Then Jesus brought them into an olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, "Sit here while I go on ahead to pray."He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine."

Go to dark Gethsemane, ye that feel the tempter's power; your Redeemer's conflict see; watch Him one bitter hour; turn not from His grief away; learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

See Him at the judgment hall, beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned; see Him meekly bearing all! Love to man His soul sustained. Shun not suffering, shame or loss; learn of Christ to bear the cross.

Learning from Christ's passion

Step by step James Montgomery takes us through Christ's passion. We go with our Lord to the Garden of Gethsemane, where those troublesome thoughts of death assailed Him. While His trusted friends drifted off to sleep, Jesus fought off the temptation to avoid the Cross. Tt was difficult time, and in Montgomery's simple text we feel drops of sweat.

At Jesus' triala shabby excuse for justice if ever there was oneHe bore the beating and badgering without speaking a word. He was carrying our sins with Him to the Cross. At the Cross we can only fall at His feet to worship.

At each point of this journey we have much to learn from our Savior. We can learn to pray when tempted and to endure suffering with patience. And Christ teaches us to rise in newness of life, to live in a way that honors Him, and ultimately to join Him in glory.

Our Holy Week readings are adapted from The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House Publishers (1995). Today's is taken from the entry for April 1.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House