We have noted the Anticipation of the Cross in Bethany (14:1-11) and in the Upper Room (vv12-25). The scene now shifts to the Garden of Gethsemane (vv26-42).
After singing the last four Hallel Psalms (Psa 115-118), they left the upper room and crossed the Kidron Valley (Joh 18:1), arriving on the western slopes of the Mount of Olives where Gethsemane was situated (vv26-31).
As they walked, the Lord prepared His disciples for what would happen. He predicted His smiting, their scattering, His resurrection and their reunion (vv26-28). He also predicted Peter’s denial (vv29-31). Upon arrival at Gethsemane, having separated from His disciples, He prayed three times to His Father (vv32-42), submitting Himself entirely to His Father’s will. In this way, He prepared Himself for what lay ahead.
Preparatory Predictions (vv26-31)
The Disciples’ Departure (vv26-28)
“All ye shall be offended because of me this night” (v27).1 His disciples would stumble and fall and it would be because of Him. Their reaction to His smiting would cause them to stumble that very night.
He based His prediction on the OT: “For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (v27). Here the Lord quoted Zechariah (cp. Zec 13:7). Zechariah had predicted the smiting of the shepherd. Jesus confirmed that the One who would wield the sword would be the Lord of hosts Himself. Consistent with His role as the perfect Servant, He anticipated His suffering as the fulfilment of God’s will. He moved forward in harmony with God’s plan to do the work entrusted to Him (Isa 52:13; 53:6).
He predicted more than His smiting and their stumbling. “But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee” (v28). He would be raised and they would be regathered. He would not leave them in despair, but encourage them with hope. The true Shepherd would gather His sheep on resurrection ground.
What comfort this should have provided. The angel’s message at the tomb would confirm His words, “Tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you” (16:7; cp. Mat 28:8-10,16-20).
Peter’s Denial (vv29-31)
Peter processed little of the Lord’s words, hearing only that he would be stumbled. He responded impulsively, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I” (v29). Such bravado and self-belief led to a further humbling prediction: Peter’s fall would be the greatest! He would utterly deny his association with the Lord, not once or twice, but three times. Peter emphatically refused to accept this, and the other disciples followed his lead.
Sincere loyalty and personal pride blinded Peter to his own weakness. He showed no awareness of his need of the Lord’s enabling grace. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1Co 10:12).
Preparatory Prayer (vv32-42)
Gethsemane means “oil press,” and it became the place where, placed under the most intense pressure, the Lord manifested His perfection.
Prayer was the reason for the Lord’s entrance there: “Sit ye here, while I shall pray” (v32). Taking Peter, James and John farther, He became distressed and troubled, declaring, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death” (v34). His emotion was deep and genuine. As with the others, He asked these disciples to remain at a certain point, with the added command to “watch.”
He “went forward a little” (v35). His companions were close by, but this experience He must enter alone. Falling first to His knees, He prostrated Himself upon the ground before His God (Mat 26:39; Luk 22:41).
Having come to pray, He prayed. Here we enter the intimacy of special communion between the Son and His Father. We must enter such hallowed space with care. Addressing the Father with deepest intimacy, He acknowledged His omnipotence, “All things are possible unto thee.” Whatever power can do, God can do. This excludes actions inconsistent with God’s character or incompatible with His will. This is why the Lord also said, “if it be possible” (Mat 26:39; cp. Mar 14:35) and, “if thou be willing” (Luk 22:42).
He desired the removal of the period and experience of suffering. The cup refers to the full experience of Calvary (cp. Mar 10:38-39; Joh 18:11) but here may have specific reference to His bearing of God’s judgment against sin (cp. Rev 14:10; 16:19). Having expressed the true desire of His heart, He submitted Himself fully and finally to the Father’s will: “Nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Three times in total he “prayed, and spake the same words” (v39).
Such perfect harmony between desire expressed freely and deference to the Father’s will should lead us to worship. The perfect Servant, God’s eternal Son, is a true man. But He is no ordinary man. The perfection of true humanity is nowhere more manifest than in this prayer. We are left to interpret the meaning. The hour and the cup were not taken from Him. Thus it was the Father’s will that He endure the judgment (Isa 53:10). It was impossible for this to be removed because God willed our eternal blessing, and there was no other righteous way to achieve it.
Any notion that this Servant could have disobeyed must be rejected utterly. His moral perfection would never allow that. But, in this deliberate act of submission, He has left a perfect example for every servant. May the Lord help us to say, “Not what I will, but what thou wilt” (v36).
The three disciples failed to stay alert. Returning after each prayer session, He found them sleeping (vv37,40-41). The Lord expressed disappointment, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?” (v37 ESV). Peter had promised to follow into death, but could not stay alert for prayer. The Lord summed up the problem, “The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” (v38). Recognition of this should lead to earnest prayer lest we “faint in the day of adversity” because our “strength is small” (Pro 24:10). Peter, who failed to watch and pray three times, would also fall three times by denying His Lord.
The disciples awoke to face events that would overwhelm them: Judas had arrived to betray Him (vv41-42). The Lord faced the events with the calmness of a Servant fully submitted to the will of God.
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
