And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed – Genesis 2.8
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God – Revelation 2.7
Gardens are places where usually a lot happens. They are the places where people work hard to plant, water, weed and harvest. In gardens people sweat, get thirsty and get tired. People work hard because they want their families to survive. However, sometimes people get sick while working in their gardens or they die. It can be very hard to spend time in the garden.
In some gardens it is a pleasure to be there: people sit down there to enjoy the shade and cool breeze. They fetch cool water from the well and have a chance to rest.
In the Bible we also read about gardens. In some of those gardens a lot happened. Both sad and amazing things. Let’s have a look at what happened in the gardens in the Bible.
The garden of Eden
In the beginning God created everything[1]. He told the first people, Adam and Eve, to stay in a beautiful garden He had made for them[2]. That place was the garden of Eden[3]. Sometimes it is called paradise.
The garden of Eden was a beautiful place with plenty of fruits, shade and friendly animals. Above all, there was peace. Peace between God and men. Peace between men. Peace with the rest of creation. Everything there was perfect[4]. Imagine living in such a beautiful place! A place where you can pick delicious fruits from the trees. A place where you can get refreshing water any time. A place where you can play with lions and don’t need to fear snakes. A place where you are very close to God. A place where you’re happy all day long. That would be great, wouldn’t it?
God told Adam and Eve to work. They had to control the earth and to rule over everything on earth[5]. God forbid them to eat the fruit of one specific tree[6]. They would become God’s enemies and die if they disobeyed Him. By not eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve showed their obedience to God.
However, one day Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree[7]. They sinned. Everything changed immediately. And it changed completely! Instead of enjoying fellowship with God, Adam and Eve hid for Him[8]. Instead of enjoying being together in love, peace and unity, they started to blame each other[9]. Instead of enjoying God’s creation, they faced many problems[10]. How bad!
The consequences of their disobedience also affect us and our lives. The Bible says that we are children of wrath by nature[11]. This means that God is angry with us because of our sin. The anger of the Most High is something to be feared!
Another consequence of the first sin is that we have to deal with problems in our relationships with other people. We have to deal with self-centredness, hatred, jealousy, pride, distrust and more. Those sins come forth from our sinful hearts[12]. The Bible says that everyone has a sinful heart[13].
Besides all this, we have to deal with sickness, death and danger. We can be burned by fired, drowned in water, and bitten or killed by animals. Death is a consequence of sin[14].
The garden of Eden teaches us that we are all separated from God because of sin.
The garden of Gethsemane
God was not happy at all about that huge, terrible change. Despite that, God made a way to cleanse people from their sins[15]. By forgiving their sins, God would restore everything that was broken[16]. Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, God promised to send Someone to conquer all evil[17]. That Someone is Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
Jesus came from Heaven and was born on earth[18]. We remember His birth at Christmas. He lived His life in obedience to God. He never sinned[19]. However, Satan didn’t want Jesus to be the Saviour: he wanted people to be always separated from God. And people also didn’t want Jesus to be the Saviour: they thought that they could reach Heaven in their own strength by trying to keep God’s commandments. They hated and persecuted Jesus[20].
God allowed His Son Jesus to be persecuted, because that was the only way that Jesus could be the Saviour[21]. And Jesus agreed to be persecuted, because He wanted to be the Saviour of sinners[22].
Jesus was denied and humiliated throughout His whole life, but at the end of His life the suffering was worse than ever before. It was also worse than any person has ever suffered, because Jesus carried all sins[23].
One night Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane[24]. There Jesus was in great distress and in agony. He suffered because of sin. Not because of His own sin, but because of His people! He carried all transgressions, all sins, all evil[25]. Jesus’ suffering was so intense that His sweat was like great drops of blood[26]. After Jesus suffered in the garden of Gethsemane, He was taken captive, questioned by the leaders, abused, humiliated and nailed on the cross[27]. He died[28].
The garden of Gethsemane teaches us about God’s anger because of sin.
The garden of Joseph of Arimathea
When Joseph of Arimathea saw that Jesus had died, he asked for permission to take His body of the cross to bury it[29]. He buried Jesus’ body in his own garden, called the garden of Joseph of Arimathea. When after three days some ladies came to embalm Jesus’ body, they were surprised to find Jesus’ grave open. They met an angel who told them that Jesus was risen from the dead[30]. Jesus proved that He not only conquered sin by dying on the cross, but also that He conquered the consequence of sin which is death by rising from the dead[31]!
That is amazing. Jesus is alive and He gives spiritual life to those who are spiritual death by nature[32]. What a grace!
The garden of Joseph of Arimathea teaches us to put our hope in the living Jesus Christ Who conquered sin and death.
An eternal garden: Paradise
Because of what Jesus has done, we as sinful people can be forgiven from our sin[33]. We must depend on Jesus alone. This means to repent: to feel sorry for what we’ve done wrong, to stop doing wrong and to ask God for forgiveness through Jesus. It also means to believe in Jesus: to surrender ourselves to Him. It does not mean to depend on anything from ourselves. Going to church doesn’t make us more likely to get saved. Nor does giving tithes, a good character, baptism, or anything else. Nothing helps, but Jesus Who is willing to receive anyone who comes to Him[34].
Everyone who by grace receives Jesus as Lord and Saviour, is reconciled with God[35]. God cares for them every day of their lives. They are God’s people and His children. They will be allowed to be with Him forever Heaven, which is also called Paradise[36]. It is a place where there is no suffering, no tears, no hunger and no darkness[37]. It is better than we can ever imagine.
The opposite from Paradise or Heaven is hell. Hell is the worst place we can ever imagine. It is the place where Satan lives with all those who obeyed Him and not God[38]. It is the place where people carry the unbearable burden of their sins.
However, Jesus is still ready and willing to forgive your sin so that you too will be with Him in Paradise forever. Repent from your sins and believe Jesus the Saviour!
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[1] Genesis 1 and 2, [2] Genesis 2.15, [3] Genesis 2.8-9, [4] Genesis 1.31, [5] Genesis 2.15, [6] Genesis 2.16-17, [7] Genesis 3.6, [8] Genesis 3.8, [9] Genesis 3.12, [10] Genesis 3.13-20, [11] Ephesians 2.13, [12] Mark 7.21-22, [13] Job 15.14, Ecclesiastes 7.20, Proverbs 20.9, [14] Romans 6.23, Romans 5.12, [15] Jeremiah 33.8-9, Ezekiel 36.33, Titus 2.14, [16] Revelation 21.1, 2 Corinthians 4.16, Acts 3.21, 2 Corinthians 5.17, [17] Genesis 3.15, [18] Luke 1.26-35, Luke 2.6-7, Ephesians 4.10, [19] 2 Corinthians 5.21, 1 John 3.5, [20] John 15.25, [21] 1 John 2.2, Luke 22.22, 1 John 4.10, [22] Ephesians 5.2, Hebrews 10.5-7, [23] 1 John 2.2, 1 John 4.14, [24] Matthew 26.36-46, [25] Isaiah 53.6, 1 Peter 3.18, [26] Luke 22.44, [27] Matthew 26 and 27, [28] Mark 15.37, [29] Matthew 27.57-60, [30] Matthew 28.1-6, [31] 1 Corinthians 15.54-57, [32] Ephesians 2.1-6, 33] Acts 2.38, 2 Corinthians 5.21, Galatians 2.16, 1 John 4.9, [34] John 6.37, [35] Colossians 1.21, Romans 5.10, [36] Revelation 2.7, [37] Revelation 21.4, [38] Matthew 25.41