Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-07

An eminent painter has left on canvas
| a painting of Jesus facing the cross
He did not depict the scene of Geth-
semane, but selected the Masters child
hood in Egypt and painted the child
Jesus with outstretched hands to form
a shadow of the cross upon the sand as
prophetic of His end. 1t was true to His
life. But the events of the lesson are
taken from the Lords last day with
His disciples. He knew that His death
was rapidly approaching. He saw 1t
during the journey He took up in the
north country. when He was trying in
the seclusion of that pagan territory to
complete the apostles preparation. The
farther north He went on that journey
the nearer He was approaching
Jerusalem, where He knew that He was
to be crucif1ed.
During the trip to the Holy City the
apostles had noticed how determined
He was. They witnessed the public
outbreak in His favor and hoped that
the time of His establishing His king
dom had arrived Although He had
tried to make plain to them the out
come that was destined to be reached
as a result of His conflict with the
Pharisees and Herodians, the apostles
failed to grasp its meaning. He had
opened I'D the truth that He was facing
the cross In the upper room while they
ate the Passover. He tried to prepare
them to endure the prosecutions and
trials that they would be called upon
to endure. Although He had spoken very
plainly in His institution of the Lords
Supper and tried to comfort them by
His address recorded in Johns gospel,
that has been so frequently q source of
comfort to His followers In their distress,
the twelve did not understand either
HIS message or prayer in the upper
room.
He warned them again on the way
across the Kedron Valley as they jour-
neyed toward the olive garden where
He was in the habit of seeking COM
munion with the Father. Gethsemane,
"oil press" was a short distance from
Jerusalem. While two different sites
are shown tourists today, the old olive
trees in the garden that Is under con-
troll of the Roman Catholic Church
appealed to the writer as the probable
site where the events of our lesson took
place. When the Master and the IL
apostles reached their customary place
Of retiring the disciples were heavy with
sleep.
The Gardens Revelation.
Entering the historic garden we feel
that it is a place for meditation. Diff
ferences in our views about the Lord
and His Church all disappear when we
consider the awful agony that Jesus
endured there as He faced the shadow
of the cross. We cannot fathom the
experience that our Lord passed
through during His impressive and mys-
FERROUS experience within the garden.
One hesitates to attempt to expound
the teachings of that moment, when
Jesus fought out the battle of the cross
in prayer. Referring to that hour, one
has well said that "as the towering
granite peak, within the forests, with
out verdure, with no covering of soil,
discloses the structure. and substance OF
the whole mountain, elsewhere con-
cealed by grassy slope and waving trees,
so Christ and Gethsemane reveal the
character underlying His whole career
that wondrous personality usually half
hidden. comes to the surface-we see
Him as He Is.
It reveals the human side Of the
Lord Jesus. He took His apostles with
Him into the garden, because He felt
the need of their sympathy and sup
port in that moment. HIS asked the
members of the inner circle, Peter,
James and John. to sit We here, while