Lesson
#10
The
Gospels:
And he came out, and went, as he
was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto
them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down,
and prayed, Saying, Father, if you be
willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but your, be
done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him. And
being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great
drops of blood falling down to the ground.
And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found
them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto
them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And while he yet spoke, behold a multitude,
and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew
near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus
said unto him, Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss? When they which were about him saw what
would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the
high priest, and cut off his right ear.
And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear,
and healed him. Then Jesus said unto
the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come
to him, do you come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye
stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of
darkness. Then took they him, and led
[him], and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar
off. And when they had kindled a fire
in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among
them. But a certain maid beheld him as
he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also
with him. And he denied him, saying,
Woman, I know him not. And after a
little while another saw him, and said, You art also of them. And Peter said,
Man, I am not. And about the space of
one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this [fellow]
also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
And Peter said, Man, I know not what you say. And immediately, while he
yet spoke, the cock crew. And the Lord
turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how
he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, you shall deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke
22:39-62)
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus often resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band [of men] and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am [he]. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am [he], they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am [he]: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Of them which thou gave me have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him (John 18:1-12)
Jesus’ Garden Prayer from John: These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify you: As you have given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do. And now, O Father, glorify you me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which you gave me out of the world: your they were, and you gave them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever you have given me are of you. For I have given unto them the words which you gave me; and they have received [them], and have known surely that I came out from you, and they have believed that you didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which you have given me; for they are your. And all mine are your, and your are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we [are]. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that you gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as you, Father, [art] in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me. And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, as you have loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which you have given me: for you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known you: but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare [it]: that the love wherewith you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:1-26)
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:1-8)
Description of the Gethsemane Window
· Top Icon: The detail of this top icon, like that of the Palm Sunday top icon, is lost from a casual view from the sanctuary. The icon consists of the Chi-Ro [first two Greek letters of CristoV/Christos] cross. Wrapped around the cross is a strange serpent made up of a string of pearls perhaps representative of Jesus’ statement about not casting your pearls before swine (Mat 7:6). It is also an obvious reference to the brazen serpent Moses put on the pole in the wilderness (Num 21:8-9). The cross, itself, is resting in a clay pot perhaps representative of God being the ultimate potter (Isa 64:8). Even more hidden is the strange face in the right hand half-moon portion of the icon. To me, these strange mysterious pieces add up to a Satanic conspiracy just waiting to take Jesus out – that is when the potter gives him permission.
· Main Window: The main window is just as chock full of symbols as the top icon. Jesus, in red with his eyes closed in prayer, is apparently at the end of his prayer where he says that he’ll drink God’s cup therefore choosing God’s will over his own. In symbolic fashion, an angel is already there with the cup at that moment to deliver God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer. Below Jesus are the three main disciples [Peter, James and John] who are sleeping. Above and in the background are the temple guards who have come to arrest Jesus by night based on Judas’ tip. Notice that the first is carrying a lamp. The surrounding darkness of these guards also surrounds the cup held by the angel.
· Bottom Icon: The bottom icon is certainly familiar as the cock which crowed three times after Peter’s infamous three denials.
Every year at Easter, someone new, for the first time, discovers a medical description of the crucifixion. Usually, this discovery has a profound impact on a believer. Understanding what physically happened on the cross, not to mention the events leading up to it, gives one a sense of the depth of the love that was realized in the crucifixion. After all, Jesus himself said, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
I
remember a similar impact years ago reading the works of Dr. Arthur Custance
and his research on "How Did Jesus Die?" [http://www.custance.org/incarnation/7ch1.html]. Custance maintains the depth of pain and
sacrifice started well before the pounding of the first nail. He cites the actual prayer of Jesus in the
garden as the beginning of his unimaginable sufferings. In other words, the beginning of the end
started with the “amen” of Jesus’ prayer.
