Bowed at Gethsemane

2 P&P Week Blog for 12-18 April 2025

Sculpture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

I spotted this sculpture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane while visiting our families in Pa. While it was a stone rendering, a piece of art, it depicted a place of surrender to the Father’s Will. This is a place we must come to if we are to meet (and accept) Jesus as our Savior and Lord. 

Here, Jesus’ eyes were focused toward heaven,

And He is formed of marble or stone,

Yet in the garden, the place of beauty,

He would weep, seeking God’s Will, laying down His own.

Here, He is bowed in sweet submission.

There, He was bowed as the battle raged.

For it was not upon the Cross at Calvary,

But here, where the disciples slept, that it was waged.

And while this monument is of purest white,

He died to cover our sins of scarlet red.

Purity and grace covered our brokenness,

For our healing, He bled.

Thank You, Jesus, for the battle that You fought at Gethsemane. In the Garden, You won the battle of wills—by surrendering to the Father’s plan. It is here that Your purest surrender is our gift and example. It is here that You gave us Your all. For I believe that the mocking, the beatings, the betrayal, and all temptations were “finished” as You knelt and bowed on this night.  

Though I found this image in a cemetery, I instantly saw the irony—Up from the grave, You arose!

Arise in my heart, Lord. Be God of everything, for I am surrendered to Your Will. 

Let’s read one of the Gospel Accounts together found in Matthew 26:36-46 (NLT): “Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’ 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’ 39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.’ 40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, ‘Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!’ 42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, ‘My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.’ 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. 44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said, ‘Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!’”

As we read God’s Word, it is a gift when we read a familiar passage yet discover something new. This is His way of connecting us—to His heart—back to the Garden—to the place of surrender and prayer. It is through this openness that He heals our brokenness. It is here that He helps us wage war on our battles to gain victory and give Him glory! As we surrender to His Will above our wishes and desires—we too will find the Spirit to be alive in and through our lives from here to eternity. 

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