GETHSEMANE TO CALVARY                                       by Ogden Kraut

Thousands of books have been written about the life of Christ and the ultimate price He paid at Calvary; yet it may be truly said, “the half has never been told.” His was a life so monumental that the customs, laws, rituals, and sacrifices of many generations were influenced by it. It was the central theme of all the ancient prophets, and nearly 30 prophecies were fulfilled by His offering on the cross. His words and works were so abundant that the Apostle John said, “I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:25)

Yet we have only His brief biography, written by four men. These brief records, important as they are, contain many contradictions, variations, missing gaps, and unclear phrases. Not that these are the fault of those original writers, but rather the mistranslations, interpolations, and prejudices of many translators.

One of these questionable phenomena was penned by Luke in his story of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. He described the intense pressure and apprehension of Christ before He partook of the “bitter cup”—His crucifixion. Luke was the only writer in the Bible to mention that Jesus “sweat” on that occasion, and said it “was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44) Everyone would agree that facing a death by crucifixion would cause almost any man to sweat. But did the act of praying for that bitter cup “to pass”, cause Him to actually sweat blood, or did He experience this intense suffering while on the cross at Calvary?

The following pages may help to clarify the imposing and awesome events of Gethsemane and Calvary.