The core of Custance's argument is that Jesus died on the cross, but NOT because of it. In other words, no one nor anything killed him. Consider: Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again (John 10:17-18). Even though the best of all governments combined with the best of all religions of the time conspired to kill God's son, they could not have done what they did had he not let them (cf John 18:16). This ‘allowing them’ to do so started at the end of his prayer in Gethsemane.
According to Luke, his prayer was with such passion that his sweat was like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). There have been examples of others throughout history who have had similar experiences during extreme distress or emotional battles. It should be noted that in Jesus' case, the distress that caused the bloody sweat was in his agreement drink the cup (Luke 22:42). Many theologians feel this was an agreement of Jesus to endure death on the cross and all that went with it for the redemption of humanity. Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross (Heb 12:2). This cup must have been terrifying considering that Jesus would have known the prophecies better than anyone and therefore would have known with certainty the horrors just around the corner. Even so, the joyous outcome of our redemption was his driving force.
Judas’ the Betrayer and Peter the
Chicken, Not Yet
After Jesus’ prayer, he awakened the
disciples and asked them why they couldn’t even stay awake with him for one
hour. Because of this verse, some feel
that this prayer at Gethsemane lasted one hour. After this rebuke, a gathering of the Temple Armed Guards
suddenly showed up in the night led by Judas.
Judas walked up to Jesus and kissed him on the cheek to which Jesus retorted, do you betray the son of man with a kiss (Luke 22:48). Previously, we have discussed the motives of Judas. The reason for this kiss may be revealing. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him is a scripture that I think may have been going through Judas’ mind (Psalm 2:12). Even if his motive was to jumpstart the ‘expected conquering messiah’ by forcing a confrontation, he could hardly have expected Jesus to be pleased. I suspect it may have been an attempt at doing something and asking for forgiveness later.
The various Jesus movies all have Judas visually freak out at Jesus’ response to the kiss. If he had an honorable, albeit mistaken, motive about pushing Jesus to the forefront, I seem to think it possible that Judas and Jesus could have had a sort of wink at each other over this statement. After all, Jesus all but told Judas to go and do what he did. As mentioned before, Judas’ involvement was required to make it all happen. If I were a betting man, I would wager that Judas was figuring, in a Machiavellian way, that this was going to work out all right and Jesus might blast him later for being presumptive.
After Judas’ kiss, Jesus questioned the guards by asking them who they were looking for. Jesus of Nazareth, was their reply. Strangely, when Jesus said, I am he, they all fell to the ground. If Judas was looking for a kick-start, this would have certainly qualified! Jesus then blasted them for sneaking around at night to get him rather than taking him while at the temple. He also used this deal to make sure all of his disciples would not be harmed.
In one of my kid’s books called That’s Not What The Bible Says, this Gethsemane story plays out with Jesus turning into Super Mega Jesus and taking out everyone opposed to him while, at the same time, restoring God’s kingdom to the earth. At this point in the book, the kids all yell, THAT’S NOT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!! Well, we know that now, but Judas and the boys did not. I’m personally convinced that Judas was expecting Super Mega Jesus and this neat trick was likely the peak of his spiritual life up to that point.
Jesus then allowed the guards to rise. According to Luke and John, Peter took the initiative and violently cut off one of the temple guard’s ears. You have to give Peter and ‘E’ for effort. After all, Jesus had just given him, along with James and John, a stern reproach about sleeping through prayer time. I suspect that Peter thought this may have been a good time to make up for lost ground. On the other hand, his actions would have certainly ended up placing Peter under a sentence of death provided he were to have survived the almost guaranteed bloodshed to come.
At this, it makes sense to me that Judas would have been even more thrilled because Jesus was finally forced to take an action worthy of the conquering king. Instead, and fortunately for Peter, Jesus shuts all of the violence down by healing the guard’s ear. Even this would have made Judas happy as it was more than likely a remarkable demonstration of Jesus’ power to those who witnessed the healing (Luke 22:50-51).
