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~ Heart~2~Heart ~
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Pastor Lynda
MacDonald, Nova Scotia
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Messiah’s Fellowship
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THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
Mark 14:32
Being a lover of flowers and gardens,
I thought that this theme would be the perfect one for me. I also loved having
been in the Garden of Gethsemane. I have been blessed two times to visit this
amazing place at the base of the Mt of Olives just outside the walls of
Jerusalem.
Most tours to Israel are arranged so
that you go to the Mt of Olives in the early morning as the sun is rising over
the “golden city”. The bus stops at the top allowing you see the ancient walled
Jerusalem in its splendor. The narrow cobblestone lane to the bottom of the
Mount is not wide enough for a vehicle so one gets to walk down the ancient
path as many have done for centuries.
Before you descend, you can see, to
your left, the old Jewish cemetery where Jews are buried feet facing the city
in anticipation of the resurrection from the dead. They desire to rise facing the
Temple Mount. Straight ahead in front of the “Eastern Gate” is a Muslim
cemetery placed there in the hopes that it being a “place of death” the Messiah
will not be able to enter -as if that will stop Him. J
One is amazed at the olive trees that
are growing around the mount. They are silvery in color and easily explain the
reason for the Mt of Olives to have that name. Now to the bottom of the
mountain-
When you walk to the bottom (a 5
minute walk) straight ahead of you is the Kidron
valley and to the left is the Church of all Nations. It is a Catholic building
–dark and smells of incense. It was erected from money donated by Catholic
churches throughout the world hence its name. On the right is “The Garden”.
Some of it is fenced so that visitors are prevented from destroying the old
olive trees –some are over 2000 years old and most likely were viewed by
Yeshua. Imagine people destroying such a beauty???
There is a peace that surrounds that
place. No wonder Yeshua often made his way there to pray and find solace in a
city filled with sin and turmoil. There is an alcove just outside the Church of
All Nations where tourist groups meet to have a time of devotion and
reflection.
Throughout the Garden are rows and
rows of rosemary bushes –like our lilac hedges. Because they grow all year,
they are being constantly pruned. The smell of rosemary fills the air. The
beauty, the smell, the history and the Presence of God is so powerful.
Both times I was there, I was filled
with the overwhelming thoughts of Yeshua there- his last night just after
celebrating the Passover. He waited, knowing that a friend would betray him. He
waited knowing that the other 11 would hide and leave him to face death alone.
He prayed. He cried. He asked for strength to die to pay for my sin -and yours.
This garden was the only comfort he had.
What those stones and olive trees
witnessed that night. Our Yeshua- Our Salvation – betrayed, arrested and led
away. They watched, silent, as he walked from the garden for the last time -the
last time? NO! He is coming back to that same Mount of Olives. He will walk
down that walkway again and stride across the Kidron
Valley and enter through that Eastern Gate. The bricked wall will be gone from
the Gate and He will enter –the King will enter through the King’s Gate and
take his rightful place on the throne.
The garden will watch and see its Creator
once again. This time not alone but with myriads of angelic hosts and saints
who have returned with him and us who love and await his return joining him
there.
I want to leave you with something to
ponder. This amazing garden that Yeshua so loved. Could it be the real “Garden
of Eden” from Genesis? Are there hidden –somewhere on its site, 2 trees –one
“The Tree of Life” and the other “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”?
If this garden played such an important part in Yeshua’s
life, was it because the Father had already created it as a place where He
walked with Adam and Eve? Was it a place that Yeshua went to visit because in
ages past, he had walked in the cool of the evening fellowshipping with our
first father and mother?
Was it an old friendly place that
touched his heart many centuries before?
Could it be?
Shalom! Lynda
