One was an idyllic place, the other probably an olive grove. One garden was planted by God Himself, according to Genesis 2:8, the other by a family of farmers who eked out a living pressing olives into oil.
One garden’s location was unknown. The Bible says only it was planted “toward the east in Eden.” It must have been a beautiful place. The writer of Genesis says it contained “every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food.” The garden was watered by a river system that included the great Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Here God placed man giving him dominion over all creation. And here God offered Himself in fellowship with that part of creation He called “very good.”
Only a small stream flowed near the second garden — the Kidron Brook. Over the centuries it had been a place of cleansing. First Kings 15:13 reports that at the Kidron Brook, Asa burnt “an abominable image for Asherah” which Maacah, his mother, had set up. In the reforms of Hezekiah, “all the uncleanness found in the temple of Yahweh” was cast into the Kidron Brook by the Levites (2 Chron. 29:16).
During the reforms of King Josiah all the pagan idols in Jerusalem were brought to the Kidron Brook to be burnt and smashed into dust.
Temptation in the gardens
The second garden was located along the eastern edge of this little brook at the base of the Mount of Olives. Crossing the Kidron was considered the gateway to the wilderness providing a hint of what the land was like. It was mostly dry, watered by runoff captured in large cisterns during the rainy season. It was not lush and verdant like the first.
Eden was the name of the first garden. The second garden is known as Gethsemane. In each of these special places came one the Bible calls Adam.
In Eden, Adam and his wife, Eve, lived in harmony with creation and with the Creator but that all changed when the serpent described God as envious and unreliable (Gen. 3:1–9). God did not want their eyes to be open to the insights He alone possessed, said the serpent, and his lies about God grew bolder with each word. God did not want them to know what He knew or understand what He understood.
God was the enemy and could not be trusted, claimed this agent of evil and wickedness.
In Gethsemane temptation came to the One called the Second Adam — Jesus of Nazareth. It was not their first encounter. Three years earlier Satan had tempted Jesus but each time Jesus rejected the invitation to selfishness in order to be obedient to God.
Now the tempter was back. On the night before His crucifixion as Jesus looked at what lay before Him, He prayed, “Let this cup pass from Me” (Luke 22:42). So intense was His struggle that Jesus told friends He felt like He was going to die right then and there. His choice was to save Himself or to save others.
In Eden the first Adam concluded God could not be trusted. In rebellious defiance Adam tried to take that to which he was not entitled. He wanted to be like God. Adam ate the forbidden fruit.
In Gethsemane the Second Adam added to His prayer, “Yet not My will but Thine be done.” This Adam would be obedient, even unto death.
Difference between the two Adams
Ironically the selfish grasping of the first Adam’s rebellion brought sin, condemnation and death into the world. The selfless giving of the Second Adam provided the gifts of grace, forgiveness and life.
The writer of 1 John reflects on the story of the two Adams and concludes, “For all that is in the world, lust of the flesh (Adam’s food) and the lust of the eyes (sexual temptation) and the boastful pride of life (to be like God) is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:16–17).
The apostle Paul comments on the difference between the two Adams when he writes in Philippians 2:6 that “Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.”
As a result of Jesus’ faithful obedience God offers to man something to which he has no right — forgiveness of sin.
In Eden shame and guilt was the inevitable result of disobedience. When God looked for Adam, Adam hid among the trees. Gone was the joy of fellowship with the Provider. Instead Adam hid his body behind fig leaves and himself behind anything that might keep him from God.
Still in charge
Gethsemane was a different story. In the distance Jesus could see the burning torches of a band of men winding down the road from Mount Zion. He knew they were coming for Him. But the Second Adam was not driven by fear or shame. He would not run or hide like the first Adam.
Instead Jesus greeted those who came to arrest Him with an almost satirical question “whom do you seek,” for Jesus knew the answer. He knew all things. Before Him stood an array of ecclesiastical and civil power but Jesus was still in charge. No one would take His life but Jesus would give His life as a ransom for many.
From Eden the first Adam walked into history the victim of sin, a disobedient transgressor condemned to death. Because of him (and Eve) all humankind is destined to walk a similar path of transgression and trespass against the will of God. As the Bible teaches, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
From Gethsemane the Second Adam leaves in chains but none call Him victim. Jesus leaves as victor. His obedience to God conquers death and the grave. His selfless sacrifice opens the door for a new humanity formed through faith in Jesus.
The Garden of Eden shows Adam’s act of selfishness. The Garden of Gethsemane shows God’s act of graciousness. Eden illustrates condemnation. Gethsemane opens the door to forgiveness. Eden results in death. Gethsemane is the beginning of life for all who believe.
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