As the Son of God bowed in the attitude of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, the agony of His spirit forced from His pores sweat like great drops of blood. It was here that the horror of great darkness surrounded Him. The sins of the world were upon Him. He was suffering in man’s stead as a transgressor of His Father’s law. Here was the scene of temptation. The divine light of God was receding from His vision, and He was passing into the hands of the powers of darkness. In His soul anguish He lay prostrate on the cold earth. He was realizing His Father’s frown. He had taken the cup of suffering from the lips of guilty man, and proposed to drink it Himself, and in its place give to man the cup of blessing. The wrath that would have fallen upon man was now falling upon Christ. It was here that the mysterious cup trembled in His hand. {2T 203.2}

Da Jesus bøjede sig og indtog en bedende stilling i Getsemane, fremtvang hans usigelige angst sveden som store bloddråber fra hans porer. Det var her, et stort mørkes rædsel omgav ham. Verdens synder lå på ham. Han led i menneskenes sted ligesom en overtræder af faderens lov. Her var fristelsens valplads. Det guddommelige lys fra Gud forsvandt for hans syn og mørkets magter fik ham i deres vold. I sin sjæleangst lå han udstrakt på den kolde jord. Han oplevede sin faders mishag. Han havde taget lidelsens kalk fra brødefulde menneskers læber og det var hans hensigt selv at drikke den og at give menneskene velsignelsens kalk i stedet. Den vrede, som ville være kommen over menneskene, faldt nu på Kristus. Det var her, hans skælvende hånd holdt den hemmelighedsfulde kalk.