The Oil – Part 1 of 3

The oil is a significant symbol and application in our faith. When Jesus came to the Mount of Olives on the night of His betrayal, He was in an olive grove. It was no accident that Jesus was in this particular garden at the time of His arrest. Everything He did on this earth had a purpose and was ordered by His Father. Interestingly, olive trees represent righteousness, and Jesus was surrounded by olive trees. Perhaps Father God wanted the world to know that His Son was the perfect sacrifice, without spot or blemish, fully human, yet without sin.

Also, the garden that Jesus was in was called Gethsemane, which got its name for its olive presses. The process of pressing out the oil from the olives reminds us of the agonizing pressure Jesus went through on that terrible night. He knew what lay ahead of Him. He agonized over it to the point where drops of blood like sweat ran down His brow.

His time in the garden was a prelude to an even more immense agony to come. Once arrested, He was falsely accused and brutally beaten. He was so badly beaten that by the time He began the torturous walk to His own crucifixion, He was described as no longer having the appearance of a man. Isaiah prophesied about this event, and wrote that He was “crushed” and “bruised” for all our wrongdoings.

From olive trees and olive presses, we get olive oil. An interesting fact about olive oil is its healing properties. This is seen in one of the parables that Jesus told. The story was about a man who went on a journey. Along the way he was attacked by ruthless robbers who beat him up and left him for dead. Well, as you probably already know, this is the story of the Good Samaritan. Perhaps you might not recall that after taking pity on the man, the Samaritan dressed his wounds with wine and oil.