Memory Verse:
“For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.”
(John 18:37b)
Crushed For Our Iniquities
The Messiah had been here before, to the garden filled with orchards of olives. In fact, it was just the previous Sunday. That time, however, this man from Nazareth descended the rocky path from Bethany, only to be elevated by the chants of “Hosannah.” This time, the Son of God climbed up to Gethsemane by way of Gehenna, a smoldering trash dump whose smoke undoubtedly stung the Lord’s eyes and nostrils.
In years passed, it had burned the flesh of boys and girls as apostate Hebrews offered their children to the false god of Molech. But it was not the smoke of rubbish or the memories of the stench of burned infants which brought tears to His eyes this night. It was the smoke of a far worse hell, a hell to where He soon would descend and from which His Father would raise Him up.
But He must retreat in prayer, in a place so serene, so peaceful. The place was called “The Pressing” or “The Crushing.”
The Bible calls it, the Garden of Gethsemane.
Day 39: Morning
Submitting In The Garden of Agony
(Read John 18:1)
At the base of the Mount of Olives is a garden known as Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36; Mark 14:32), which is a Hebrew word meaning an oil press. How providential it is that Jesus agonized in prayer at the very place where olives were crushed down under such weight that oil was extracted.
 Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem |
It was in a garden that mankind fell and death began to reign (Genesis 2). It was in a garden that Jesus prayed for the cup of death to pass and it was in a garden tomb that Christ arose from the dead. The word “paradise” means a garden and it is in paradise we will be able to eat of the tree of life (Rev. 2:7).
Prior to Jerusalem’s fall in AD 70, Titus destroyed all of the olive trees on the mount just east of Jerusalem, so the trees which are now in the Garden of Gethsemane cannot be traced to Jesus’s day. However, the numerous trees that were there at the time would have provided protection had Jesus wanted to flee. In fact, all of the disciples were able to escape from the band of armed men and officers from the Jewish council.
The writer was certainly aware that the other gospels went into great detail of Jesus’s prayer in Gethsemane, which might explain the absence in His gospel. Read the parallel accounts of Jesus’s prayer in the garden, found in Matt. 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; and Luke 22:39–46.
How does that make you feel that Jesus agonized in prayer when He anticipated the weight of our sin?__________________________________________________
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Pray this prayer to God: “Heavenly Father, I confess to You that my prayer life needs to be more passionate and even agonizing as Jesus’s was. I also lay my requests before You, knowing that the greatest desire is that Your will and not mine be done. In Jesus’s Name. Amen.”
Day 39: Evening
Strength In The Shadows of Betrayal
(Read John 18:2–11)
More than Jesus’s prayer of agony, John was divinely inspired to recall the power of divinity that Jesus possessed during His arrest and trial. Jesus knew all things, including the fact that He was going to be betrayed by Judas. He may have even purposely planned to go to Gethsemane to avoid any disturbance at the house where they had just dined.
When the cohort came with weapons and torches, Jesus did not shrink back but boldly came forward, asking twice whom they sought. The reply of “Jesus the Nazarene,” was a term of derision, since being from Nazareth was viewed with contempt. Jesus showed no sign of resistance but stated, “I AM” (the word “He” is not in the Greek text). The sheer power of His statement caused the mob to fall backwards to the ground.
It is at this point the other gospels record that Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss. Proverbs 27:6 says “Better are wounds from a friend than kisses of an enemy.” In the darkness of the shadows of the olive trees, the only sure way the guards could grab Jesus was if Judas could quickly identify Him. What are some symbolisms to be found with a close friend’s betrayal with a kiss?
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Not only was Jesus unafraid, He showed His care for the disciples by asking that they be allowed to leave. Mark’s gospel stated a young man fled naked, and Peter’s resistance indicates the soldiers had every intention of taking the disciples as well.
Perhaps outraged by emotion over such an act of betrayal, Peter pulled out his sword and struck the servant of the High Priest. Luke 22:49 says Peter asked Jesus if he could strike, but did not wait for an answer. In what ways do you relate with Peter (you may check more than one answer):
___ I often ask God what to do after I’ve already decided my action.
___ I try to help God out based on human abilities rather than ask God to help with divine abilities.
___ I often act out of emotion and wish I had prayed about it later.
Jesus firmly tells Peter to put up His sword. Jesus didn’t need Peter’s help and shows He is prepared to drink the cup that He had only minutes earlier prayed for His Father to take away.
As humans, we don’t have the ability that Jesus had to foresee all things that are to come upon us (v. 4). But Jesus knows the future and we can ask His help to be prepared.
