Paper 182 Overview: In Gethsemane

Jesus and his eleven apostles went from the home of Elijah and Mary Mark back to their Gethsemane camp around ten o'clock Thursday night. John Mark followed them, wanting to stay close to Jesus to see what was happening. As they walked back to camp, the apostles wondered about Judas's absence, beginning to suspect that something was wrong.

When they arrived at camp, they realized Judas was not there waiting for them, which increased their concerns. Jesus then led his apostles in a final prayer together on the Mount of Olives before his arrest. Throughout the night, Jesus faced his coming trial with courage while his apostles struggled to understand what was happening.

Jesus and his eleven apostles left the home of Elijah and Mary Mark around ten o'clock Thursday night and headed back to their camp near Gethsemane Park. John Mark, who had been resting at the house, woke up when he heard them leaving and followed them, staying close enough to see and hear everything that happened that night. As the apostles walked to camp, they wondered about Judas's absence and began to suspect that something was wrong.

When they reached camp, they noticed Judas was still not with them, and they asked Andrew where he was. Andrew replied that he did not know where Judas was, but feared he had deserted them, just as Jesus had predicted earlier that one of them would betray him.

After arriving at camp, Jesus asked his followers to join him in prayer to prepare for what was coming. He led them up a short distance on the Mount of Olives and had them kneel in a circle around him under the moonlight, just as they had done when he first chose them as apostles. Jesus then lifted his eyes toward heaven and began to pray, asking God to glorify him so that he could glorify the Father.

In this beautiful prayer, Jesus said that his time had come and asked God to receive him again at his right hand with the glory he had before the world began. He prayed for his disciples, saying they were given to him by the Father, and asked God to keep them faithful and protect them in the world. Jesus also prayed for all future believers, asking that they all might be one with each other and with God, just as he and the Father were one.

Jesus prayed not just for unity among his followers but for true spiritual fellowship where people could still have different views. The apostles remained kneeling for several minutes after Jesus finished praying, then silently returned to their camp. Jesus had revealed the Father's name to the world through his life, and in his prayer, he spoke of the many ways he revealed God's nature - as the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, and the way, the truth, and the life.

The apostles were shocked to find Judas absent when they returned to camp. David Zebedee and John Mark took Jesus aside and told him they had been watching Judas and knew he planned to betray Jesus to his enemies. Jesus listened calmly and said, "Nothing can happen to the Son of Man unless the Father in heaven so wills," telling them not to worry because everything would work out for God's glory.

Jesus grew more serious and sorrowful as time passed. He asked all the apostles to go rest and prepare for tomorrow's work, but he kept Peter, James, and John with him. The other apostles were exhausted and went to their tents to sleep, but before going, Simon Zelotes gave them all swords to arm themselves, which all accepted except Nathaniel, who refused because he remembered Jesus had said his kingdom was not of this world and would not be established through fighting.

While Peter, James, and John stayed with Jesus, he sent a messenger named Jacob to Philadelphia to tell Abner that Jesus would be arrested and killed but would rise again. Jesus also spoke to the visiting Greeks who were staying with them, telling them he would soon be put to death but would rise again before going to the Father. The apostles were so worried about Judas's betrayal that they did not say goodnight to Jesus as they usually would, and they did not expect anything to happen that night since it was so late.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a nearby ravine where he often went to pray. The three apostles could see that Jesus was deeply troubled, more than they had ever seen before. Jesus asked them to sit and watch while he went a stone's throw away to pray, falling on his face and asking God if this was truly his will.

When Jesus returned, he found the apostles asleep and woke them, asking if they couldn't stay awake with him for even one hour when his soul was "exceedingly sorrowful, even to death." Jesus went to pray two more times, asking if the cup of suffering could be taken away but ultimately saying, "Not my will, but yours, be done." Each time he returned, he found the apostles sleeping again, until finally he told them to wake up because the time had come for him to be betrayed.

During his prayers in the garden, Jesus's human nature strengthened its faith in his divine nature, becoming more at peace with God's will. An angel came to strengthen him and told him that the Father wanted him to complete his life on earth by experiencing death as all mortal creatures must. Jesus was weary from work and worry about his apostles, and though he wished there might be another way, he was determined to accept whatever happened and not use his divine power to save himself.