Garden of Gethsemane & Church of All Nations

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Introduction

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The Garden of Gethsemane is the place where Jesus spent His last hours before being crucified for our sins.

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1. It was here in this area that Jesus' sweat would become like drops of blood.

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2. It was here that He would be arrested and begin His path to the cross.

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3. Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew words gat, which means press, and shemanim, which means oil. 

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4. It was a place where Olive Oil would be pressed.

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5. In the same way olives were pressed and crushed, Jesus would be pressed and crushed here as well.

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6. Inside the church is the rock upon which Jesus prayed, and His sweat became like blood falling to the ground.

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7. In this place, Christ taught us how to overcome temptation, as He prayed three times in the midst of His struggle.

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8. Let's allow the somberness of this place to grip us as we experience it and walk in the footsteps of Christ and His suffering for us.

 

Location

 

1. The Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations are located at the base of the Mount of Olives. 

 

2. The Church of All Nations is built over the rock on which Jesus is believed to have prayed in agony the night He was arrested and then condemned to crucifixion.

 

Historical Background

 

1. Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew words gat-גת (“press”) and shemanim שמנים- (“oils”).

 

2. At the base of the Mount of Olives, there was a garden where Jerusalem farmers would bring their harvested olives to be pressed into oil.

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3. The name Gethsemane is significant because it underscores the essence of Jesus’ suffering at the time of his arrest. Like an olive in a press, Jesus’ life was squeezed out of him. The Scripture says, “Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Through this, we see that by understanding the Hebrew names of places, we gain access to the true inner meaning of the story of Jesus’ arrest. 

 

4. Early believers marked out this site soon after Jesus' death and resurrection and venerated it.

 

5. Later, when Christianity became the formal religion of the Roman Empire, churches were allowed to be built, and a Byzantine church was built here around 350 AD. However, it was destroyed by an earthquake in 746 AD.

 

6. In the 12th century, a Crusader chapel was built over the Byzantine church and later abandoned in 1345 AD when the Muslims took over the Holy Land from the Crusaders. 

 

7. The current church, the Church of All Nations, also known as the Basilica of the Agony, was consecrated in 1924. A diagram outside the church shows the history of this site.

 

8. It is a Catholic Franciscan church and was built using donations from 12 nations. Therefore, it is called the Church of All Nations.

 

9. Gethsemane means “Oil Press” in Hebrew. The primary source of oil in Israel was from olives, so it is also known as an olive press. 

 

10. It was an olive orchard with an olive press in it. As a result, it became known as the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

11. How fitting it would be called Gethsemane, as Christ would be pressed here beyond measure. Even to the point of His sweat becoming like drops of blood.

 

Places of Interest

 

1. Old olive trees with their roots dating to the time of Christ.

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2. At the top of the church's exterior facade is a mural depicting Jesus in the center, with God the Father above Him, alongside angels and people. 

 

3. There are also four pillar columns, each representing an author of the four Gospels.

 

4. Just before entering the church, a diagram is displayed showing the site's history, dating back to Jesus' time.

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5. The church's roof has 12 domes, one for each country that donated to its construction costs.

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6. The dim lighting in the church gives a sense of the night in which Christ prayed in agony. 

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7. Glass plates on the floor of the church, where mosaics of the Byzantine Church from the 4th Century can be seen.

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8. The rock inside the church upon which Jesus prayed in agony.

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• How do we know that Jesus prayed on this particular spot? The fact that a fourth-century Byzantine church was built here as soon as Christianity became legal suggests that there was an earlier belief that Jesus had prayed here. 

 

• The cups and two young pigeons. Notice that the cups are placed on each side of this rock, where visitors pray, recalling the moment when, in Matthew 20:23, Jesus said to His disciples, “Indeed you will drink from my cup.” 

 

• The pair of silver doves and the two young pigeons are birds mentioned in Luke 2:24, as the ritual sacrifice that Mary and Joseph were required to offer after Jesus was born. This Jewish ritual foreshadowed the sacrifice that Christ Himself would ultimately become. 

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9. The mosaic in the left apse.

