Basic HTML Version
Awesome Struggle in Gethsemane
409
The Terrible Temptation
Christ was now standing in a different attitude from that in which
He had ever stood before. As the substitute for man, Christ was
suffering under divine justice. Hitherto He had been an intercessor
for others; now He longed to have an intercessor for Himself.
As Christ felt His unity with the Father broken up, He feared
that in His human nature He would be unable to endure the conflict.
The tempter had come for the last fearful struggle; if he failed here,
the kingdom of the world would finally become Christ’s and he
himself would be overthrown. But if Christ could be overcome, the
earth would become Satan’s kingdom, and the human race would be
forever in his power.
Satan told Christ that if He became the surety for a sinful world,
He would be identified with Satan’s kingdom and nevermore be
one with God. And what was to be gained by this sacrifice? Satan
pressed the situation on the Redeemer: The people who claim to
be above all others in spiritual advantages are seeking to destroy
You. One of Your own disciples will betray You. One of Your most
zealous followers will deny You. All will forsake You. That those
whom He loved so much should unite in the plots of Satan, pierced
Christ’s soul. The conflict was terrible. The sins of men weighed
heavily on Christ, and the sense of God’s wrath against sin was
crushing out His life.
In His agony He clung to the cold ground, as if to prevent Himself
from being drawn farther from God. From His pale lips came the
[459]
bitter cry, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.”
Yet even now He added, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou
wilt.”
Jesus Hungered for Human Sympathy
The human heart longs for sympathy in suffering. This longing
Christ felt to the very depths of His being. He came to His disciples
yearning to hear some words of comfort. He longed to know that
they were praying for Him and for themselves. How dark seemed
the malignity of sin! Terrible was the temptation to let the human
race bear its own guilt, while He stood innocent before God. If He