30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. |
31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. |
32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. |
33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. |
34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. |
35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. |
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. |
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. |
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. |
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. |
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? |
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. |
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. |
43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. |
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. |
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. |
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. |
47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. |
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. |
49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. |
50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. |
51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. |
52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. |
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? |
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? |
55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. |
56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. |
The Son of Man dies not only bodily. His voluntary sufferings include a break with the people closest to Him: with His disciples. Remember, He called those who hear and do His word His brothers, sisters, and mother? And now the hour comes when this family of His leaves Him. Against the background of general confusion and fear, when all "left Him and fled," it is still more painful to read Peter's assurances of faithfulness, the drowsiness of the three closest disciples, and Judas' betrayal. We too, believers and unbelievers, belong to the number of the Lord Jesus' near or distant disciples, to His large family. Some are His brothers according to the flesh, since by becoming man He became kin to each of us; others, having acknowledged Jesus' Father as their own Father, are His according to the spirit. In some incomprehensible way, our own manifestations of unfaithfulness, drowsiness, and betrayal are added to those that took place on that terrible night.
30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. |
31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. |
32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. |
33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. |
34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. |
35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. |
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. |
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. |
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. |
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. |
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? |
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. |
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. |
43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. |
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. |
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. |
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. |
47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. |
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. |
49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. |
50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. |
51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. |
52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. |
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? |
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? |
55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. |
56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. |
Loneliness - for many, this is the most frightening word in the world. Jesus too passes through loneliness, and at the most terrible and tragic moment of His life. The evangelist describes, one after another, a series of betrayals: the disappointed Judas proves capable of selling the Teacher for money; Peter and the other disciples make empty promises to remain with Him to the end, and then cannot support Him in Gethsemane; soon Peter again shows complete lack of understanding of what is happening when he tries to defend Jesus with a sword; then comes the flight of the disciples, then the betrayal of Jesus by the former listeners to His preaching, and finally His rejection by the leaders of His people.
In this chain of events, everyone who had any connection to Jesus turns away from Him. He remains alone - without friends, without followers, without legions of angels, without the shining glory of the Father. He walks the human path.
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. |
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. |
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. |
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. |
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? |
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. |
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. |
43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. |
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. |
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. |
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. |
Entering the garden of Gethsemane, Christ asks very little of the disciples: sympathy, some easing of His ultimate pre-death loneliness. He, who warned us of the need to be ready to bear the cross, does not force it on us at all, since He has already taken the main weight upon Himself. But precisely for this reason He has the right to ask us not even for help, since we have nothing with which to help Him, but for a small yet real compassion. After all, even a drop wears away a stone, and a little mouse can help pull out a huge turnip.
But the disciples dozed off from exhaustion and distress. This is the kind of small thing we understand so well and would easily forgive in ourselves. And as a result the Teacher was left in hopeless darkness. Three times the disciples fell asleep, and one of them was Peter, for whom the threefold drowsiness became a prelude to the threefold denial. Already in Gethsemane he had an opportunity to understand that he should not overestimate his strength at that time. But then he did not yet understand this.
And after all, the Lord does not often demand anything excessive from us; usually what He asks is within our strength. But we ourselves allow the circumstances that have fallen on us, which we ourselves call "excusable," to weaken us. And so we refuse to help Him resist the evil of the world.
Without question, He can manage without us. But will it be easy for us to stand before Him if we did not want to do even the smallest thing He asked of us?
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. |
Jesus sacrifices himself for the sins of the world by concluding the new covenant with His followers during the Last Supper. The victim is brought and the way of Jesus in Golgotha begins - not yet Via Dolorosa, but already – Gethsemane.
All the decisions were taken, and death approaches. Jesus who was always so lifeful, that healed ill people and resurrected the deaths leaves of this life. And we shouldn’t think that it is easy for Him. This tribulation is mortal; His {Jesus} prayer is intolerably strenuous - till He sweated blood. He asks His most closed followers to support Him in the prayer, but does not obtain their support. Jesus is alone at this difficult moment, “But for this purpose I came to this hour" says the Lord (Jn 12 :27).
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