In the Garden of Gethsemane....

4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.   Isaiah 53:4 - 6

 

The Garden of Gethseman

This morning I was cleaning out some file folders and found some notes from our 1998 workshop in Israel .  We spent several hours at the Biblical Resources Institute and I was profoundly impacted by what we learned about olive presses and the Garden of Gethsemane, an ancient grove of olive trees on the Mount of Olives. The name Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew Gat Shemen, meaning "olive press."  The olive fruit supplied many of life's necessities for ancient Israelites but only after being subjected to the olive press.  There were four pressings.  The first pressing extracted the purest oil which was used for healing and anointing ceremonies in the temple.  The oil from the second pressing was used for nourishment and cooking. The third pressing brought forth oil for light and illumination and was used in lamps. The fourth produced oil for cleansing.  It was combined with lye to make soap.  (From the Biblical Resources Institute in Jerusalem.)

Olive press or gethsemane.

The atonement of the the Savior which was wrought in the Garden of Gethsemane provides us with consecration and healing, with spiritual nourishment and strength, with the light of truth and knowledge and with the cleansing power to rid us of the effects of sin in mortal life.

The juice extracted from the pressing of olives.

Elder Russell M. Nelson has said:

 

"Jesus came to the base of the Mount of Olives to effect the first component of the Atonement.  This He did at the Garden of Gethsemane.  The word Gethsemane comes from two Hebrew roots: gath, meaning 'press,' and shemen, meaning 'oil,' especially that of the olive.

 

"There olives had been pressed under the weight of great stone wheels to squeeze precious oil from the olives.  So the Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was literally pressed under the weight of the sins of the world.   He sweated great drops of blood—his life’s 'oil'—which issued from every pore. (See Luke 22:44; D&C 19:18.)


"Jesus was accorded titles of unique significance.  One was the Messiah, which in Hebrew means 'anointed.' The other was the Christ, which in the Greek language means 'anointed' as well. In our day, as it was in His day, the ordinance of administration to the sick includes anointing with the consecrated oil of the olive.  So the next time you witness consecrated oil being anointed on the head of one to be blessed, and these sacred words are said, 'I anoint you with this consecrated oil,' remember what that original consecration cost. Remember what it meant to all who had ever lived and who ever would yet live.  Remember the redemptive power of healing, soothing, and ministering to those in need.  Remember, just as the body of the olive, which was pressed for the oil that gave light, so the Savior was pressed.  From every pore oozed the lifeblood of our Redeemer.  Throughout the joyous days of your mission, when your cup of gladness runs over, remember His cup of bitterness which made it possible.  And when sore trials come upon you, remember Gethsemane. " (“Why This Holy Land?” Ensign, Dec. 1989, p. 18)

As we are approaching the Easter season, the celebration of resurrection and eternal life, I am profoundly grateful for the "pressing" our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ endured for each one of us in the Garden of Gethsemane and for the resultant blessings in our lives.