Christ strengthened by the angel in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43)

Carl Bloch's "Jesus Christ in Sorrow in Gethsemane" is one of the most powerful paintings of Christ that I've ever seen. This interaction in Luke 22:43 takes place moments before Christ's final days in mortality, before He would sacrifice Himself not just for the sins of mankind, but also for every affliction, temptation, sickness, and pain of every kind that we endure (Alma 7:11-13).

I used to think that Christ's final sacrifice (or "Atonement") was just to purify us from our unclean acts, but I love that Alma 7:11-13 from the Book of Mormon teaches us that Christ's Atonement does so much more than that; the Atonement enables Him to provide us with strength to endure or overcome all things. While Christ may not fully remove a trial from our life (such as a serious illness or otherwise difficult challenge), He will strengthen our backs as we turn to Him such that we may be able to endure our trials (Mosiah 24:14).

With regards to the image below, Christ must have felt utterly alone in His final days. As Isaiah beautifully says, Christ was "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." He was more acquainted with sorrow and grief than anyone else in the world. Right before Christ was to begin the Atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane, not even His closest disciples could stay awake with Him, with Peter saying that "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41). After Christ's mortal friends were unable to support Him, causing Him to feel alone, Christ pleaded with the Father to remove this bitter cup (essentially asking the Father if there were any other way to perform the Atonement which wouldn't include incalculable suffering). After Jesus' desperate prayer to the Father, an angel was sent to strengthen and comfort Jesus before He was to perform the Atonement and sacrifice Himself for the world.

Carl Bloch perfectly captures a Christ who is weary and seems worn out before He was to begin the Atonement, while simultaneously appearing to have found a modicum of peace from the angel's presence. I love the contrast of powerful light and color focused on Christ and the angel in Bloch's painting compared to the dreary, dark background full of gray-scale and dark brown colors. Jesus and the angel appear to be totally alone.

Though the trials in my life are seemingly insignificant, I have felt strengthened by unseen angels during those hard times. I have turned to the Savior and found a measure of strength and relief. Perhaps my challenge was not completely removed, but I received strength and determination to continue onward, or perhaps clearer thinking for how to solve said challenges.

I know that Christ lives! I know that the Atonement works!

One of the greatest discourses on how Christ must have felt totally alone in His final days can be found by reading the talk "And None Were with Him" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (link to a summary video clip of that talk can be found here).

Sketch based on "Jesus Christ in Sorrow in Gethsemane" by Carl Bloch.

#Gethsemene #Atonement #TheAtonementWorks