It’s located just outside the city of Jerusalem.  The garden below was a designated cemetery for the Jewish people.  Many of them are buried there.  Jesus seemed to find solace in that place.  He spent much of his time talking to his followers from that very site. It was the perfect place to retreat for prayer and contemplation.

The night was still – the sky dotted with a billion stars.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, looked up and couldn’t help but recall God’s promise to Abraham. God told the patriarch that his descendants would far outnumber those stars.  It was with faith that Abraham believed God’s promise.  It was faith that led him to sacrifice his long-promised son.  It was God that provided a substitute.  It is God who provides all of us with the faith we need when faced with difficult times. He gives us His Holy Spirit to breathe that faith into us. He gave His Son to die for us.

God always keeps His promises.  The thought of giving up her Son weighed heavily on Mary’s heart. Even though giving up the life that had grown within her own body for nine months, she knew she had to trust that there was a purpose for all this.  Would her boy’s life end and simply be added to the numbers buried on that mountain? She remembered the words of the angel Gabriel.

“Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Her faith had to remain strong this week, because she knew it would be put to the test.  Looking up at those stars, she could see God’s handiwork woven into each intricate pattern. Each tiny globe of light was a beacon that filled her heart with hope rather than despair. She knew that God’s will was about to be done. On Tuesday of that Holy Week, Jesus and His followers retreated to the Mount of Olives. They cut through the cemetery at the foot of the hill. The Messiah knew His time was drawing to a close. His Father’s will would be done.