Jesus Prays Alone (Mk. 14:32-42; Lk. 22:39-46)

³⁶Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus said to his followers, "Sit here while I go there and pray." ³⁷Jesus told Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to come with him. Then Jesus began to be very sad and troubled. ³⁸Jesus said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, "My soul is full of sorrow. My heart is breaking with sadness. Stay awake here with me and wait." ³⁹Then Jesus walked a little farther away from them. Jesus fell on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, don't give me this cup* [of suffering]. But do what you want, not what I want." ⁴⁰Then Jesus went back to his followers. Jesus found his followers sleeping. Jesus said to Peter, "You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? ⁴¹Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right. But your body is weak." ⁴²Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this [painful] thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, then I pray that what you want will be done." ⁴³Then Jesus went back to the followers. Again Jesus found them sleeping. Their eyes were very tired. ⁴⁴So Jesus left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time he prayed, he said the same thing. ⁴⁵Then Jesus went back to the followers and said, "You are still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man* to be given to sinful people. ⁴⁶Stand up! We must go. Here comes the man that is giving me [to my enemies]."

Jesus Is Arrested (Mk. 14:43-50; Lk. 22:47-53; Jn. 18:3-12)

⁴⁷While Jesus was still speaking, Judas came there. Judas was one of the twelve followers. Judas had many people with him. These people were sent from the leading priests and the older leaders of the people. These people with Judas had swords and clubs. ⁴⁸Judas* planned to do something to show the people which man was Jesus. Judas said, "The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him." ⁴⁹So Judas went to Jesus and said, "Hello, teacher!" Then Judas kissed Jesus. ⁵⁰Jesus answered, "Friend, do the thing you came to do." Then the men came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹When that happened, one of the followers with Jesus grabbed his sword and pulled it out. This follower hit the servant of the high priest* with the sword and cut off his ear. ⁵²Jesus said to the man, "Put your sword back in its place. People that use swords will be killed with swords. ⁵³Surely you know I could ask my Father and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. ⁵⁴But this thing must happen this way so that it will be like the Scriptures* said." ⁵⁵Then Jesus said to all the people, "You came to get me with swords and clubs like I am a criminal. Every day I sat in the temple* area teaching. You did not arrest me there. ⁵⁶But all these things have happened so that it will be like the prophets* wrote." Then all of Jesus' followers left him and ran away.

cup Jesus is talking about the bad things that will happen to him. Accepting these things will be very hard, like drinking a cup of something that tastes very bad. Son of Man A name Jesus used for himself. In Dan. 7:13-14, this is the name for the Messiah, the one God chose to save his people. Judas Literally, "the one that betrayed him." high priest The most important Jewish priest and leader. Scriptures Holy Writings--the Old Testament. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. prophets People that spoke for God. Some of them wrote books that are part of the Old Testament.