Quotes about Gethsemane

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

He fell facedown and prayed, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will." Matthew 26:39

If I am perturbed by the reproach and misunderstanding that may follow action taken for the good of souls for whom I must give account; if I cannot commit the matter and go on in peace and in silence, remembering Gethsemane and the cross, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

At that time Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

His tears were not for Himself, though He well knew whither His feet were tending. Before Him lay Gethsemane, the scene of His approaching agony. The sheep gate also was in sight, through which for centuries the victims for sacrifice had been led, and which was to open for Him when He should be "brought as a lamb to the slaughter." Not far distant was Calvary, the place of crucifixion.

It is in these dark, intense, and lonely times that ascetics' souls awaken. I think that anyone who has been stretched in ministry knows that the real battle was fought at Gethsemane, not Calvary. To be sure, only Calvary provided payment for our sins and thus was absolutely necessary, but Gethsemane was the real spiritual battleground where Jesus made the final decision to be obedient. In a wrenching, courageous act of self-denial, Jesus proved the mettle of his faith.

Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.

We feel pain as an outrage; Jesus did too, which is why he performed miracles of healing. In Gethsemane, he did not pray, "Thank you for this opportunity to suffer," but rather pled desperately for an escape. And yet he was willing to undergo suffering in service of a higher goal. In the end he left the hard questions ("if there be any other way . . .") to the will of the Father, and trusted that God could use even the outrage of his death for good.

Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour would pass from Him.

And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed,