to realize the pain of Gethsemane. Under resurrection trees Jesus struggled and submitted because of His love for us. He battled enemies common to us:

fear

terror

depression

dread

abandonment

grief

Don't trivialize the presence of these pains. Don't think for one second that Jesus doesn't understand your heartache. He faced them, felt them, and yet He didn't run....He stayed and endured. Why?

"...let me quote for you a psalm that the New Testament applies to Jesus (Hebrews 10:9). It refers to his coming into the world to offer himself as a sacrifice for sin: “I delight to do your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8). The ultimate freedom is joy. He rejoiced to do his redeeming work for us. The physical pain of the cross did not become physical pleasure. But Jesus was sustained through it all by joy. He really, really wanted to save us. To gather for himself a happy, holy, praising people." -from Love to the Uttermost, by John Piper

He delighted to do God's will.
He really really wanted to save us.

Easter isn't just about the victory of Sunday morning, it is about the joyful sorrow of Thursday night.  It's about the Son of Man, kneeling before God and choosing you...choosing me so that we might be a happy, holy, praising people!

Maybe you find yourself here on a Thursday season of life and the dread of Friday is enough to bury you....Sunday seems so far away you can't even imagine resurrection even though you believe. Remember Jesus under Resurrection Trees, enduring. He is your trailblazer. Wrap your fist around the back of his coat even with a gut full of dread. And as He walks away from the garden -- keep moving; you also can endure as you follow Him.

"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. ...When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again... 

Hebrews 12:2-3 The Message

The quote from John Piper comes from a free e-book of devotions for Holy Week Called Love to the Uttermost. Check it out!