The Second Garden

The movie The Passion of the Christ opens in the depth of night. A full moon hangs ominously in the sky, creating a supernatural light of dark blue streaked with silver. The place is the garden of Gethsemane and Jesus is the man fervently praying. Quietly, a shadowy figure emerges from the background looking on with a cool curiosity. Jesus has already begun to suffer and some of his words are preserved in the four gospels, but many words are not recorded and so we can only imagine what Jesus was saying.

The words of the psalmist, beginning with “Save me, O God,” could easily reflect the words that Jesus uttered alone in that garden: “I am worn out calling for help…Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head…My eyes fail.”(Psalm 69)

Jesus knows what is in store for him; he knows why he came to earth and he knows that the shadowy figure wants him to give in to temptation by escaping from what is about to happen. Satan would appeal to Jesus’ human nature, and as we learned from the encounter in that first garden, Eden, mankind was tragically susceptible to the serpent’s subtle powers of persuasion. Jesus is reenacting the first encounter where mankind failed so miserable. This is a redo and Jesus ultimately triumphs by crushing the serpent under his foot. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.