Facing the Eastern Gates of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives, a hill 2,600 feet high. The Mount slopes gently down to the Kidron Valley. Mount Moriah, or the Temple Mount, rises on the other side of the valley. There is a pathway from the Upper Room, passing near the Courtyard of the High Priest and down through the valley to the Mount of Olives. Jesus and his disciples walked this pathway to an olive grove where Jesus went to pray.
Just as the evil one tempted Job in the Old Testament and Jesus in the wilderness after his baptism, so also the evil one seeks opportunities to tempt the people of God. No rational person volunteers for such an assignment which is why Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” This is why Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, prayed three times for the disciples to be saved from temptation, v. 31, 40, and 46.
Typically when a rebel leader was arrested his followers were also arrested and imprisoned or executed along with the leader. Jesus wanted his disciples preserved so that when the history of the world changed three days later the disciples could proclaim, “He is Risen.”
Ultimately, Jesus had to take this journey alone as two months later Peter boldly proclaimed to the Rulers and elders,
“For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,
‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’
There is salvation in no one else!
God has given no other name under heaven
by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:11-12
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
11-Feb-12 Luke 22:63-23:12
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