The Essence of Gethsemane – Part 4
by Mathew G. Daniel, Manjinikara
St. John who was very close even in the trail of Jesus before the high priest Caiaphas and his father in-law Annas gives a very different scenario of the Gethsemane in the 18th Chapter of his gospel.
He tells us how the prayer was answered by The Father, and the last chance that has been given to the son of perdition as Jesus says about him in his prolonged prayer for his disciples in Chapter 17. See verse 12 : While I was with them the world, I kept them in thy name: those that you gavest me I have kept them and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
See the word that was used for him the son of perdition this word is derived from Latin – perdere means to put to destruction : perdition is the everlasting punishment in the hell after death. Jesus being the son of God and the Alpha and Omega knows it well in advance. That is why he concludes the verse with a subordinate clause, that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Chapter 18 opens with the statement that he has entered into Gethsemane with his disciples except Judas, and all other happenings we have seen in detail in the previous classes. So, John doesn’t bothers to repeat all those incidents but he introduces Judas the son of perdition here with a different group of people.
Do you remember when we last see him, it was in the 13th chapter, which was the set table for the Salvation of Mankind. We know that Satan has succeeded in his mission of betraying man against God which ultimately resulted in the death of the entire race of man. This toxin has been working for the past 4000 years.
Lord Jesus, now there in the Mansion of Mark gave them the bread - that he asked them to pray for while teaching the Lord’s prayer- At the table, he once more signed Judas, about his fate: verse 21 gives a general warning that one of them shall betray him.
But in verse 26 he reveals the particular person. “Jesus answered, he it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon."
As soon as he received the sop satan entered into him and he left the table and fled away into the night.
We may wonder why he ignored this crystal clear warning, for the answer let’s go the book of Luke Chapter 22 verse 3 :
"Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, one of the number of the twelve."
If we closely analyze the situation here, verse 21 shows the perplexity of the Chief priests and the scribes. They ardently wished to finish off with Jesus, but feared the people.
For Satan, here the iron was hot and that was the time to tension it, the destroyer was looking for the apt time to work out, as it examined the heart of the most suitable person.
The Jewish Creamy Layer, wanted to clear out Jesus from their puritan ways of teachings, they feared that the sand has been completely washed out from under their feet and their existence itself in peril. But they were scared of the reaction of the people. At this crucial juncture, Satan finds room in the heart of Judas, and it entered into it.
The meeting with one of the disciples it self recharged the lost hearts of the Jews. They were ready to believe that if one of the counted twelve itself turns betrayer, no one else shall obstruct their mission.
To make it more clear let’s see an incident that has happened. Once, two lovers decided to become man and wife and they arranged a grand reception after the marriage. Since it was not an arranged marriage they toiled hard to see that the party
was superb. By the late hours of night both of them were so tired that they lay on the sofa in the living room itself. They forget to latch the main door. Noticing this he said, “Honey please get up and lock the door.”
She wished to do so but took it in a negative way. She thought, on the first night itself he began to command me, why don’t he do it for himself. I have been working very hard with him till this moment. If I do it now tomorrow he may hold the whip hand in our life. So, she ignored his request and said, “see dear, I agree I am your wife. That doesn’t means that I should have to be a slave to carry out your commands.”
There was a heated exchange of words and a thief looking for a chance overheard them. He waited for a while and entered into the room and carried out a valuable thing. Both of them noticed it but they were brooding over their false prejudice.
In short, the thief was lucky enough to have a lot of treasures from their house. As he was full he left the house.
The night patrolling police, caught him and he told the situation to the police officer.
Leave the story there itself and come to the winding up, that the Chief priest and his group gathered up courage to execute their plan when they got one among the twelve itself was in their net for a petty cash of 30 silver coins. A close associate who has been with Jesus for more than tens of hundreds of days who witnessed him, was a effective stimulant to the powers of darkness.
Judas communed with the elders for the price of the blood of Jesus on Wednesday night.
Please remember this is the reason why our church instructs us to be on fasting and to observe Wednesday as a lent day. As we fast on this day every week we may recollect those incidents by which we betrayed Jesus our Lord and Saviour , in terms of earthly fortunes.
