The Savior’s Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane: I

The Savior’s Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane: I

Christ suffered beyond our ability to understand. Matthew, Mark and Luke tried to help us comprehend and appreciate the atonement through the illustrations they presented of the occurrence. They used words and phrases quoting the Savior saying, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death.” (Mark 14:34) “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”(Matthew 26:39) It is verses like that where we begin to see what is taking place. Matthew explains that Christ didn’t get down on his knees to pray, he fell, and he fell on his face. He prayed out, “O my Father,” Mark say he cried Abba, and Elder Jeffery R. Holland explained even more saying, “In that most burdensome moment of all human history, with blood appearing at every pore and an anguished cry upon His lips, Christ sought Him whom He had always sought—His Father. “Abba,” He cried, “Papa,” or from the lips of a younger child, “Daddy.” (Jeffery R. Holland, The Hands of A Father, General Conference, April 1999)

If any of you have children and have heard them cry out Daddy (or Mommy), you know the feeling it brings as a loving parent. Our children are our most precious gifts and when you read of the Savior’s Atonement in the garden as though he may be your son, you begin to feel something even more powerful. Christ felt agony, so much so that he sweats blood. He asked that the cup pass him, he prayed that if there was another way that it be presented, but none the less he was diligent in his task and fulfilled it.

Study manuals teach us that this was a lonely experience in that Christ had to do this alone, without his Father’s help. The scriptures tell us that an angel was there in the garden helping Christ, but you get we get a better glimpse in the feelings of loneliness when Christ catches his disciples sleeping after asking them to watch and pray. Three times he comes to them and finds them sleeping. How frustrating that must have been, and how lonely that must have felt. I know that the Savior did not wish them ill, nor was he mad at them. He knew that this task was his and his alone. I mean this in the most reverent and respectful way when I say that I imagine that it is like pregnancy. In that I cannot bear a child for my wife. I cannot suffer the pains of labor for her. I cannot take away the feelings that she has in those moments, and no amount or attempt to comfort her will suffice. But, like the Lord, he knew that the blessings were yet to come and that he was not alone. Perhaps that is not a good analogy or fair comparison, but even still I know that the Lord is my Savior and that he has blessed my life greatly because of his teachings, atonement, sacrifice, resurrection, and restoration of his true church.