Bible Study – In the Garden

Jesus has finished His “Farewell Discourse“, and now it is time for Him and His disciples to go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He will be betrayed and arrested. John’s Gospel gives us very little detail about what happened in the Garden, so we will pick up those details from Matthew 26.

The Garden of Gethsemane was a well-known spot which Jesus and His disciples frequented when they were in the area, so it wouldn’t be strange for Judas to know their whereabouts. It was also outside Jerusalem and quite secluded and far away from the crowds. It was the perfect place to arrest Jesus.

Note that even though it is generally-assumed that only Jesus and the Twelve were at the Last Supper because they are the only ones mentioned in the Gospels, it is quite likely that there were several others of His followers and some of His immediate family there also. Since Jesus was “head of household“, and His mother, Mary, watched Him being crucified and was at the tomb on Resurrection morning, she may have been at the Last Supper too. Several of them may have gone to the Garden with Jesus and the Eleven. Could that be why Peter was so “protective” when Jesus was arrested? (John 18:10)

The Garden of Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

Had Jesus taken Peter, James and John along as “emotional-support“?

While Jesus would certainly have been grieved and concerned about His upcoming death, in some ways, His physical-death, as horrible as it was going to be, was the least of His concerns. He knew that he had to die the “second-death“, be banished to Hell. Jesus, the eternal, incarnate Son of God, who had never experienced even a pico-second of separation from the love, care and presence of His Father, was going to have all of that removed from Him. He was going to die, totally-alone, totally abandoned, totally-forsaken. How could He NOT have been grieved and concerned?

I have felt the sting of rejection and abandonment many times, but Jesus’s experience was going to be infinitely-worse. There would be NO “light at the end of the tunnel“.

Was Jesus already staring into the mouth of that horrible abyss? Could He already feel its heat? Was He hearing the screams of those who were already interned in its inky-blackness? Not only was His Father going to “turn out the lights“; He was going to pour out His wrath on His own Son, ALL OF IT.

Those who think that they will be “partying in Hell” had better think again, because Hell will NOT be a “party“.

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

What if there could have been some other way for Jesus to accomplish our redemption? Would He been given that “option“? Was Jesus not aware of what He was going to go through? Of course He was, He was part of the original Plan, and as our Creator-God, He condemned Himself to death when He made that first promise of a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15. Revelation 13:8 speaks of “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world“. The reality is that there was NO OTHER WAY, and Jesus knew it, so He bowed to the will of His Father.

It had been a very long day for this trio of disciples, because not only had they been on the road for several days, Jesus had sent Peter and John into Jerusalem to prepare their Passover meal, which meant that they had been up since before the crack of dawn. Jerusalem was crowded with worshipers who had come specifically for Passover, so they had to wait in long lines for EVERYTHING. They hadn’t started eating the Passover meal until after sundown, so it may have been after midnight before Jesus and His disciples went to the Garden. The atmosphere in the Garden may also have been dark and oppressive as EVIL was preparing to descend on it. They were bone-weary and had trouble even keeping their eyes open, let alone praying. Human-strength is no match for that kind of evil.

I have experienced that kind of evil, oppressive atmosphere, a couple of times, and it is something I will never forget. The first time, I was with two Sheriff’s Deputies in the mountains east of Albuquerque, in an area well-known for Satanic activity, but the second time, I was alone, on a dark, deserted, country-road in Oklahoma. The evil was oppressive and palpable both times. I don’t even want to experience that again.

42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!” (Matthew 26:36-46)

Could Jesus have rejected His mission, to die on the Cross? No, because He has already made it abundantly-clear that His crucifixion WAS His “prime-mission” on earth. His eternal love was so great that, having made a promise back in the Garden of Eden, He was determined to fulfill that promise. 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. (Luke 22:43)

As His disciples snoozed, Jesus prayed, fervently and earnestly, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” The clock was ticking, His betrayer was on his way, and He would soon be arrested. It was a “GO“…

He finally roused His sleepy-headed disciples when His betrayer arrived on the scene. It was time to go.

Judas Betrays Jesus
18 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. 2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. 3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

He said to them, “I am He.”

And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

6 So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

7 Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?”

And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” 9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.

11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:1-11)

3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Why did the Romans get involved in this boondoggle? What kind of lies did the religious leaders tell the Romans to get them to participate? Couldn’t they have handled this themselves? In reality, the Jewish religious leaders had no authority outside the Temple grounds, which mean that they had no civil authority, and certainly no authority outside Jerusalem. We can only speculate about the lies, but they were probably real WHOPPERS.

Why so many Roman soldiers? Were they expecting resistance, trouble? A Roman cohort was 600+ soldiers, so it is unlikely that there were that many, but certainly more than enough, and headed by a high-ranking commander. Talk about OVERKILL! How about “swatting a fly with the sledgehammer“? There certainly wouldn’t have been anything “subtle” about their arrival in the Garden. It is likely, however, that since Jerusalem was teeming with visitors during Passover, that the Romans had brought in extra troops to help “keep the peace“.

4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” Notice that Jesus didn’t wait for the horde to come to Him; He took charge of the situation and went out to meet them. Jesus remained in control all the way to the Cross, and nobody, not even Pilate, could lay a finger on Him without His permission. Jesus had all of Heaven’s Hosts at His immediate-disposal, or He could have struck that motley-mob with blindness and escaped while they were milling-around. So much for their perceived “authority“…

5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

He said to them, “I am He.”

And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

6 So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Did Jesus catch them off-guard? They certainly were shocked that Jesus would present Himself that way. So to add further to their bewilderment…

7 Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?”

And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, so let these go their way,” 9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

Notice His continued-concern for the welfare of His followers; “let these go their way“. As we have seen in previous studies, Jesus ALWAYS put others first. That was why He came to earth, not for His own benefit, but for OUR benefit.

10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malthus. Was Peter trying to be “Mr. Tough-Guy“? Who was he trying to “protect“, Jesus, or the rest of His followers? Either way, it was an ill-conceived piece of “resistance“, because he was no match for the Roman soldiers. In reality, he was fortunate that one of the Roman soldiers didn’t run a sword through him.

11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” Everything Jesus did was in submission to His Father’s will and according to Plan.

Jesus is arrested
12 So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, 13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

It looks like the Jewish religious leaders were going to finally get their way, but only for a while…

Thus ends the drama in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we will look at the farce of a “trial” and gross miscarriage of “justice” next week.

Blessings,
Steve