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Still lingering in the garden from last week, “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” (Matthew 26:36-38) 

Even Christ followers cannot fathom what Jesus went through.  He talked with the Father and considered all that He would accomplish, as He lay His life down for all of mankind.  Was He grieved and distressed from knowing He was going to die? No.  He made it very clear that He knew He came to die for the sins of humanity.  He left heaven and came to earth for that specific purpose.

Looking back we know that Satan had come to Jesus before in the desert and had tempted Him.  Jesus triumphed.  While in Gethsemane, I am sure Satan saw Jesus as vulnerable.   Jesus Himself says he is “deeply grieved” to the point of death.  In this very garden, Jesus being 100% God and 100% man comes face to face with the sins of the world.  This crucial information was shared with us so that on some level Christ-followers could at least acknowledge the price tag. 

A great price was being paid so that Christ-followers might become the sons and daughters of God.  Can you imagine, Satan is right there telling Jesus that He cannot fulfill this great task?

As Jesus confronted sin, we see why He reminds Christ-followers, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Jesus desires us to be free from the grief and distress that Satan uses against us.  Jesus wants us to walk freely from any condemnation and have security in knowing that He took care of any indiscretion, bad decision, unfortunate circumstance or any kind of crime.  Jesus freed us from being slaves to sin. 

As we move toward our resurrection celebrations, let us remember the great sacrifice that was made for our freedom.

“Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,  but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:17-19) 

As Christ-followers may we live in such a way that others may see that Jesus has paid it all.

Yvette Perrin is a columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.