Walking With Christ

Tears in Gethsemane are echoes of Eden.

1: Naked and Ashamed
Eden: Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.(ESV)
Gethsemane: Matthew 27:28 (28)And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,(ESV)

2: Ash and Dust
Eden: Genesis 3:14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.(ESV)
Genesis 2:7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.(ESV)

3: Birth and Rebirth
Eden: Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”(ESV)
Gethsemane: John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”(ESV)

4: Thorns and Thistle
Eden: Genesis 3:17-18 (17)And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; (18)thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.(ESV)
Gethsemane: Matthew 27:29 (29)and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”(ESV)

5: Separated and Alone
Eden: Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.(ESV)
Gethsemane: Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(ESV)

6: Sweat and Blood
Eden: Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”(ESV)
Gethsemane: Luke 22:44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.(ESV)

Jesus echoed and answered every curse towards mankind from the garden of Eden through the garden of Gethsemane.

1. Adam and Eve wanted to hide their nakedness. Jesus was stripped naked and hung on the cross for all to witness.
2. Adam came from the dust and would return to the dust. The serpent is fed on the spiritual death of man. This was directed at the serpent and where the twist lies in this story. We see this in the second half of Genesis 3:15 where it says, “he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfilled this promise by striking a fatal blow to sin and death.
3. Eve would suffer in pain for childbirth. Jesus suffers so that we can be born again spiritually.
4. Adam lived by battling thorns and thistle. At the crucifixion, they forced a crown of thorns down on Jesus’ head.
5. After eating the fruit, Adam and Eve were truly separated from each other first the first time since their creation. God, the Father, turns His face from the Son on the cross and Jesus says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” in Matthew 27:46.
6. Adam had to sweat for his bread. Jesus sweat blood to give us the bread of life.

The tears Jesus shed in Gethsemane echo the anguish of Eden, where humanity first tasted the sorrow of separation from God. Yet in Gethsemane, those tears signaled the beginning of redemption. As we reflect on these echoes of Eden, let us remember that Jesus has answered every curse and invites us to walk in the fullness of His victory.