Dr Paul Allen

Christians around the world celebrate Palm Sunday, the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey and received enthusiastic praise as the Jews’ long-awaited messianic ruler. But that day didn’t mark the start of an earthly, political reign. Instead, it began the final week of a life that would end on a cross outside the city’s walls. The turning point of that week for Jesus came on the evening before his death as he prayed in a garden called Gethsemane. In the midst of severe personal agony, the son of a carpenter from Nazareth confronted and accepted his destiny. In doing so, Jesus experienced the spectrum of anguish with an intensity that overwhelms normal human turmoil. By doing so, he solidified his claims as the absolute intercessor between Heaven and Earth. Gethsemane represents Jesus’ ultimate identification with the humanity he came to rescue.   In the Crucible Throughout his ministry, as the Gospels attest, Jesus keenly understood the ordeal he must ...

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. Mark 14:32-33 The conventional account-at least the one this writer encounters most often-is that in Gethsemane Jesus demonstrates his humanity, by shrinking (as any of us would) from the painful death ahead of him. Jesus is deeply distressed by the prospect not only of dying but of being killed in a cruel and violent manner. He knows what is about to happen and he is afraid. What leads people to think this way of Gethsemane? Perhaps graphic Good Friday sermons and dramatizations such as The Passion of the Christ are to blame-visual and rhetorical portrayals of the brutal scourging, the pounding of the nails, and the thrusting in of the spear.  Though true and faithful to the biblical record and to what we know of ancient Roman crucifixion, such an emphasis on the physicality of the ...

Question: In the Garden of Eden , the serpent told Eve that if she and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, they would be “as gods” (Gen. 3:5 KJV). Then in Genesis 3:22 God says, “Behold, the man has become like one of us” ( NASB ). Does “gods” and “us” imply the existence of more than one God? Answer: Not at all. The usual Hebrew term for “God” is ʾelōhím, which is the plural of ʾelôah. It is occasionally used as a true plural, referring to the imaginary gods of the heathen. But usually it refers to the one true God, and the plural ending is known to Hebrew grammarians as the “plural of majesty.” Like ʾadōním (“lords” or “Lord”) and beʿālím (plural of baʿal, “lord,” “master,” “owner,” “husband”), ʾelōhím also may be used to give a heightened impressiveness of majesty to God. As such, this plural is modified by adjectives in the singular and takes a singular verb. In the case of the serpent, serving as Satan’s mouthpiece, his previous uses of ʾelōhím (3:1,5a) are unquestionably...

“Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Darkness had descended on Jerusalem . Its residents had finished their Passover meals. The lamb and unleavened bread had been consumed; the sandals, staffs, and belts put away (Exodus 12:1–11). In Caiaphas ’s house, a conference was underway with some members of the Sanhedrin, some officers of the temple guard, and one of Jesus ’s closest friends. In the secluded hillside olive garden of Gethsemane , just outside the city’s eastern wall opposite the temple, Jesus sat with his other eleven closest friends. The eleven friends could not stay awake. Jesus could not sleep. The Great Passover Unveiled Earlier that evening, Jesus had shared with his disciples the most marvelous Passover meal of all time, though his disciples only recognized this in retrospect. Jesus had “earnestly desired” to eat it with them (Luke 22:15). For the Great Passover, the one for which the Passove...

St. Peter Denying Christ, by Gustave Doré (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church . And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” ( Acts 12:1-2 ) Verse 2 of our text rather casually records what may have been one of the lowest points of apostolic time. James was killed with the sword—James, one of the only three disciples in Christ ’s inner circle. He was one of only three to witness the resurrection of the synagogue ruler’s daughter ( Luke 8:51-55 ); one of three to catch a glimpse of Christ’s glory at the transfiguration ( Matthew 17:1-2 ); and one of only four to sit with Christ on the Mount of Olives and learn of the future ( Mark 13:3-4 ). In Gethsemane , after their last supper together, Christ allowed him, along with Peter and John, to witness His agony in a special way ( Mark 14:32-34 ). He was highly trained by Christ Himself, and the fledgling church could ill afford to lose his l...

