Matthew 26:36-46
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Again, a SECOND time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.
So He left them, went away again, and prayed the THIRD time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
In this discourse, it is clearly seen that Jesus was praying in the garden and was suffering greatly in His humanity for the immense task that was set before Him. Not only was He about to be beaten beyond comprehension and nailed to the cross; one of the most agonizing deaths known to His day; but He also was taking upon Himself the sin of all mankind, dying for a world of undeserving sinners, of whom most would never acknowledge Him. That is Love.
But we’ll look beyond the obvious and peer into the place this excruciating moment of prayer took place: Gethsemane.
Gethsemane is a term from aramaic origin meaning “olive press.” In Deuteronomy 18:4 we read, “The firstfruits of your GRAIN and your new WINE and your OIL, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.”
The grain and wine are resprentative of the communion we take symbolizing the broken body of Jesus and His blood that He shed for us. In the use of all three of these elements, there is a process in turning them into their desired product. The grain is crushed, beaten, and put thru fire to make bread. The spiritual significance of this was His scourging and the trial of the Cross. He is our Bread of Life. The new wine is made when the grape is plucked, crushed and trodden under foot, as was Jesus when He took upon Himself our judgment and became the New Wine for us. Now to the oil….
The process of an olive press begins when olives are placed into baskets, placed beneath the pressing stones and pressed. The first oil pressing yields the best oil and was given to the kings and to royalty. Then the baskets were stacked on top of one another and pressed again. The second press was still good oil for cooking, baking breads, and general use for all. They were pressed a third time. This oil was cloudy and is what was used for the oil lamps.
In Gethsemane, Jesus was pressed three times. As seen in the previous passages, three times He prayed. He was pressed and blood came out of His pores from the intense pressure.
This first press was for the Temple and its King: to honor the Father. The second press was for the “Bread of Life: the Son.” The third press was oil for the Lamps (His followers) to give His Light (the Holy Spirit) to the world. The oil was representative of our complete and total healing; (bodily to sicknesses and disease), mentally (to the snares of the enemy), and spiritually (from the chains of bondage and demonization), all thru the resurrection power of our all sufficient King and Savior, Jesus Christ.