Bearing Witness

Jesus knew the limitations of His disciples. He realized they could not alleviate His pain, but He had hoped that they might, at the very least, keep pace with Him that final night. They did not know the future He was facing or the agony He would endure, but they could be present in His affliction. In those moments of anguish, in the time and space where Jesus set His face like flint toward the tasks at hand, He was simply wanting a witness for His pain.

Knowing the Lord

To ‘know’ as described in scripture is so much more than a simple introduction or a shared meal. Knowing implies a oneness, an intermingling of souls and an amalgamated future. To ‘know’ Christ is to abandon ourselves to Him entirely without regard for personal well-being or promotion. That being said, how many of us truly ‘know’ Him?

Comforter

Pause with me for a moment and revel in the reality of the God of heaven slowing down to sit with us in our sorrow. Note, He is not inexperienced with suffering: Jesus has walked on earth in flesh and subjected the Godhead to the excruciation of temptation, the trauma of sin and even death. God is not too far-off to understand or too insulated to empathize.