Denver Seminary

Encouraged by visions of her eternal reward and the support of her equally committed friends, she overcame each temptation. Eventually her captors took the prisoners to a Roman arena and unleashed wild animals upon them. As Perpetua crossed the threshold of her life on Earth to her eternal life with Jesus, she was surrounded by friends, calm in demeanor, and eager to die for the name of Christ. 1 How different Perpetua's story is from that of her Savior. Perpetua's tale is hard to believe. The picture comes to mind of a woman confidently walking into the arms of death without hesitation or fear. Many feel that this story was likely embellished to encourage other Christians facing persecution. On the other hand, Jesus' journey to the cross—as told by the Gospel writers—is visceral, agonizing, and remarkably human. Jesus was born to die. He knew when and how, and that knowledge was staggering. Raymond Brown's two-volume commentary on the passion narratives treats them as drama, a tragedy in four acts. 2 In the final act, our hero dies "alone on the frontline in our place, absorbing the full onslaught of Sin, Death, and the devil." 3 But the first act offers us a glimpse of how Jesus dealt with the knowledge of His impending death. This was no easy burden. A careful review of the language used by the Gospel writers to describe Jesus' time in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest reveals the excruciating trial He endured for our sake in anticipation of the cross. ABANDONED The synoptic Gospels tell us that after Jesus' last Passover meal with His disciples, they went to the Mount of Olives. Mark and Matthew mention that, on the way to the Mount's Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus predicted the remaining 11 disciples would abandon Him that very night. The Greek verb skandalizō—translated "fall away"—has to do with both hindrance and offense. When Jesus said, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me" (Matthew 26:31) it communicates that a fall is occurring. It is by no means a neutral term, and the implication was not lost on Jesus' disciples. He expected His closest friends and followers to be tripped by the stumbling block of fear and scattered by the scandal of His crucifixion. Yet Jesus reassured His disciples that a larger plan was at work by quoting the prophet Zechariah: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered" (Zech. 13:7). Half a century before Jesus' followers were born, God had revealed that these things would come to pass. Jesus also offered His disciples a word of encouragement by mentioning His resurrection, but they were preoccupied with proving their loyalty to Him and missed this glimpse of God's greater plan. EMOTIONALLY OVERWHELMED Once in the Garden, Jesus' focus narrowed and shortened. He was there to pray. Matthew (26:38) and Mark (14:34) more vividly describe Jesus beginning to experience intense emotions as the cross loomed larger in front of Him: "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." His immediate future involved abandonment and pain beyond imagination. He would soon be forsaken by His Father, left to carry the fullness of human sin and face Satan's vicious hatred alone. In Mark's version, Jesus began to be "deeply distressed"—or more accurately, "emotionally overwhelmed." Matthew describes Jesus beginning to grieve, and both writers add that He was "anguished." Jesus' journey to the cross—as told by the Gospel writers—is visceral, agonizing, and remarkably human. Luke 22:40–41 states, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." Here, Luke uses the same verb, proseuchomai, for Jesus' prayerful activity and for His command to the disciples to "pray." Mark and Matthew give a more nuanced account, explaining that Jesus asked something more of His disciples: that they should remain and "keep watch." The verb grēgorēo here means "to remain awake," from which "to be alert or watchful" stems naturally. Given that the disciples ended up sleeping as Jesus prayed, both the primary and secondary meanings make good—if unfortunate—sense. While Jesus' eyes were fixed on the impending cross, His followers' eyes were already drifting closed. Had they listened to their Master, perhaps they, too, would have experienced anguish rather than lethargy. TESTED AND TEMPTED Turning back to Luke (22:40), we see Jesus' single imperative to "pray" followed by its content: not to enter into temptation. 4 In English, we have separate words for trial, test, and temptation. Koine Greek has one word for all three: peirasmos. Which of the three English terms best fits the context of this passage? Unlike trials and tests, temptations involve solicitation by (or to) evil. James tells us that when we are enticed by our desires, trials or tests that are meant for our good and growth can become temptations (1:11–14). The night of our Lord's betrayal was a test—indeed a major exam—for all concerned. Evil lurked in Gethsemane, and the test, at least at one level, turned to temptation. ENGAGE 13 1 Charles E. Moore and Timothy Keiderling, Bearing Witness: Stories of Martyrdom and Costly Discipleship, 2016. 2 Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave, volume 1, 1994, p. 11. 3 Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus, reprinted, 2017, p. 375. 4 Matthew and Mark mention temptation later.

• Cover