Judas was looking for a chance to betray Jesus. So he turned a deaf ear to the warnings of Jesus. I believe that though his body was present at the table, his mind was in the wilderness to find a suitable time to execute his plan. So he failed to make out the meaning of what was told to him clearly , at the table of salvation that the bread is his body given to them
Here again in John 13: 26 we see that Satan entered into Judas even after the sop (bread dipped in gravy or milk etc.) was given to him.
Let’s go back to John 18:2 where we see Judas after about more than three hours.
Before a few hours he was one among the thirteen, but now as John witnesses he was the leader of a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, near Jesus with lanterns, torches and weapons.
He has given a sign to the elders that the man whom he greets and kisses shall be apprehended and thence forth be at their own disposal.
Jesus once again wished to save him from total destruction and asks them whom does they seek?
There comes the quick answer: 18 : 5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus saith unto them, I AM
HE. And Judas also who betrayed him stood with them.
Verse 18:16 : As soon as he has said unto them, I AM HE, they went back ward and fell to the ground.
See what happened here at the odd hours of the night. The words I AM were heard by some other person thousands of years prior to this incident and it was no else except Moses the chosen one to liberate God’s people from the bondage of Pharaoh of Egypt. The book of Exodus 3: 13-14 refer to it.
Moses asks the voice that he hears from the thorns that were on Fire, what he shall say to the Israelites in Egypt, and he gets the answer then and there as we read in verse 14 : And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT
I AM and he said: Thus shalt though say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Here in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Lord Jesus said these three alphabets, all those who neared him, fell back as John witnesses it. We can well believe that they might have seen that what Prophet Isaiah has seen in the 6th chapter of his Prophesies.
This sight and the self reveal was the last attempt of Jesus to save his chosen one from total destruction, and to see him crowned among the 24 elders as John later on sees in his book of Revelation 5th chapter.
It is said that opportunity knocks at your door but only once. Here Judas surnamed as Iscariot got several chances or opportunities, which were all proved futile to the son of perdition.
Here comes the importance of the second part of the verse 12 of the 17th Chapter of John..…the scripture might be fulfilled.
My brothers and sisters, let’s think of the plan of the almighty here. He chooses an apt womb for the birth of a man or a woman according to his plan. When he was looking for a flesh for his son he has selected Mary, who has undoubtedly lived a saint’s life.
God Almighty gives great significance to the pedigree of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Try to recall how many times he says, I am the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob.
When Simon proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God in Chapter 16 verse 17… he calls him as Simon Barjona means Simon, Son of John, there is no importance in the name of Simon here the matter that counts is that he is the son of John.
But for Judas, he calls him as the son of perdition.
In conclusion, Jesus is still among us in the form of verse, for he was word before he took flesh from Virgin Mary, for the our salvation, In one if his parables he emphasizes the importance of verse in the 8th chapter of St. Luke. Which we call as the parable of the sower.
See verse 15 : But that on the good ground are they, which is an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patients.
Jesus sowed the seed of word into the hearts of his chosen ones as well as to the multitudes, but the thorns of greed which cares of riches and pleasure made Judas Iscariot blind. Ultimately, instead of being
honored in heaven as well as on the earth in the name of St. Jude he became the son of perdition.
In a nut shell, the essence of Gethsemane is that, “Love doesn’t require two people look at each other, but that they look together in the same direction”.
If we can’t look in the direction of Jesus then we have to look deep into our hearts and find whether it is an honest and good one, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience if not let’s pray with the King an Prophet David:
Psalms 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O, God ; and renew a right spirit Within me."
We should prepare ourselves in selfless love bound in Jesus so that he may choose us to mould us and our next generation as vessels which shall be of great use to the Creator in the execution of his heavenly Master Plan. How?
If you are really interested to know, see Psalms 33:15 “He fashions their hearts alike; he considers their works." So now it is clear that our work upon the earth is that counts!
I would like to quote St: Paul as our verse of meditation: Second Corinthians Chapter : 7 verse 1 – “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting Holiness in the fear of
God."
