99 I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in any wise; and the whole band of the disciples, attracted by the dispute, gather round Peter, and each lifts his hand and utters a vow of heroic allegiance to the death. Jesus does not reply again. In painful silence the little group moves down the steep hill to the brook Kedron; they cross it, and come to the olive-garden which is called Gethsemane. And there, for the first time, the composure of Jesus seems to give way. He began to be sore amazed and very heavy. With the most tender thoughtfulness He hides this sorrow from the disciples. He leaves them under the olive-trees near the gate of the garden, and Himself goes further into the shadow of the trees that He may pray. The disciples, worn out with fatigue and agitation, are soon asleep. But Jesus prays on, His soul now shaken with an agony which produces a sweat of blood. The first horror of death is upon Him, the first dreadful pang of dissolution is foretasted. He prays that if it be possible the cup may pass from Him, for now that death is near, through all His members there is mutiny, an indignant opposition of every atom of His being to man's direst foe, an infinite repugnance to the tyranny of death. And yet the spirit triumphs over the shrinking flesh. The last battle is fought and won when He cries to God, "Nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt." From this moment the Divine calm of Jesus is unbroken. It is He who wakes the disciples who should have been His guard; He who first discerns on the opposite side of the valley an armed band approaching; He who first declares that the hour has come, and the betrayer is at hand. Flight was still possible, but no thought of flight is in His mind. He goes forth to meet His enemies. He surrenders to them rather than is taken by them. The words spoken long since are now visibly fulfilled: He lays down the life which no man could take away from Him. The arrest of Jesus had been planned with deadly skill. When Judas left the house of Mark he went at once to the priests, eager to complete his task. He probably knew from the conversation at the Supper that Jesus meant to go to Gethsemane for prayer and meditation, and no place could be better suited for his purpose. Perhaps it was this knowledge, as well as the knowledge that Christ had read his heart, which drove him so hurriedly from the table. He knew that this midnight visit to Gethsemane gave him a chance that might never come again. The priests were equally conscious of their opportunity. It is probable that they at once communicated with the Roman cohort which was detailed for the duty of keeping public order in the Passover week. They may even have communicated with Pilate himself, representing that a dangerous revolutionary was abroad, whose arrest was necessary to the public safety. It was certainly a band of Roman soldiers who arrested Jesus, and this accounts for the odious act of Judas in betraying Him by a kiss. There was no one in the band sent for His arrest who knew Him, and it was necessary to identify Him. Judas, as he led the soldiers toward the recesses of the olive-garden, "gave them a token," saying, "Whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is He." And so he kissed Him: not timidly, or as a formal act, but, as the word leads us to infer, with effusion and many times. It is in this moment that Judas appears truly despicable. It is in this moment also that Jesus appears in all the dignity of moral heroism. As if to show Judas how unmeaning was that kiss of identification, He identifies Himself; "saying, Whom seek ye? And they answered, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am He." And then occurs the saddest episode in all this night of sorrow. In the very moment while Jesus pleads that His disciples may not be arrested with Him, utter panic seizes them, and they all forsake Him and flee. So He passes alone, but still majestic, through the moonlit garden, across the Kedron, and along the opposite slope to the house of Hanan. The work of Judas is complete, and he has earned his wages. CHAPTER XXVIII THE TRIAL OF JESUS JESUS was taken immediately upon His arrest to the house of Annas, or Hanan. This circumstance alone is sufficient to identify Hanan as the chief mover in the plot which led to the overthrow of Christ. He had long thirsted for vengeance on the Man who had dared to attack the system of legalised extortion by means of which he and his family had acquired enormous wealth. In all probability it was he who had conducted the negotiations with Judas. His malice and his enmity were now gratified. What the united Sanhedrim had been unable to achieve by legal means he had accomplished by unscrupulous stratagem. Judas was the first to inform him that Jesus was now safely delivered into his hands "without tumult." He, in turn, informs Caiaphas, and the members of the Sanhedrim are hastily assembled. Thus, at dead of night, with no attempt to observe legal forms, the mock trial of the Nazarene commenced. But no sooner does the examination of Christ begin, than it is quite evident that there will be great difficulty in proving any serious charge against Him. Jesus is Himself fully conscious of the strength of His position. When He is questioned concerning His teachings He replies boldly that His teachings have been sufficiently |