Gethsemane: Where Prayer and Olive Oil Meet at the Foot of the Cross

At the base of the Mount of Olives lies a garden whose very name tells a story. Gethsemane — from the Hebrew Gat Shemanim — means "oil press." It was in this garden, surrounded by ancient olive trees, that Jesus spent His final night of freedom in prayer before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. The convergence of olive oil and prayer at this sacred site carries a depth of meaning that enriches every act of anointing we practice today.

The Garden of the Oil Press

In ancient times, Gethsemane was likely an active olive oil production site. The Mount of Olives was covered with olive groves, and oil presses — heavy stone wheels used to crush olives and extract their oil — were common throughout the area. The name itself reveals the garden's purpose: it was a place where olives were pressed, crushed, and transformed into something precious.

The symbolism is inescapable. It was in the place of pressing that Jesus was pressed beyond human endurance. Luke records that His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22:44). Just as olives must be crushed to release their oil, the Savior was crushed so that the oil of salvation — the anointing of the Holy Spirit — could flow to all who believe.

Jesus' Prayer in the Garden

The prayer Jesus offered in Gethsemane is among the most intimate and agonizing recorded in Scripture. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). This was not a casual prayer. It was the kind of prayer that flows from the deepest place of surrender — the kind that is wrung out of us when every other option has been exhausted.

This is the prayer that every believer eventually comes to: the prayer of the oil press. The moment when comfort is stripped away, when the easy path is closed, and all that remains is trust in a God who is faithful even in the crushing.

The Mount of Olives in Scripture

The Mount of Olives appears throughout the Bible as a place of profound spiritual significance. It was from the Mount of Olives that David fled during Absalom's rebellion, weeping and praying (2 Samuel 15:30). The prophet Zechariah declared that the Messiah would stand on the Mount of Olives in the last days (Zechariah 14:4). And it was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection (Acts 1:9-12).

This mountain — named for the trees that produce the oil of anointing — serves as a thread connecting some of the most significant moments in the story of God's relationship with humanity. It is a place of sorrow and joy, of departure and return, of pressing and of glory.

Why We Chose Our Name

Mount of Olives is more than a brand name to us. It is a declaration of what we believe: that the sacred and the scientific are not separate realms, but expressions of the same Creator's wisdom. Just as the Mount of Olives sits at the intersection of earth and heaven in Scripture, our anointing oils sit at the intersection of ancient faith and modern cosmeceutical science.

Our Gethsemane Anointing Oil is our unscented blend — pure, simple, and powerful. It honors the place where prayer reached its deepest expression and where the greatest act of love began its final chapter. Use it when words fail, when the pressing is real, and when all you can do is surrender.

Every bottle is handcrafted with prayer. Explore our full collection of anointing oils with cosmeceuticals derived from biblical botanicals.