“Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest Thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him” (John 1:38-39).
Anticipation of the Cross
Let us go ahead to the garden of Gethsemane. While in point of time this happened before the cross, the moral lesson we wish to learn in the garden follows the cross—follows that time when we put our faith in the finished work of Christ for ourselves—and ought to remain with us for our entire Christian life in this world.
“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry [or, abide] ye here, and watch with Me” (Matt. 26:36-38).
In the garden, the Lord Jesus anticipates all that is going to transpire on the cross. He knows the counsels of eternity in which the Son offers to accomplish all that the love of God purposes for the blessing of man. His holy soul enters into the horror that it will mean to be made sin and to suffer the wrath of God against sin.
He looks for some to stand with Him. “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow” (Lam. 1:12). “I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” (Psa. 69:20). In Gethsemane He takes three of His disciples “with Him”; He says to them, “Watch with Me.”
The work of atonement was entirely His own. None but He could endure the weight of judgment that was due for our sins. Hence, God clothed the whole scene with darkness.
But now that the mighty work is finished and we have come into blessing as “fruit of the travail of His soul” (Isa. 53:11 JnD), He expresses the desire of His soul: “Remain here and watch with Me” (Matt. 26:38 JND). It is as though He says to us, “Leave your heart here in sight of the cross. Keep the sufferings of Calvary ever fresh before your soul. Remember and meditate on what I did for you there and don’t ever leave this place.”
Response in Worship
On that same night in which He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus was together with His disciples one more time. He took bread and a cup, and with those simple elements He instituted a memorial supper—the Lord’s supper. He said, “This do in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). The Apostle Paul repeats our Lord’s words (1 Cor. 11:23-25) and shows us His desire that His assembly—His body, the church—gather around Himself at His table and, by partaking of His supper, remember Him in His death. Isn’t this where we collectively abide with Him and watch—remember—with Him?
But in addition to this collective side to our Christian lives, there is also an individual side. “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15). Doesn’t He deserve praise and adoration and worship from our hearts every day? In fact, our thanksgiving will be scant and our worship barren when we sit in His presence collectively if we have waited till then to collect our thoughts about Him. Let us follow the psalmist’s example: “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise Thy name forever and ever” (Psa. 145:2).
Overcoming Temptation
How often are we like the disciples—asleep in the presence of His passion, just as they were, at an earlier occasion, asleep at the display of His glory (Luke 9:32). Multitudes of cares of life and other distractions crowd our best moments. As a result, our baskets of firstfruits (Deut. 26:2)—where we store our meditations of the Person and work of Christ to offer back to God what He has given us by His Spirit to enjoy of His Son—remain rather empty from day to day. But He has said, “None shall appear before Me empty” (Ex. 23:15). Oh, may we be stirred to revive the priority of meditation in our daily, personal lives so that our hearts are full to overflowing with His praise and worship when we meet together with Him at His table.
Abiding with the Lord in this place, we learn that the key to overcoming temptation is staying alert to His sufferings and keeping them fresh before our souls. “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). We are unable to resist temptation in our own strength; how painfully true we know this to be. But when we look to Christ, we see that He has vanquished Satan and all his power at the cross. We see the One who shed His precious blood to redeem us—to buy us back to Himself. In the sight of such sufferings, are we going to act carelessly and give in to the alluring snares of this wicked world?
Submission
There’s one more, most important lesson that we should learn while we abide with our Lord here: submission. Listen to His prayer: “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). The second time He prays, is His attitude any different? “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done” (vs. 42). A third time He prays, “saying the same words” (vs. 44). As a man, the Lord Jesus has only one motive and purpose—to do the will of Him who sent Him. Absolute submission to the directions from His Father characterizes every thought, every word and every action of this blessed Man, even to the death of the cross.
Doesn’t love for Christ constrain our hearts to “follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21 JnD)? Could there be anything more important to usurp this preeminent place that the Person and the work of Christ should have to our souls? No! He alone is worthy to be our hearts’ sole Object.
D. R. Macy