It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus, who, though tempted in all ways as we are, knew no sin (no sense of separation from God, His Father) agreed to become sin (take upon Himself that sense of separation—My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?
) in order to experience death for every man that we could become the righteousness of God
2Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Indeed, Jesus couldn’t have experienced the death of His body without taking upon himself that sense of separation that is sin. That’s why God descended to our level and was born of a woman, made under the law
:
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
It wasn’t physical death that was the cup that Jesus wanted to pass Him by. He made that very clear:
John 10:18,52-53 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. … then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
No, what He didn’t want was that sense of separation (the sin of the whole world) that was necessary in order for him to become sin and experience death, death not only to that false concept of body but also death to everything man has ever experienced as a result of that sense of separation—mental and physical disease, sinful acts, lack of peace, etc. We read about this in Isaiah 53:
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Yes, it was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus submitted to the will of His Father and went to the cross where He experienced death and destroyed the devil (the carnal mind which is sin) so that we might no longer be afraid (as was Adam and every man who has ever lived):
Hebrews 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
That death was not only the death of the Hebrew man Jesus (the humanity that God had taken upon Himself when He descended and was born of a woman); it was also the death of all humanity:
Romans 6:6-11 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul, who wrote the Scripture quoted above, in the very next chapter of that letter to the Romans, vividly describes what it means to reckon
oneself dead unto sin and alive unto God.
Romans 7:14-25 … I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul sees in himself, as we all see in ourselves, both our humanity (the carnal mind) and our true identity (the Christ, who is living Paul). We all must recognize, as Paul did, the distinction between the I
of the true identity and the carnal mindedness (sin) which characterizes our humanity. We must see that the sin
is separate and apart from the Christ (who is our true identity) and reckon
that false identity to be dead.
In fact, like Paul, I have to die daily
to the thinking that my humanity is who I am. No, it was destroyed by Jesus on the cross, and I must reckon it to be so—quit identifying that as my true self.
I must keep going within and live out of the Christ mind or consciousness, not being either surprised or horrified by what I experience in my humanity and not trying to make it better, for it is already dead. The more I keep my focus on the reality, the less I experience that which is not real. In other words, the more I look at the things which are unseen and eternal (the spiritual reality), the more I will experience those things—fruit of the Spirit
—and the less I will experience the works of the flesh.
I will be heeding the advice of this same Paul we found in such distress in Romans 7—the advice to think only on the things that are lovely
and of good report
:
Philippians 4:6-9 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
And I will be experiencing the fruit of taking that advice—the peace of God, which passeth all understanding
that we all long for and will find only when we take our attention off our humanity and place it on the Christ who is living us.