© Glen B Powell 1983

Gethsemane is my reflection on how Jesus may have responded in the garden of Gethsemane as he faced his death.

Gethemane – Lyric Video

I wrote this song in 1983 when I was 18 and recorded it in 1996 on a beautiful grand piano at Hills Entertainment Centre. So 2020 feels like about the right time to make a lyric video.

The immensely talented and patient Ian Baldwin engineered. It took many takes. If I played all the right notes, there wasn’t enough energy. If I supplied enough energy, a bum note would ruin the performance.

The verses are set in the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was staying when arrested by the authorities before his ‘trial’ and execution. The chorus, “Eli, Eli, lema sabacthani” is an Anglicised version of what Jesus said on the cross according to Matthew’s gospel (https://www.biblestudytools.com/nrs/m…). It means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me’.

Back in ’83 and ’96 I didn’t know any New Testament scholars. They may cringe at the pronunciation of Eli, Eli, lema sabacthani – but we don’t know how these words were pronounced two millennia ago. So I am content.

Audio: From the album ‘No Secret Message’ by Glen Powell (1997)

Gethsemane – Lyrics

In the garden I pray

Are you really there, or just in my mind?

I felt your power, I do not feel it now,

I’m a healer but now I feel blind

And I hear him, hear him laughing at me,

He tells me that I am deceived

Am I really your son? Am I who they say I am?

How can I be what they believe?

Eli, Eli lema sabacthani      

A voice so close behind me

He mocks my thoughts and tells me I’m insane

I see my body, bloodied and broken

And the people I love laughing at my shame

My companions who vowed they would lay down their lives

Will leave me, leave me all alone

How can I blame them, they’re only mortal men…

But its so hard to face this on my own

Eli, Eli lema sabacthani   

This cup I must drink

Is there no other cup for me to take?

This loaf must be broken

Is there no other bread for them to break?

Find another way, find another path for me to take

Why should I wait here till the soldiers come?

But though I dread what lies before with all my heart and soul

I still beg you to let your will be done

Eli, Eli lema sabacthani   

© Glen B Powell 1983

Gethsemane – Audio