TOPIC: Easter Week Preview: What Christ’s Agony in the Garden Teaches About Him, About Us

GUEST: TRAVIS ALLEN, pastor, Grace Church Greeley, CO

There are lots of things that draw our time and thoughts away from the most important Person and event in history—Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection which took place nearly 2000 years ago in Jerusalem.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came from heaven, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life with the whole purpose of offering Himself on the cross to pay the death penalty for man’s sins against His Father. Why would He do this?

Here’s why: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Consider Jesus in the days leading to His death on the cross. He knew when, where, and how He was going to suffer and die. Above all, He knew that His own Father would be pouring out His just wrath and justice on Him, the innocent One, for all the sins of all who would believe.

The gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ state on the night of His arrest as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane: “being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44).

Agony, praying fervently, sweating blood. What? Didn’t Jesus just run through this unruffled like some superhero?

No He didn’t. His agony and His actions before His atoning death teach us a great deal about who He is and who believers are called to be.

Our guest this weekend is Travis Allen. Travis served our country in the US Navy as a member of the SEAL teams and is now the pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, CO. Travis gave a recent sermon series on “The Agony in the Garden,” explaining the deep suffering of Christ in the hours before He would bear His Father’s wrath for our sin on the cross.

We hope this program leading into Easter week, along with the April issue of The Christian Worldview Journal, which is scheduled to arrive this week, will help our hearts and minds more deeply appreciate and worship Christ for who He is—the Son of God and only Savior of mankind.