This whole scene between Jesus and the authorities confirms to many that no one could take his life without his express permission. Suddenly, Jesus submitted to them and let them take him away. It is at this point that I think that Judas’ heart sank heavily in his chest as if he yelled, THAT’S NOT WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!!!
If so, the later actions of Judas and Peter make a lot of sense. Peter, after again being rebuked by Jesus, is left alone with the now Jesus-less disciples. Everything suddenly didn’t work they way it always had previously, and perhaps worse, Jesus had said something like this was to happen. It was probably a destruction of confidence and a time of confusion unknown to many. No wonder Peter had trouble figuring out what to do.
With Judas, the scripture says he went back for another conversation with the high priests in an attempt to rescue his master. To me, it is striking that Judas could still be so loyal at this moment when the rest of the disciples were running for cover denying knowing him. At any rate, Judas’ diplomatic activities failed. Being a thief and perhaps a Zealot, he knew better than most what was in store for Jesus. With such knowledge, it makes sense to me that his grief would be so overwhelming that he could take his own life.
Although many maintain that Judas’ eternal fate was the reason for Jesus’ saying it would have been better for the betrayer to not have been born, some think the suffering of Judas’ through his life is the more likely fulfillment. I tend to favor the latter argument considering how Judas came to betray Jesus in the first place. In my opinion, Judas was not simply a pawn but more of a bishop or a rook. He seems to have had a specific, but devastating, purpose that he carried out well.
There is an old quote that says something like ‘when a conspiracy is suspected, it is often not true – on the other hand, when there is no suspicion of a conspiracy, there is one already at work.’ According to the 12th chapter of Revelation, some see the whole life of Jesus played out in a spiritual vision. Consider the dragon seeking to devour the male child and his mother who are divinely protected. Many see Mary’s and Joseph’s escape to Egypt as a fulfillment of this passage.
Throughout Jesus’ life, there are strange references to demonic activity where demons seemingly hide behind some sort of legal cosmic timing issue. Once when Jesus was about to cast a bunch of them into a herd of pigs, they retorted Have you come to torment us before the time (Mat 8:29). Satan, himself, offered to give Jesus the world if he’ll just join his cause (Mat 4:8-10). As we all know, Jesus said no and ended up taking all authority in heaven and earth by God’s plan (Mat 28:18). This plan included drinking of the mystical cup and giving himself up to death.
If Judas was surprised that Jesus allowed himself to be taken, it is very likely that the host of hell was even more surprised. From Jesus’ very conception, Satan, through the Jewish law, was trying to kill Mary (Mat 1:19). After his birth, Satan, through Herod, killed countless children in an attempt to kill the messiah (Mat 2:16). Later in Jesus’ life, Satan tried deception during the temptation (Mat 4:1). At other times, crowds from his own home town tried to push him off a cliff (Luke 4:28-29). These and other episodes had no effect whatsoever on him. But suddenly at Gethsemane, they had him – and with God’s seeming blessing. Bottles of champagne from antiquity were probably popped in a ravenous celebration. Fortunately, for us, any celebration that happened was short lived – say like only three days <grin>.
Consider a freeze-frame moment here in Gethsemane: the disciples are scattered, Judas is distraught and the authorities are baffled as to what to do with their captured messiah. It seems to me that the demons of hell didn’t know what to do at this point either. Finally, the plan for messiah’s being cut off coalesced and the stage was set for a hellish take over of the heavens (Dan 9:26). Satan now had God’s own son and probably had his sights on God too.
Even though the scriptures predicted a victorious result for God and a crushing defeat for Satan (Gen 3:5), – not to mention that Jesus himself had told the disciples that this would all work out ok - it was if no one really remembered it. The conspiracy against Jesus was in full bloom. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:7-8).
Stay tuned to this series for the exciting conclusion.
Louisa and George Griswold, William A. Thomas, Their Children and Grandchildren