Pray this prayer to God: “Dear God, I know that I don’t face nearly the temptation to run away as the disciples faced. Help me to stand with You and follow Your guidance in my walk today. Remind me that You are in complete control and I need to seek Your help and not the other way around. Amen.”
Day 40: Morning
Sadness In Denying Christ
(Read John 18:15–18, 25–27)
John continues to provide further light into events which were not covered by the other gospel writers, including Peter’s denial of Christ. “The other disciple” in verse 15 is John, the author of the gospel. Notice that John was known to the priest and presumably to the girl who kept the gate, but Peter was not. Surely a girl who knew John was a disciple should not have caused Peter to deny Christ…but she did!
Think about a situation in which you may have denied Christ, either verbally or with your actions. Now that the testing time has passed, as you look back, should you have fallen?
It is interesting that John records Jesus as saying “Ego eimi” (I AM) when He was arrested and Peter declares “ouk eimi” (I am NOT, John 18:17 and 25) when questioned about being a disciple. Though we may deny Christ in word or deed, Christ remains faithful to His mission. Paul would later write “when we are faithless, He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself.”
Peter’s fear may have been because he cut off a man’s ear. He tried to do the right thing, but in the wrong way. His criminal act of attempted murder, his rebuke by Christ, and his fear of being arrested all may have led to his three denials.
Sometimes, the wages of sin is more sin. In Peter’s final denial, it was a relative of the servant who had actually been in the garden who confidently identified Peter. The other gospels state that it was his Galilean twang that gave further evidence he was a disciple of Jesus. Like a child whose hand is caught in the cookie jar with crumbs all around his face, Peter stuck by his false story. Unlike a child, however, he uttered curses and swearing.
When convicted with sin, the Bible is clear on what our response should be. We need to confess our sins, seek restoration with those whom we have offended and forsake the sin. See Prov. 28:13; Ps. 51:3; Dan. 9:20; Luke 15:18–22; 1 John 1:8–10; and Isa. 1:18. The parable of the prodigal son and the later restoration of Peter in John 21 show that both God the Father and Christ are ready to restore our relationship, despite our failures.
Luke records that after his third denial, he and the Lord locked eyes with each other and that Peter left the court, weeping bitterly. We can run but we cannot hide from the conviction of our sins. The Bible states that our sins will find us out. “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” Number 32:23.
In our “denials of Christ,” we will eventually lock eyes with Jesus. He will convict us, but with confession, He will also forgive us and restore us.
Pray this prayer to God: “Lord Jesus, forgive me where I have failed You. I ask for strength to also forgive myself and forsake my sin. Help me not to give in to sin. In Your name I pray. Amen.”
Day 40: Evening
Standing In The Trials
(Read John 18:12–14, 19–24, 28–38)
John records that Jesus was bound both to and from Annas’ palace even though He offered no resistance. Jesus had eluded the officials before so the guards took no chances. Annas became high priest in AD 7 and his son-in-law Caiaphas held the position, but Annas still held the power. John 18:19 and 22 refer to Annas as the high priest, (see also Luke 3:2 and Acts 4:6).
The first of many blows Jesus was to received came before Annas. Jesus stood answered questions in calm resolve throughout His trial. He refused to speak to Herod (Luke 23:9), who was responsible for John the Baptist’s beheading.
God’s ways are not our ways. It seems ironic that the same nation which had prayed for the coming of the Messiah would reject Him once He came. But aren’t we the same? We pray for God’s will, but when it comes we reject it.
The chief priests and elders also met to condemn Jesus to death. From Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, Jesus was led to Pilate. John gives the greatest details about their interaction. By the time of John’s writing, it is possible that guards or eyewitnesses in Pilate’s own chamber had converted to Christianity to reveal these details undisclosed in the previous gospels.
All four gospels record Pilate asking Jesus whether He was the “King of the Jews,” and that Pilate placed that title over Jesus’s head at His crucifixion. Revelation 17:14 and 19:16 tells us that when Christ returns, His name will be gloriously proclaimed as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Oswald Chambers writes of Jesus’s new name, based on His kingdom which was “not of this world” (18:36):
Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God—He returned to His Father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, May 17
Another irony is that even though He was innocent, Jesus was judged guilty before a godless throne, so that we though guilty could stand without judgment before God’s throne. Because He stood faithful, we too should stand faithful in our trials.
Pray this prayer to God: “Dear God, help me to stand the trials of life. Strengthen me to face down whatever comes my way. Remind me that nothing will happen to me today that You and I cannot both handle together. Thank You for standing with me. Amen.”
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