Reverence and Awe

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

It's interesting the seemingly contradictory emotions that are presented in the Morning and Evening as they are attributed to our Lord. Deep sorrow as He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. We often (and rightly so) focus on the suffering of the cross. But, the suffering that He endured in the Garden of Gethsemane was tremendous.

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44 NKJV)

To sweat drops of blood, tells us the huge stress that He was going through. And when He asked His closest human friends to pray for Him during this time…they slept.

While the evening devotional refers to a time of joy and rejoicing before Gethsemane, I am still reminded of the verse that refers to the cross as being a joy to Him.

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV)

Thank you Jesus for Your mercy and grace that would find joy in dying for sinners, like me! Amen.

P.S. I highly recommend this sermon on Gethsemane by Charles Spurgeon, from a perspective that I had never thought about until then. Since the time, I first read this about 15 years ago, I remember it each year around the time of Passion Week.

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon