I want to start off with an interesting factoid the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke go directly from the what we have already covered of the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane. John on the other hand has chapter 14, 15, 16 and 17 before the garden. Were these things that were taught at the last supper or are they teachings that John just puts down here saying that these teachings were culminated at the supper. We don’t know but John does’t have all the teachings that the other three gospels do before the Last Supper. Also John would have had access to the other gospels and could have easily added what he thought was needed being led by the Spirit in his gospel. So there is going to be a jump in John that isn’t in the other gospels as we continue looking at Jesus life.

Let’s look at the transition between the Last Supper and the scene at the garden of gethsemane. Since I did all this talk of John someone read for me John 18:1-2

Not only did we get the transition but we also have an introduction to how Judas may have known where they were. Someone now read Matthew 26:36

Mark 14:32 is almost identical.

And now Luke 35-39

Luke has much more information in the preparation of the disciples. Jesus prepares them not for a peaceful time as accepted acolytes as they were when He sent them out two by two but as unwanted foreigners who may have to defend themselves.

Also where earlier we know that the garden is someplace where Jesus often goes with His disciples here we see that it is traditional for Him to go here after the passover celebration or at least that his how I understand what it says here in Luke that “as was His custom”. So Judas would have known where they were going and that He would be going their after the passover meal.

So we have Jesus at a place away from the crowds just as the pharisees wanted and a place where Judas knew where Jesus would be and when He would be there. So what happens next as Jesus prepares Himself. Luke 22:41-42

Jesus separates himself to spend time in prayer with God. If you get nothing else from this lesson remember this one example when you are about to be apart of something wether important or stressful you need to spend time alone with God, to try and understand His will. Jesus knew God’s will and you will be able to see that in His prayer coming up but He still spent that time conversing with God and verifying God’s will while submitting and letting God know that He is willing to follow God’s plan. I don’t know how to word this because Jesus wanted to save us however it needed to be done. He just seemed to want a deferent way but there

isn’t/wasn’t one He just verifying that. He wanted to do what was necessary but voiced His opinion that if there was another road He would very much like to take it.

Let’s try this I want to go to visit my mother in Arizona for Thanksgiving. I know that I80 to 176 leads to Denver then I25 to Albuquerque then I40 to Flagstaff then I17 plummets south to Tempe but I really don’t want to take that route. The mountains are arduous and at the time of the year I am going down there and the mountain highways are likely dangerous. God has provided me another route south through Kansas across the panhandle of Oklahoma and Texas missing the worst of Colorado mountains. Jesus helped to make the plans that gave Him only one route He was just double checking.

During class last Sunday one of the men of the class Armen came up with a similar I would follow God’s path even though I want and will pray for something different. The power is in the submission showed. Of coarse it is an excellent one taken from the Bible. When Abraham takes Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac to God. God in that event had another path waiting for Abraham once Abraham had proved his willingness to follow God’s will.

Now that should be as clear as mud let’s look at Matthew and Marks separation of Jesus for prayer as John doesn’t discuss this. Now in these two we have already read where Jesus says sit here while I go over there and pray but there is a little more to the story Matthew 26:37-39

Mark 14:33-36

I hope my road analogy kinda makes some sorta sense now. If not just know that Jesus is in no way is looking to get out of what He has to do. That is not the gist of His prayer. Instead understand that Jesus knows exactly what He is about to go through. He if not having direct knowledge of what is about to come knows the scripture and the prophecies of His beating His beard being ripped out being unrecognizable from the swelling of His face and that He will die. His humanity is on display and for Him to go forward in a blasé attitude would have lessoned His humanity. We see that humanity in His stress we see His divinity in His action. No human purposely jumps into the wood chipper. Luke now shows us the depth of the humanity

Luke 22:43-44

So what are the disciples doing? Luke 22:45-46

Luke leaves the trial of the disciples short we will look at Mark and Matthew but Luke may have been in a little different of a mind set we see with why he is falling asleep not of tiredness but sorrow. A sleep of depression. I wish we had more on the mindset of the disciples. Let’s look at our other two examples here.

Mark 14:37-42

Matthew 26:40-46

What does this tell you of the disciples? They are ignorant of what is about to happen but they feel that they let Jesus down in some way because of His warning of their falling away. They also know that something is really bothering Jesus but at this point still don’t understand what it is. I sure sometimes wish I could know more than what is shared with us in scripture. Let’s look at John and the next thing that is going to happen. John 18:3-12

I wonder how the pharisees got a roman cohort involved in Jesus arrest? They weren’t roman officials. Were they hired like mercenaries? Again we don’t known just that both a roman cohort and Jewish officials were there at the arrest. (In class Sunday I found that not all translations use the word Roman referring to the soldiers and maybe not even cohort. In our discussion and looking at the Greek quickly I found that the word Roman isn’t there but the word for an organized group of military is. The military in this area at this time was the Roman military the Jewish people wouldn’t have been allowed to raise an army of their own as the Romans would have seen this as a threat to their rule. At any rate while your bible may not use the word Roman the soldiers would have likely have been Roman) They also expected resistance they didn’t expect Jesus to stand there passively. They expected His declaration of whom He is to be followed by an attack not just a statement to get it over with. The arrestors had reason to feel that way after all the eleven with their two sword spilled the only blood during the arrest. Jesus once again protects His disciples then performs a miracle then meekly allows himself to be arrested. Let’s look at the other tellings of the arrest. Matthew 26:47-56

Mark 14:43-52

I personally don’t understand the significance of verses 51-52. It tells me that there was more than the eleven apostles so the expected resistance earlier may have been slightly more threatening. It tells me of the immediacy of the rush of the followers of Jesus to get away and I imagine the running away nude may have a greater significance in their culture at that time.

Luke 22:47-53

I find this to be a bit interesting. As we know John was written later and he would have known about the other three versions of the events of that night. His version of events though had this question of intent followed by declaration of whom Jesus was as the arrestors give the purpose of their being there. While the other three have the kiss and arrest. One with an almost whispered seeming conversation between Jesus and Judas. I wonder wonder and wonder some more how all this happened together but it is all hyperbole.

Two lessons ago we read the prophecy fulfilled by the apostles forsaking of Him. Next week we will go into Jesus trial maybe if we get past Peter’s denial.

closing prayer