Abraham learned obedience through suffering and thus became the father of many nations, the father of all who are part of Christ. God disciplines every son He receives. If we are without chastening, God is not our father. The extent to which we are brought under discipline depends on our particular calling.

Christ is destined to be Lord of all, the King of kings, the Center and Circumference of all things. The love of the world was not in Him, neither did sin dwell in His flesh.

But Christ learned obedience to the Father through the things He suffered.

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Hebrews 5:9)

God has promised Jesus the nations for His inheritance and the farthest reaches of the earth for His possession. The kingdoms of this world shall be His to do with as He will.

Satan offered a short cut to his inheritance, which Christ quickly rejected.

Christ was tested in the wilderness. He was rejected by His neighbors. He was persecuted by the Jews. He was accused falsely. He suffered perplexity, perversity, loss of dignity, spiritual and physical pain.

But none of these approached the agony of Gethsemane.

"Gethsemanes" cannot be evaluated as to the intensity of their pain except by those who are experiencing them.

The enormity of Jesus' suffering is indicated in a few sentences:

And there appeared an angel unto him from Heaven strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:43,44)

Christ's unequaled strength, courage, and obedience are evident. But what was taking place in His soul that was causing such extreme agony of heart and mind?

The testing was somewhat similar to that of Abraham. Christ possessed the fullness of the Presence of God and the hope of a truly marvelous inheritance. His future was spread before Him—golden, glorious, wonderful—the dream to end all dreams.

Now this apparently was being taken from Him. Not only the golden dream but the very Presence of God. Christ was losing His salvation, His eternal life, His very soul, because this is the penalty of sin against God.

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me (Psalms 18:4,5).

"Oh," we say, "but it was only for a few days. Christ knew that soon He would be raised from the dead and enter His inheritance. The Presence and Glory of God would be restored to Him. There actually was no basis for His extreme agony!"

How did Christ know His travail was but for a brief period? From the Scriptures? We too have the promises of God. Do they make our "Gethsemanes" less excruciating?

To be continued.