The full moon lit the way as their feet shuffled down the city streets, through the gate and out into the garden. Initially a cordial discussion perfumed the atmosphere but that was soon substituted by the sound similar to that of students walking into an exam room. No words were uttered; the only talking was done by the walking.
Another sound heaves through the air, one of the men groaned from the depths of His heart. His body swerved as though the earth shifted under him. He staggered and was only kept from falling because His companions propped Him up. His heart galloped yet His gait abated. This was in harmony with His life of paradoxes. He was God, yet man (John 1:1-3, 14). The Giver of life (John 14:6), yet He was about to die every man’s death (Hebrews 2:9), loving all yet He was hated (John 15:18, Isaiah 53:3), owner of all yet He was impoverished (2 Corinthians 8:9). Alas, He invented gravity, yet He seemed to fail to remain upright.
What caused this to happen? It was the weight, the mass of all the sins of this world (Isaiah 53:6), was slowly but surely heaped upon Him, squeezing out all hope, all joy, all peace, all assurance. In science they define it as the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. In simple terms we call it pressure. As a man, in His youthful years, Jesus was now shouldering all the weight of the loneliness, the pain, the grief, the guilt, the disappointments, the anxiety, the sickness, the hunger, the suffering of this world (Isaiah 53:4). He bore it all: the sin and the consequences thereof.
Today, as we ponder upon that scene, we realize that because of sin, not a single human being, not even the perfect sinless loving One, is exempted from pressure. Now, if there was any time that copying the best was wise, now would be it (1 Peter 2:21). How did Jesus handle all that pressure? Did He master any techniques to unleash ‘the power within’ Himself? No, He did not. He took time out in the garden, in the open air, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. He surrounded Himself with people who cared for Him, as imperfect and as faulty as they were. He asked them to pray for Him (Matthew 26:38-41). He Himself fell prostrate on the ground, agonized in prayer, recognizing that as a man His only dependence was to be on His loving and Almighty Father (Hebrews 5:7).
What was the result? The weight to be carried was not diminished. His stature and material resources as a man had not increased in anyway. However, a fundamental change had taken place. Ellen White describes it this way, “Christ’s agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.” {DA 694.1}
The dynamics of the lives we lead demand that we master from our Master these tried and tested pressure coping tactics. I am willing to learn and practice these, please join me.
AUTHOR: Thabani Dlodlo, attends Arcadia SDA Church, East Zimbabwe Conference.