Daily Devotion for July 5, 2006
Day 10
Gethsemane
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." Mark 14:32
The word gethsemane is derived from two Hebrew words: gat, which means a place for pressing oil (or wine) and shemanim, which means oils. During Jesus time, heavy stone slabs were lowered onto olives that had already been crushed in an olive crusher. Gradually, the slabs weight squeezed the olive oil out of the pulp, and the oil ran into a pit. There the oil was collected in clay jars.
The image of the Gethsemane on the slope of the Mount of Olives where Jesus went the night before his crucifixion provides a vivid picture of Jesus suffering. The weight of the sins of the world pressed down upon him like a heavy slab of rock pressed down on olives in their baskets.
His sweat, like drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:44), flowed from him like olive oil as it was squeezed out and flowed into the pit of an olive press. 
Olive Crusher
The olive crusher was the stone basin used to crush olives into pulp. A donkey pushed on a horizontal beam, which in turn rolled a millstone that crushed ripe olives (placed in a large, round basin) into a pulp.
The olive crusher was the stone basin used to crush olives into pulp. A donkey pushed on a horizontal beam, which in turn rolled a millstone that crushed ripe olives (placed in a large, round basin) into a pulp.
An olive crusher was often placed in a cave, where the moderate temperature improved the efficiency of the oil production.
The olive press is long gone on Gethsemane, but olive trees of great age are still there to the east of the Old City walls beyond the Kidron valley. Several of the olive trees are believed to date to the time of Jesus. Near the olive trees, facing the Jericho road and the walls of Jerusalem is a large church of great dignity and solemn splendor.
A brightly colored mosaic of Christ during the agony in the garden adorns the church façade, but the dark purple alabaster windows keep the interior in constant darkness. However, it seems fitting, since this church built in 1924 covers several earlier buildings erected over the rock on which Jesus is supposed to have prayed on that sorrowful night. The church has been called the Basilica of the Agony. However, many countries gave money to build it so it is called the Church of All Nations.
(click on the photo below for a LARGER view)
And the nations come. Japanese tourists with the inevitable cameras, earnest Germans with heavy guidebooks. There are Texas Pentecostals who kneel, hold hands, weep and pray on the garden path outside the church. And there are Italians with their village priests buying olive-wood rosaries.
And the nations come. Japanese tourists with the inevitable cameras, earnest Germans with heavy guidebooks. There are Texas Pentecostals who kneel, hold hands, weep and pray on the garden path outside the church. And there are Italians with their village priests buying olive-wood rosaries.Beneath the branches of the old olive trees here Jesus experienced great desolation and entered into a profound prayer of trust and obedience. Here was the place of betrayal by a friend and disciple. Here the hands of the Son of God were tied by rough soldiers and he was led away under arrest (Mark 14:26-52).
Prayer:
Here in the Garden of Gethsemane, the dread and loneliness were so great that the Gospel says you sweated blood. Here you longed for human companionship but your disciples only fell asleep. They did not realize how much you needed them. You knew that you could have escaped from this place and from the torture and death of the next day. A brisk walk up the path would have taken you around to Bethany and onto the open hills of Judea and to safety beyond the Jordan. But then, we would not have been healed by your wounds. Lord, be with us in our own anxieties. Stay near us when our hearts are heavy. Amen
Here in the Garden of Gethsemane, the dread and loneliness were so great that the Gospel says you sweated blood. Here you longed for human companionship but your disciples only fell asleep. They did not realize how much you needed them. You knew that you could have escaped from this place and from the torture and death of the next day. A brisk walk up the path would have taken you around to Bethany and onto the open hills of Judea and to safety beyond the Jordan. But then, we would not have been healed by your wounds. Lord, be with us in our own anxieties. Stay near us when our hearts are heavy. Amen
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While in the Middle East for a Biblical Study Journey with fellow Word Among Us Students, a 5-person crew is filming and taking pictures of the various sites. This vibrant photographic material will be incorporated into next year's Word Among Us classes.
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posted by Lutheran Church Charities at 4:02 AM
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