Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

LSB #436 "Go to Dark Gethsemane"

Biblical citations in the hymnal: Mark 14:32-38, 15:1-20; Luke 23:33-46; Matthew 27:33-50; John 20:1-18

Mark 14:32-38:  "32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane.  And he said to his disciples, 'Sit here while I pray.'  33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.  34 And he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.  Remain here and watch.'  35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prated that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.  36 And he said, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.  Remove this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.'  37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, 'Simon, are you asleep?  Could you not watch one hour?  38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'"

Mark 15:1-20:  "1 And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole Council.  And they bound Jesus and let him away and delivered him over to Pilate.  2 And Pilate asked him, 'Are you the King of the Jews?'  And he answered him, 'You have said so.'  3 And the chief priests accused him of many things.  4 And Pilate again asked him, 'Have you no answer to make?  See how many charged they bring against you.'  5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

"6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.  7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas.  8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them.  9 And he answered them, saying, 'Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?'  10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.  11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.  12 And Pilate again said to them, 'Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?'  13 And they cried out again, 'Crucify him.'  14 And Pilate said to them, 'Why, what evil has he done?'  But they shouted all the more, 'Crucify him.'  15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

"16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion.  17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.  18 And they began to salute him, 'Hail, King of the Jews!'  19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.  20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him.  And they led him out to crucify him."

Luke 23:33-46:  "33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  34 And Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'  And they cast lots to divide his garments.  35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, 'He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!'  36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, 'If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!'  38 There was also an inscription over him, 'This is the King of the Jews.'

"39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, 'Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us!'  40 But the other rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  41 And indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.'  42 And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'  43 And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"

"44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun's light failed.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!'  And having said this he breathed his last."

Matthew 27:33-50:  "33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.  35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.  36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.  37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, 'This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.'  38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.  39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, 'You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!  If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.'  41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 'He saved others; he cannot save himself.  He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him.  For he said, "I am the Son of God."'  44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

"45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.  46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'  47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, 'This man is calling Elijah.'  48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.  49 But the others said, 'Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.'  50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit."

John 20:1-18:  "1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.  2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.'  3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.  4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.  6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.  He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.  8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.  10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

"11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.  12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.  13 They said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?'  She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.'  14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.  15 Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you seeking?'  Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.'  16 Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'  She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher).  17  Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."'  18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord" - and that he had said these things to her."

+++

The text is public domain:
Go to dark Gethsemane,
All who feel the tempter's pow'r;
Your Redeemer's conflict see,
Watch with Him one bitter hour;
Turn not from His griefs away;
Learn from Jesus Christ to pray.
Follow to the judgment hall,
View the Lord of life arraigned;
Oh, the wormwood and the gall!
Oh, the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suff'ring, shame, or loss;
Learn from Him to bear the cross.
Calv'ry's mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring at His feet,
Mark that miracle of time,
God's own sacrifice complete.
"It is finished!" hear Him cry,
Learn from Jesus Christ to die.
Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid His breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom.
Who has taken Him away?
Christ is ris'n!  He meets our eyes.
Savior, teach us so to rise.
+++

The first verse comes from Mark 14:32-38.  The second verse combines a few of the cited Biblical selections but is mostly from Mark 15:1-20, summarized in "Follow to the judgment hall, / View the Lord of life arraigned."  The gall is mentioned in Matthew 27:34, and "the pangs His soul sustained" seems to refer to the mocking by the soldiers, the passers-by, and the robbers in Mark 15:16-20, Luke 23:35-39, and Matthew 27:39-44.

The hymn's third verse summarizes Jesus' death.  From the cited verses, this is in Luke 23:46 and Matthew 27:46-50, but "It is finished" is only in John 19:30:  "When Jesus has received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

The last verse summarizes John 20:1-18.