And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
Jesus knows what is about to take place. Nothing that happened was a surprise. We should take comfort in knowing that God knows our future. Nothing that happens to us is ever a surprise to Him.
Gethsemane is not actually the name of a place but the name of a machine. A Gethsemane is an olive press. They would use the olive press to press the oil out of the olives. Surrounding the olive press was an olive grove. The olive grove would be the garden that is in the name Garden of Gethsemane. In this garden are also garden tombs which were shallow caves carved out of the stone. People would lay their dead relatives into the tomb with a burial shroud or burial cloth and use traditional ointments and spices. The dead would stay in there for one year. After a year, the bones would be collected and placed into a family grave. This appears to be one of Jesus’s favorite spots to pray in Jerusalem.
John 18: 1-6
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 ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band of men (at least 600 soldiers) 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 saith 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.
This “I am He” statement is huge and easy to overlook because if I asked my husband, “Are you Mike?”, he would probably say, “Yes, I am.” in much the same way.
Exodus 3: 13-14
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
Moses was having a conversation with a burning bush, but we know that God was speaking to him through the fire in the bush. God said His name in Hebrew was YHWH which is such a sacred name that the Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews refused to even speak the name out of reverence.
Jesus was speaking in Hebrew when He spoke the words “I am He” in John 18:5, but the gospel of John was written in Greek. We cannot know absolutely, but based on the response from the soldiers who “went backward and fell to the ground”, we can surmise that Jesus was not just saying “That’s me! I’m Jesus of Nazareth.”, but that He actually declared Himself to be God… the same God who spoke to Moses through the burning bush. In the instant that Jesus said “I am He”, a sudden burst of power was unleashed and the soldiers (600 or more of them) could not stay on their feet.
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 spake, Of them which thou gavest 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?
Mark 14: 43-50
And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him, and fled.
I love all the different details that we receive from each gospel!
Luke 22: 50-52
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, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
The disciples and the soldiers heard Jesus declare Himself to be God, the power of that declaration made them unable to stay on their feet, Peter cut off a servant’s ear, and Jesus – who is about to be arrested and crucified and who is about to hand Himself over to the soldiers – heals the ear. They have witnessed authority, power, and healing. Notice I said that Jesus handed Himself over.
Matthew 26: 53
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Jesus could have called 12 legions of angels. A legion is at least 6,000 soldiers so 12 legions of angels would be at least 72,000 angels.
Isaiah 37: 36
Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
One angel killed 185,000 men. One legion (6,000) of angels could kill 1,110,000.000 or 1 billion 110 million men. Twelve legions of angels could kill 13,320,000,000 or 13 billion 320 million men. There were only 60 million people in the entire Roman empire at that time. The population of earth in 2021 was 7,888,000,000 or 7 billion 888 million people. Twelve legions of angels could nearly kill the entire population of earth today TWICE… and Jesus had them on speed dial.
Mark 14: 51-52
And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
To know who this naked boy is, we need to understand the word “linen cloth”. The only place in the New Testament that this specific Greek word is used is to describe a burial cloth or burial shroud. Why was a naked boy following Jesus through a garden full of tombs carrying a burial cloth? The naked boy was resurrected from the dead very likely that same moment when Jesus said “I am He”! The soldiers wanted to catch the boy because they knew he was resurrected and couldn’t let rumors of another resurrection spread as they arrested Jesus, but the boy “fled from them naked”.
So here in Gethsemane, Jesus declared Himself to be God, at least 6,000 soldiers fell at the power of His declaration, Jesus healed a servant’s ear, Jesus could have called 12 legions of angels which is more than enough to destroy every person on earth, and a naked boy was resurrected from his tomb.
From the time Jesus entered the garden of Gethsemane to pray until He handed Himself over to the soldiers was just a few hours. Some say 1 to 3 hours while others say 4 to 6 hours. Regardless of the precise amount of time, that is A LOT of power in a short amount of time… especially since this post isn’t focusing on the time that He spent praying and only the arrest. Here is why this is so important:
John 14: 12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
If you are not born again, you need to get born again ASAP. You can pray this simple prayer by CLICKING HERE. There is no reason to wait. No one is guaranteed tomorrow.
If you are born again, you have the power and authority through the name of Jesus… the same power that was seen at Gethsemane.
The enemy knows this. His only power over you is to convince your that you are powerless, that he’s bigger than you, and that he has more power than you. He doesn’t. He knows this. You need to know this,, too. You need to walk in the knowledge that you have the authority of Jesus. You need to behave as though you have the authority of Jesus.
If you start (or continue) to operate in the power and authority that you have in Jesus, the enemy is in trouble. He knows this. You need to know this, too.
James 4: 7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.