After the Savior had finished the Last Supper with his disciples, which was probably around
10 pm on Thursday night, the Lord took His disciples down the Kidron Valley and then
up the Mount of Olives. Only five days previous, on what we now call Palm Sunday, the Savior
had come down this same mount to the shouts of praise by the Jews who hailed Him as King
of kings, as the anointed Messiah. Yet, now He went with no fanfare into a garden where
He would take upon Him the sins of the world.
Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew words 'gath' meaning press, and 'shemen' meaning oil. The
fact that Christ chose a garden called Gethsemane is significant for many reasons. Olive oil
was considered one of the most important substances for life. This rich golden oil was used to
light the home of every family in Judea. Oil was also used to light the inner chamber of
the Temple in Jerusalem. It was used to cook most food and in particular was used in the
process of making bread, the very staff of life. Olive oil was also used to help create
many ointments that were used for both the living, for healing purposes, and for the
dead, to anoint the body prior to placing it in the tomb. Oil was also used to anoint
kings, priests, and prophets. In short, olive oil played a central part of Jewish religious
and daily life.
The very process by which olive oil was produced is also very significant and symbolic. To
produce the oil, you had to first crush the olives with a huge stone wheel that turned
the olives into a pulp like mush. Large woven bags were then filled with the pulp and placed
under the gethsemane, or olive press. "The mash sacks were placed towards the front of
the beam under a round pressing board. Large stones were used to weigh down the beam pressing
upon the mash sacks." Additional weight was added until the olive oil began to spill from
the woven bag into the collecting bowls. Because of the crushed rinds of the olives, the oil
was actually brownish red in color, giving it the appearance of blood.
The symbolism of olive oil and the suffering that Christ endured in this garden of the
press is laden with significance. Christ in the Gospel of John states that He is the Light
of the world. It is through His precious blood that our way has been illuminated. Christ
is the ointment that will not only heal our souls, but give a sweet fragrance to the bitter
difficulties we face in life. It is through His precious blood that our wounds are healed.
Christ also stated that He was the bread of life, a critical ingredient of ancient bread
being olive oil. It is through His precious blood that we can have the bread of life,
and live forever. Even the very name Christ in Greek and Messiah in Hebrew mean anointed.
Thus, Jesus was the anointed one in every aspect, the great King of kings, the High
Priest, the holy Prophet.
Christ alone paid the price for sin. He had the weight of the world press down upon Him,
crushing Him until He bled from every pore. How grateful we should be to the Savior for
what He did for us in a garden called Gethsemane. A garden, that by its very name, symbolizes
the freedom, life, light, and healing power that has been brought into our lives through
His precious blood.