The Garden - Lesson 3

A Tale of Two Gardens

John 18:1–3 (NLT), “After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.

LIFEPOINT: If you’re ready to get back to the garden with God, there’s only one way: Repent of your own sinful disobedience and place your faith in the One who obediently faced death, in order to defeat its power on your behalf!

From the Heart! - Many great historians have noted that human beings from every walk of life are drawn to stories. From the time we are little and our parents read us great stories of adventure, to adulthood where we are drawn to novels or great cinematic and theater productions, we all like a good story. What makes this interesting to me, is the fact that these great works of literature often contain powerful truths about the world and our place in it. The Lord of Rings Trilogy reminds us of the temptation toward evil that is in every human heart and the importance of integrity, courage, and wisdom in our journey through life. The Chronicles of Narnia remind us there’s much more to life in this world than just the physical realm we see with our eyes.

Storytelling has incredible power to shape our thoughts and beliefs. Through the creative devices that authors use to craft their novels, poems, and plays, we can learn important lessons about Life and Death, Love and hate, Morality and Ethics, Good and Evil, ect. This is the perfect backdrop for today’s study in John 18. A careful study of John 18, reveals that the apostle John crafted his Gospel account in such a way that we can compare and contrast the events that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane with those that took place in the Garden of Eden, described for us in Genesis 3.

This comparison can lead us to a powerful truth: It was in a garden that mankind lost the most valuable thing of all, eternal life in the presence of our Creator. But it was in another garden, that the Creator Himself began the process of laying down His life, so that mankind could regain all that was lost!

In His Service,

Pastor Steve