The hand that extends is a pierced one

Dear friend, are you thinking no one, not even Jesus, could possibly comprehend the anguish and pain you are facing? Take a moment to read this and think again.

You’ve probably seen the classic portrait of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, kneeling beside a big rock clad in an elegant white robe, hands peacefully folded in prayer. A look of serenity seem to emanate from his face while a spotlight from heaven illuminates his golden-brown hair.

Now, I’m no artist, but I can tell you one thing. The artist who painted that picture didn’t use the gospel of Mark as a pattern. When Mark wrote about that painful night, he used phrases like these: “Horror and dismay came over him.” “My heart is ready to break with grief.” “He went a little forward and threw himself on the ground.”

Does this description fit the above picture of a serene Jesus resting in the palm of God? Hardly. Mark used stark images to paint the scene in the garden and we see an agonizing, straining, and struggling Jesus. We see a “man of sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:3) We see a man struggling with fear, wrestling with commitments, and yearning for relief.

The writer of Hebrews would later pen, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.” (Hebrews 5:7)

My, what a portrait! Jesus in pain. Jesus is fearful. Jesus cloaked in humanity. We see Jesus with a broken heart.

Suffering from a broken heart? You might do well to remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The next time you think that no one understands, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark. When self-pity convinces you that no one cares, pay a visit to Gethsemane. Next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that that seem to envelop all humanity, listen to him pleading among the trees.

And the next time you are called to suffer, watch closely. It could be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the pain is a pierced one.