APRIL 03
Late at night in AD 33, footsteps broke the silence of the Kidron Valley. While his disciples panicked, Jesus stepped forward into the torchlight and spoke two words that sent an entire cohort to the ground. Discover why the events of that fateful night were not a story of fear, but of profound submission and courage.
REFLECTLATEST
Stephen
9/26/20262 min read
AD 33
APRIL 3
THURSDAY
LATE AT NIGHT, at approximately 3:00 AM.
It was the darkest night in human history, nothing comparable had occurred before, nor has it occurred since. The stillness was so intense. No sound at all on that dark night as if all things were watching breathlessly the awful scene. In the distance, only the snoring of several individuals and the earnest prayer of another could be heard.
The Garden of Gethsemane, situated at the edge of the Kidron Valley, was about to witness this momentous event. Footsteps and subdued voices interrupted the silence of the cold night as a band of soldiers approached with torches and weapons. They were seeking Jesus, and they were accompanied by someone able to identify him. The torches they were bearing cast a yellow and ominous light across the scene.
He knew precisely what awaited him. Until that moment, he had been praying that God would spare him from an ordeal of profound horror, cruelty, and tragedy: his earthly life was about to conclude upon the cross. Did he fear the cross, or physical suffering? Or did he fear death? Was he asking his Father to provide a means of escaping humiliation, shame, suffering, and death?
Death had never caused him distress. Even when his adversaries repeatedly sought to kill him, he displayed no fear and continued on his journey. If death—the greatest fear known to humanity—could not unsettle him, neither could shame, pain, nor humiliation. What, then, was the subject of his prayer to God?
“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me; nevertheless, let Your will—not mine—be done.”
Judas, one of his disciples, arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane with soldiers who encircled the area. The disciples were alarmed and bewildered by the appearance of the troops. They got afraid of seeing soldiers and weapons. They looked at their Master. What he was going to do next? They might have thought that some miracle such as still the storm, would happen. But what happened was totally unexpected one.
Had Jesus truly feared death or any other threat, he could have fled or, at the very least, concealed himself in the darkness. Instead, the events that followed demonstrated extraordinary courage and submission.
Knowing everything that was about to happen to him, Jesus stepped forward and asked, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am He.” Judas, who betrayed him, stood among them. When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. John 18:4–6.
He knew precisely what was about to occur, yet he stepped forward and addressed those who had come to arrest him.
“I AM.”
At these words, the soldiers and guards fell to the ground. The man they sought stood before them, while those who had come to arrest him recoiled in fear and astonishment. He approached them once more and asked whom they were seeking, even though he knew fully what awaited him. This raises the question: Did he truly fear the cross or death?
He stepped forward because he understood that he was fulfilling his Father’s purpose and willingly submitted him. He feared neither death nor any other threat.
Why, then, did he pray with such intensity on three separate occasions?
This reflection will continue next week.