The Blood of Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Hematidrosis, is when blood pressure becomes so high that the subject’s subcutaneous capillaries rupture and leak out the pores and tear ducts. Because of the causes of the condition— intense fear in the face of impending death—there are very few stories involving hematidrosis that have a happy ending. So, did Jesus experience hematidrosis? Maybe. Only Luke elucidates Christ ’s Gethsemane prayer with this detail: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). There are three objections to the hypothesis that Jesus actually sweated blood, each in its own genus: theological, syntactic, and textual. Welcome to the CSI part of a pastor’s sermon prep. The theological objection goes something like this: Jesus had no sin and thus was not vulnerable to the curse on sin in the same way we are. He couldn’t catch the flu, get a boil, or become near-sig...

Christ in Gethsemane (Christus in Gethsemane), oil painting by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann (Heinrich Hofmann). The original is at the Riverside Church (Riverside Church, New York City). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I am astonished that, in the light of the clear biblical record, anyone would have the audacity to suggest that it is wrong for the afflicted in body or soul to couch their prayers for deliverance in terms of "If it be thy will…." We are told that when affliction comes, God always wills healing, that He has nothing to do with suffering, and that all we must do is claim the answer we seek by faith. We are exhorted to claim God's yes before He speaks it. Away with such distortions of biblical faith! They are conceived in the mind of the Tempter, who would seduce us into exchanging faith for magic. No amount of pious verbiage can transform such falsehood into sound doctrine. We must accept the fact that God sometimes says no. Sometimes He calls us to suffer and...

Giorgio Vasari: An angel strengthens Jesus praying in agony in Gethsemane. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And He took Peter , James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.” Mark 14:32–34 Go with me for a moment to witness what was perhaps the foggiest night in history. The scene is very simple; you’ll recognize it quickly. A grove of twisted olive trees . Ground cluttered with large rocks. A low stone fence. A dark, dark night. Now, look into the picture. Look closely through the shadowy foliage. See that solitary figure? Flat on the ground. Face stained with dirt and tears. Fists pounding the hard earth. Eyes wide with a stupor of fear. Hair matted with salty sweat. Is that blood on his forehead? That’s Jesus . Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Maybe you’ve seen the classic portrait of Christ in the garden. Kneeling beside a big rock. Snow-whi...

The Road to Emmaus appearance, based on Luke 24:13-32, painted by Joseph von Führich, 1830. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ Jesus . . . kneeled down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” . . . His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:41–44 NCV The writer of Hebrews penned these words, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death” ( Hebrews 5:7 NIV ). It’s an expression of Jesus that puzzles us. We’ve never seen his face like this. Jesus smiling, yes. Jesus weeping, absolutely. Jesus stern, even that. But Jesus anguished? Cheeks streaked with tears? Face flooded in sweat? Rivulets of blood dripping from his chin? Jesus was more than anxious; he was afraid. How remarkable that Jesus felt such fear. But how kind that he told us about it. We tend to do the opposite. Gloss over our ...

Matthew Evangelist. The text also says - Abraham and David (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 13:51 –52 “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (v. 52). Matthew 13, Jesus ’ third major discourse in the first gospel, is devoted to parables that explain God’s kingdom in Christ . Verses 51–52 conclude this discourse and look at the Old Testament ’s role in the new covenant era. Before His final kingdom parable, Jesus asks His disciples if they have understood all that He has said (v. 51). They answer yes, which is an overestimation of their insight since the disciples later have no clue about the nature of the kingdom and the suffering it entails. For example, Peter will object to the Lord’s crucifixion (16:21–23) and all the disciples flee upon Christ’s arrest in Gethsemane (26:47–56). Still, the Twelve are not wholly wrong to say that they...

Frans Floris - The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Gathering and Protecting Mankind - WGA7949 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist . 2 JOHN 7 Jesus was a man who convinced those closest to him that he was also God ; his humanness is not therefore in doubt. John’s condemnation of those who denied that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” ( 1 John 4:2–3; 2 John 7) was aimed at Docetists , who replaced the Incarnation with the idea that Jesus was a supernatural visitant (not God) who seemed human but was really a kind of phantom, a teacher who did not really die for sins. The Gospels show Jesus experiencing human limitations (hunger, Matt. 4:2; weariness, John 4:6; ignorance of fact, Luke 8:45–47) and human pain (weeping at Lazarus’ grave, John 11:35 , 38; agonizing in Gethsemane , Mark 14:32–42; cf. Luke 12:50; Hebrews 5:7–...