Two Gardens

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.—Matthew 26:36

George Eldridge

When we read that our Lord entered the garden outside Jerusalem called Gethsemane we are immediately reminded of another garden, the Garden of Eden.

The contrasts between the two are indeed striking!

• Eden was delightful and perfect; Gethsemane was dark and foreboding.
• In Eden Adam and Even spoke with the enemy, Satan; in Gethsemane Jesus sought his Father in prayer.
• It was in Eden that Adam sinned; it was in Gethsemane that Jesus agonized over the suffering for that sin.
• Eden was the scene of Adam’s fall; our Lord stood forth when they came for him in Gethsemane.
• The conflict of Eden took place in the daytime; Gethsemane’s conflict occurred at night.
• In Eden, Adam fell before Satan; in Gethsemane the soldiers fell before Christ.
• The race that was to come from Adam was lost in Eden; in Gethsemane Christ lost none of them which God had given him.
• Adam took the proffered fruit from Eve in Eden; it was in Gethsemane where Christ received the cup from the Father’s hand.
• Adam hid himself from God in Eden; in Gethsemane Christ boldly showed himself.
• It was in Eden where God sought Adam; in was in Gethsemane where Christ sought God.
• God drove Adam out from Eden; the soldiers led Christ forth from Gethsemane.
• The sword was drawn to block Adam from life in Eden; in Gethsemane the sword was sheathed to open the way to life in Christ.

These contrasts, so wonderfully shown in Scripture, are a picture of the first and the last Adam. They show failure and triumph. We were dead in Adam; we are now alive in Christ.