Gethsemane and the Arrest of Jesus

The event

After the supper, Jesus leads his disciples across the Kidron Valley to Gethsemane, an olive grove on the lower slope of the Mount of Olives that he had evidently used before for prayer. Taking Peter, James, and John further in, Jesus is described as sorrowful and troubled "to the point of death," praying with such intensity that Luke, a physician by trade, records his sweat "became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" — while the three disciples, despite being asked to stay awake, repeatedly fall asleep.

Jesus prays that the "cup" of coming suffering might pass from him, yet submits each time to the Father's will rather than his own — the clearest window we have into the emotional cost of the cross he is walking toward. Judas Iscariot then arrives leading an armed crowd sent by the chief priests, identifying Jesus with a prearranged kiss. Peter draws a sword and strikes off the ear of the high priest's servant, only to have Jesus heal the wound and rebuke the violence — "all who take the sword will perish by the sword" — before allowing himself to be bound and led away as the disciples scatter.

Scripture references

• Matthew 26:36-56
• Mark 14:32-52
• Luke 22:39-53
• John 18:1-11