John 18:1–5: When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.
The name Gethsemane means “oil press.” What a picture of suffering! So our Lord would go through the “oil press” and the “winepress” and taste our judgment for us.
The Brook Kidron is also significant. The name means “dusky, gloomy,” referring to the dark waters that were often stained by the blood from the temple sacrifices. Our Lord and His disciples were about to go through “dark waters,” and Jesus would experience the “waves and billows” of God’s wrath. Jesus fully knew what lay before Him, yet He went to the Garden in obedience to the Father’s will. He took Peter, James, and John and went to another part of the Garden to pray. His human soul longed for the kind of encouragement and companionship they could give Him at this critical hour; but, alas, they went to sleep! It was easy for the men to boast about their devotion to Christ, but when the test came, they failed miserably. 1
Your Word is Truth
It is in your Gethsemane that you surrender the overwhelming pressures to Him.
The righteous are bold as a lion. –Proverbs 28:1
You Alone are God
True Christianity is seen by your reaction to betrayal. – TWEET IT
Your Will be Done
Lord, it is so humbling to know that the Holy One of God was forsaken by the world.
1. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
