The Way Of The Cross

Uplook – April 2025 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The Way Of The Cross

When we contemplate the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, we bow in deep adoration for such a love and devotion. On that awful cross, He, in perfect obedience to the Father, laid down His life to acquire His bride, the Church.

The Lord had spent the prior evening with His disciples in the upper room, but the time came when He and the Eleven were to leave it. They descended a hill and crossed the brook Kidron (see Jn. 18:1). King David had crossed that same brook many years earlier (2 Sam. 15:23). At that time Absalom, David’s favorite son, had revolted and as a consequence put his father to flight. Whenever the brook Kidron is mentioned in Scripture, it is always a scene of death or judgment. The brook speaks of sorrow, and it is an emblem of mourning.

With His disciples, the Lord went over that same brook and entered the garden of Gethsemane, a name meaning “oil press.” Eight disciples were told to stay at a particular place while three were allowed to accompany Him, but not all the way. He left those three behind with the instruction to pray that they would not fall into temptation.

Luke 22:41 tells us that He withdrew from them “about a stone’s throw.’’ This is very significant. The Lord had given His people of old instructions as to the stoning of offenders. The hands of the witnesses were to throw the first stone (Dt. 17:7). We have no way of computing the distance the Lord went from His three disciples, but one thing is clear: they could hear Him speak to His Father, suggesting that the distance was short and that such a stone was of a great weight.

The judgment the Lord was about to receive weighed very heavily on Him, the Son of God. While His disciples slept, our blessed Lord lay prostrate on the ground and declared that He would accept the cup of judgment from the Father’s hand for our sakes. “Lord, even to death Thy love could go” (H. L. Rossier, 1834–1928).

By Klaas Rot