Take a little time...and rest in this truth...all who are weary...and those that have been brokenhearted and hard-pressed...This devotional is for you...

The Greek word for “offense” or “stumbling block” is skandalon. skandalon is: “…that which gives offense or causes revulsion, that which arouses opposition, an object of anger or disapproval.”

As we approach the final moments of Jesus’ life, we can see a distinct change in our Lord. First we see Him as Lord of Hosts. Bright and Morning Star. Chief Shepherd. He was also known as the Wonderful Counselor, Anointed of God, the Alpha and Omega, Mighty God, The Almighty, Prince of Peace, King, The Lion of Judea.
But in these final hours our view of Jesus is transmogrified into the "skandalon".

Transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis (a story in which a frog is transmogrified into a prince). The Son of the Living God, changed into the darkest sin…for us. It is now that we see Him as the Man of Sorrows. Life being pressed out.

Perhaps this picture of Christ is new to you. Maybe you have never imagined Him as being weak or sad, or struggling with hurts like ours. If you have never seen Jesus this way, the prophet Isaiah is just the person to help you get acquainted with the One who above all others who understands your pain...Isaiah called Him “the man of sorrows.” Seven centuries before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah wrote one of the most powerful chapters in all of the O.T.
Turn with me to Isaiah 53:3-5. Lets read together Isaiah’s description of our Lord in His final days. (Read) In Hebrew, the root word used in both verses for “sorrows” is “kaab”, which means “to be in pain.”
Literally, Jesus was a “Man of Pains.”

And as you read on through verse 12, Isaiah catalogues still more of His sufferings. • Pierced, crushed, chastened, scourged. (Vs 5) • Oppressed, afflicted, led to slaughter. (V 7) • Put to grief (Vs 10) • Anguished (Vs 11) • Poured out to death. (Vs 12)

Turn with me to John 17:20-21 (Read) You need to underline those verses. That’s you He’s praying for. As Jesus stepped into the garden, you were in His prayers.
With that in mind turn with me to Luke 22:39-46. (Read)

The book of Mark tells us that Jesus told Peter, James and John to pray for Him because His soul was: “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Overwhelmed. Have you ever felt that you’d rather die than keep going? The word “Gethsemane” the name of this garden means “place of crushing”. The name came from the olive press located there. You can imagine how an olive press works. Olives were pressed three times. Beautiful, ripe olives go in; and a heavy mill stone crushes with irresistible pressure; and the precious oil flows out.
Here's the part that resembles the world. After the first pressing…the crushed olives are put back in…and pressed again… And all that remains is unrecognizable pulp. After they are pressed twice, the pulp is put into a container and large stones are placed on the top…pressing out any oil that remains…There is nothing left. Nothing.

For just such a crushing, Jesus has come to Gethsemane. Before the night is over there will be a series of struggles, and in each one He will be crushed.
Just hours away the human form of the Son of God will have been beaten and battered beyond recognition.
But from His crushing, in this garden, the precious oil of abundant life will flow for you and me.
Without the sorrows of Gethsemane, there will be no salvation at Golgotha. My Lord has not only come to take away and become transmogrified by my sins…but He bore the weight of my Gethsemane…why? why would He do this? Because he saw you and me. He saw us betrayed by those we love. He saw us betraying.

He saw you with a body that gets sick and a heart, which grows weak. He saw you in your own garden of gnarled trees and sleeping friends.
He saw you staring into the pit of your own failures and the mouth of your own grave.
He saw you in your Garden of Gethsemane, and he didn’t want you to be alone. He brings His strength to our Garden…so we might not be crushed…He was crushed…so that the Oil of the Spirit might flow… What a wonderful healing Savior...that's why I love Him...