BibleBlox
68. the garden of gethsemane
/ matthew 26:36-56 /
/ listen as you follow along /
After Jesus and the twelve disciples finished the Last Supper, ðĨ Jesus knew He needed to talk to God, His Father in heaven. Jesus often went to quiet places to pray, ð and He especially loved ðĨ° a peaceful ð garden ðŠī called Gethsemane. It was filled with olive ðŦ trees ðī and was a perfect place to talk to God.
Jesus turned to three 3ïļâĢ of His very closest friends - Peter, James, and John - and said, "Please come with me to the garden. ðŠī I need to pray, ð and I would like you to stay awake and pray with me." The night ð was dark, and the garden was quiet except for the gentle rustling of leaves ð in the wind.
When they got to the garden, ðŠī Jesus was feeling very sad ð - the kind of sad that makes your heart âĪïļ feel heavy. He told His friends, "My heart is so sad, please stay here and keep watch while I go pray." ðĪē Then Jesus walked a little further into the garden, about as far as you could throw a ball. ð
Jesus knelt down on the ground under the olive ðŦ trees. Big tears rolled down His cheeks ð as He talked to God. "Father," He prayed, "if it's possible, please spare me from what's coming. ð But I want to do what You want, not what I want." He was showing how much He trusted God, even when things were hard.
After praying ðĪē for a while, Jesus went back to check on His friends. All three of them were fast asleep! ðī Jesus gently woke them up and said, "Couldn't you stay awake with me for just one hour?" âïļ
Jesus went back to pray ð two more times. Each time, He showed how brave He was by telling God that He would do whatever God wanted, even though He was scared ðģ and sad. ð And each time He came back, He found His friends sleeping ðĪ again! But Jesus wasn't angry with them - He understood that sometimes it's hard to stay awake when you're tired. While Jesus was in the garden, God sent an angel ð to give Him strength ðŠ and courage.
Then after a little while, He heard ððŧ people coming. Lots of soldiers were walking toward the garden carrying torches ðĨ and weapons. âïļ At the front of the group was Judas, one of Jesus's twelve disciples. Judas ðŋ came up to Jesus and gave Him a kiss ð on the cheek - this was the signal to show the soldiers which person was Jesus. Even though Judas was being unkind, ðŠ Jesus still called him "friend."
Jesus's other friends were very scared ðą when they saw all these soldiers coming to take Jesus away. Peter, who loved Jesus very much, wanted to protect Him. Peter took out a sword ðĄïļ and accidentally cut off the ear ððŧ of one of the approaching soldiers.
But Jesus showed everyone what love âĪïļ looks like. He said, "No, Peter, put your sword ðĄïļ away. We shouldn't hurt people." Then Jesus reached out and healed the man's ear! ððŧ The soldiers ðĄïļ took Jesus away, and His friends were so scared ðģ that they all ran away ððžâïļðĻ and hid. But Jesus stayed brave ðŠ because He knew this was part of God's special plan to show the world how much He loves ðŦķ us.
67. the last supper / 68. the garden of gethsemane / 69. crucifixion
