And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matthew 26:39
Many years ago, when I was a young teenager and was visiting the home of Doug and Muriel Howard in Oxford, somebody cranked up a tape machine and played a ministry message by the old Gospel preacher George Shivas. His text was our text today, and he focused on the little expression ‘He went a little farther’. For almost 60 years, I have remembered that simple but touching message. Mr. Shivas spoke about the disciples who accompanied the Lord as he entered the Garden of Gethsemane. Those disciples could go only so far, but Jesus went a little farther. The disciples knew something major was about to occur, but Jesus went a little farther. Those of us who read the passage understand that Jesus entered into great travail of soul, but Jesus went a little farther.
On a day of remembrance, we consider the sufferings of our Saviour, knowing that as much as we can understand and appreciate, Jesus went a little farther. He went beyond what we can grasp of His physical torments, the wounds and stripes laid on Him by His own creatures, the piercing by the thorns, nails, and spear, the bone-twisting agony of hanging on the cross, and the raging thirst that accompanied crucifixion. Nor can we enter with Him into the hours of darkness and the awful burden of sin’s judgment that He bore there. In His bearing of our sin in His own body on the tree, Jesus truly went a little farther than we can see and grasp today.
When we consider Jesus as the Sacrifice for our sins, the Offering made by fire, we acknowledge that He went a little farther than the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Those offerings and ordinances were temporary and must often be repeated. Their value lay not in themselves but in the One Great Sacrifice to be made for sins forever. Jesus went a little farther, His offering being so complete and infinite that it would supplant all other sacrifices and would never need to be repeated.
It was in Gethsemane where Jesus’ sorrow went a little farther than we can grasp. It was at Gabbatha where Jesus shame went a little farther than we can understand. It was at Golgotha where Jesus’ suffering went a little farther than we can imagine.
Let us go as far as we can today in our consideration of Him who went so far to save us. -Jim MacIntosh