Betrayal and Arrest

Betrayal and Arrest
Luke 22:39-46

39 And [kai] he came out [exerchomai] , and went [poreuomai] , as [kata] he was wont [ethos] , to [eis] the mount [oros] of Olives [elaia] ; and [de] his [autos] disciples [mathetes] also [kai] followed [akoloutheo] him [autos] .
40 And [de] when he was [ginomai] at [epi] the place [topos] , he said [epo] unto them [autos] , Pray [proseuchomai] that ye enter [eiserchomai] not [me] into [eis] temptation [peirasmos] .
41 And [kai] he [autos] was withdrawn [apospao] from [apo] them [autos] about [hosei] a stone's [lithos] cast [bole] , and [kai] kneeled down [tithemi] [gonu] , and prayed [proseuchomai] ,
42 Saying [lego] , Father [pater] , if [ei] thou be willing [boulomai] , remove [paraphero] [paraphero] this [touto] cup [poterion] from [apo] me [emou] : nevertheless [plen] not [me] my [mou] will [thelema] , but [alla] thine [sos] , be done [ginomai] .
43 And [de] there appeared [optanomai] an angel [aggelos] unto him [autos] from [apo] heaven [ouranos] , strengthening [enischuo] him [autos] .
44 And [kai] being [ginomai] in [en] an agony [agonia] he prayed [proseuchomai] more earnestly [ektenesteron] : and [de] his [autos] sweat [hidros] was [ginomai] as it were [hosei] great drops [thrombos] of blood [haima] falling down [katabaino] to [epi] the ground [ge] .
45 And [kai] when he rose up [anistemi] from [apo] prayer [proseuche] , and was come [erchomai] to [pros] his [autos] disciples [mathetes] , he found [heurisko] them [autos] sleeping [koimao] for [apo] sorrow [lupe] ,
46 And [kai] said [epo] unto them [autos] , Why [tis] sleep ye [katheudo] ? rise [anistemi] and pray [proseuchomai] , lest [hina me] ye enter [eiserchomai] into [eis] temptation [peirasmos] . KJV-Interlinear

39 And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, 'Pray that you may not enter into temptation.' 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, 'Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.' 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45 And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.' NASB

Since we have covered much of this passage in Matthew and John, we will run through this passage quickly, but noticing the pertinent points which support that which we have already covered.

First, the trip to the garden. It was a custom of Jesus to go there, thus Judas knew when and where Jesus would be in order to make his plans and to coordinate with the elders and priests for making the arrest of Jesus.

The custom is not specified, however it implies that Jesus on certain occasions went to the garden. Perhaps is was in prior years, at this same time, or on the same day of the week that He went there. The repetition is not specified, however we need to understand that people are creatures of habit, and the second point we need to understand is that God controls history.

So, if Jesus went there every night, then Judas would have known that and the arrest would have taken place earlier in the week or perhaps even in the prior week. So it was not likely a nightly visit to the garden. The arrest had to occur on Passover eve in order to comply with all the prophecy, all the offering and sacrifice protocols which were put in writing by Moses many centuries before. Jesus would have visited the garden with the appropriate frequency such that Judas would notice the habit, and knowing the habit, would coordinate his betrayal accordingly.

If was not Jesus who was a creature of habit, but Judas. Jesus did nothing to cause the betrayal. Judas did all of this own his own.

Next, Jesus went to the garden and separated himself from the rest of the apostles. Three times he went to pray, and three times He returned to find the apostles all sleeping.

We saw in Matthew that Jesus was under great stress. A stress which did not originate from within Himself, but a stress which was applied from another source (Satan).

The magnitude and consequences of this pressure which Satan was applying were immense. Such that Jesus was sweating blood. And that is a valid physiological reality. When a person is under so much stress then the sweat rolls. When that stress is beyond comprehension, then those little blood vessels near the surface of the skin can burst and ooze through the skin with the sweat. That is pressure.

The pressure was so great that an angel was dispatched by God (the Father), to run interference against Satan, for Jesus. For such is the meaning of the word 'enischuo,' to offer support by way of shielding.

In the dessert some 3 ½ years earlier, Jesus took the pressure and temptations from Satan and after it was all over, then the angels came to minister to Him. But here, the aid was not to provide food and water, but to provide a buffer against the pressure which Satan was applying against Jesus.

In Job we know that Satan is given great leeway in his assault against mankind, but there is a point which he cannot go past. If Satan were honorable then he would know the boundaries and he would respect the rules of the game so to speak. But Satan is not honorable. In Revelation we saw him standing over the birth of Jesus, with flaming sword in hand ready to kill the child. This was prevented. Likewise, Satan would kill Jesus right now if it were possible. This too was prevented.

God allowed the pressure to go to a point far beyond where any normal human being (you or me) could not tolerate. We would break down. But Jesus was tested to the max, and did not sin. He was indeed the perfect substitute for purchasing us out of the slave market of sin and death.

Then the last verse in this passage, 'pray that you may not enter into temptation.' Here we have yet another warning and reminder, that our life is not entirely under our control. Pray is a general word which refers to your keeping tight to your spiritual life. Prayer is more than just closing your eyes and praying to the Father, 'O God help me.' Prayer is the integral function of your total spiritual life, namely wanting to learn, listening, learning, understanding, accepting, applying Bible doctrine to your life and so forth.

Apart from God, you have no defense against the world, and certainly not against Satan and his policies. Only stupid people would think that they don't need any outside help. Only through your spiritual growth and through your maintaining your spiritual advance and spiritual status, do you even have a prayer (so to speak). So pray means stick with your Bible study, as well as pray on a regular basis to God the Father for His assistance in all things related to your life. For without Him, you 'will not' survive this world.

We have seen the pressure which was applied to Jesus. None of us could have handled it, and Jesus handled it through prayer. A lesson for us all. Prayer is only effective when there are resources (Bible doctrine) in the soul to power it. And those resources do not exist unless you get with and genuinely desire a program of Bible study. The apostles were sleeping when He spoke to them. You should not go to sleep in your spiritual life, lest bad things happen to you.

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