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• The mosaic on the left shows Judas kissing Jesus, which was his way of identifying the Son of God to the mob that came out to arrest Him.  This act of betrayal in the garden was a fulfillment of Psalm 41:9, which says, “Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”

 

10. The Mosaic in the central apse.

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• The middle mosaic shows Jesus praying on the rock of Agony. He knew that He was about to experience an excruciating death, and the Gospel of Luke tells us that His anguish was so intense that His perspiration was like great drops of blood. 

 

11. The mosaic in the right apse.

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• This mosaic on the right shows Jesus being arrested by the Jewish Temple guards.

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12. To the side of the church is a rock with an image of Jesus praying.

 

13. A stone with the image of Jesus praying, known as the Rock of the Apostles, is allegedly located near the place where Peter, James, and John are said to have slept.

 

14. A marble column known as the Kiss of Judas commemorates the moment when Judas kissed the Lord on the cheek.  

 

15. Just a short distance away, located near the Church of the Tomb of Mary, is the cave where the Olive Press would have been situated and where the disciples and Jesus would have gathered before Jesus was arrested.

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Garden of Gethsemane in the Bible

 

1. Jesus spent His last evening on earth praying in great agony before His crucifixion the following day.
Luke 12:50: I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

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2. Christ became sorrowful, even to the point of death. 
Matthew 26:36–39: Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

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Prayers that are prayed in the valleys of life often sound more like the first part of Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. That is, “Father, deliver me from this trial.” However, as we seek a physical solution to our problems, we must, like Jesus, surrender ourselves to God’s perfect will for our lives, whatever it may be. We need to trust God, knowing His ultimate plan is best, and based on His love for us.

 

3. Christ taught us how to overcome temptation.
Matthew 26:40–41: And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

 

4. Christ departed and prayed a second time.

Matthew 26:42–43: Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 

 

5. Christ prayed a third time. 
Matthew 26:44: So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.

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Interestingly, Christ prayed three times. Olives were also pressed three times. The first press was called virgin oil and used for religious purposes. The second press was used for cooking, ointments, healing, and other purposes. The third press was used for oil lamps, lubrication, and other applications.

 

6. Christ’s sweat became like great drops of blood.
Luke 22:43–44: And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

 

7. Christ was arrested and taken captive by the Jews.
Matthew 26:45–50: Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand." 47 While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; seize him." 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you came to do." Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

 

8. Jesus voluntarily surrendered to the Jews.
Matthew 26:51–56: And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels [60,000 angels]? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled.”

 

In the Old Testament, one angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. This means 12 legions of angels (60,000) could have killed 11 billion people. This is more than the entire earth’s current population. The earth’s population during the time of Christ was only around 300 million.

 

Faith Lesson from the Garden of Gethsemane

 

1. The spiritual weight of paying for the sins of the world was far greater to bear than Christ’s physical sufferings. Have we really contemplated the price Christ paid for our salvation?

 

2. Christ taught us to overcome temptation through prayer. Do we follow His example?

 

3. If there is no hell, then the suffering of Christ has little purpose. Do we believe in hell and speak about it, or do we avoid it?

 

4. Christ provided us with the perfect example of how we should choose God’s will over our own. In the same way Christ submitted to the will of the Father, do we submit to God as well?

 

5. Olives are useless unless they are crushed. Christ's primary purpose in His first coming was to be crushed for our sins. If He hadn't fulfilled and submitted to God's will for Him, it all would have been useless.

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6. Jesus is the only man in history who was born to die. Yet, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He pleaded with His Father for release from this death sentence.

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Still, He never lost sight of His mission. He concluded His prayer with the words, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” Where have we heard these words before? They echo the Lord’s Prayer, which He had taught His disciples just months earlier on the heights of this same mountain. There, He instructed them to pray, “Thy will be done.” Now, in the valley of suffering and anguish, He Himself is praying that very prayer.

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Our prayers in life’s valleys often sound like the first part of Jesus' plea in Gethsemane: “Father, deliver me from this trial.” But while we seek escape or solutions, we too must learn, as Jesus did, to yield to God’s will—trusting it to be perfect, even when it feels uncertain or beyond our understanding.

 

7. We also become more useful as a result of the trials in life that crush us. Are we willing to submit to God and allow Him to crush us so we can be more useful?

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James 1:2-4: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

 

Hebrews 12:10-11: For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

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