The Grove of Gethsemane

Given the innumerable webpages on Gethsemane, I thought I'd break with my normal pattern for this blog and do something different. If you want to picture Jesus' footsteps to the olive grove called Gethsemane on that fateful night, start here:


An image of the Kidron Valley, with the Temple just behind the wall, and the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane on the opposite side of the ravine.

Jesus and his disciples probably walked through the crowded commercial area just to the right of the corner in the wall. Here there were moneychangers, people selling sacrificial animals, shops selling spices, pottery, etc. Now turn to walk along this wall, on the walkway adjacent to it. It is less crowded here; indeed, there is no place to build a house, nor any shops, for this is the very edge of Jerusalem. The massive white ashlars that make up the outer Temple walls are on your left; just over the high railing on your right is the Kidron Valley, and your stomach might turn a little if you peek over the wall.

You walk for a bit - quite a bit, actually. Eventually the beautiful stones turn into harsher stone, and you know you are looking at ancient walls, built by that great King of Israel, King Solomon. Vaguely you hear the rabbi teaching. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were nto so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

But look now - you are nearing the Eastern Gate of the Temple walls - the gate you can't enter, because you're not a VIP. Resentment burns inside of you, but the beauty of the Beautiful Gate, the most beautiful of all, stops you short. Rosettes carved into limestone and plated with pink marble, and the tall malachite columns with Corinthian capitals, turns your mind to the marvel the king greated, and the glory it gives to Adonai.

But time to move on! You turn right, to cross the stomach-turning depths of the Kidron Valley via the Kidron Bridge.


An image showing the depths of the Kidron Ravine - in the rainy season there is a trickle of a brook at the bottom. The dark splotch at the bottom is a person.

Ahead of you is the Mount of Olives, with its endless supply of olive trees and evergreens.


A photograph of some scenery close to what Jesus and the disciples would have seen when the crossed from the Temple, across the Kidron Bridge, to the Mount of Olives.


It is Passover now, and the city is crowded. Many of those caves, you know, are filled with people that have no family to stay with in Jerusalem.

But, you discover when you reach solid ground, there is a place not far away that is empty of the candles lit in other corners. You stop with the disciples, sit down with them and admire the view.


An image looking from the back of what is now a landscaped garden claiming to be Gethsemane, across the Kidron Valley to the Temple walls. If I were up higher, you could see the gold dome, just inside those walls, of the Islamic shrine that now stands where the Temple once stood.


Such beauty! From here you can see over the outer Temple wall to the building itself. It's stones show brilliantly in the moonlight, showing themselves as the glory of all Israel. The stars glint light off of the golden spikes adorning the top of the Temple.

The doors have been locked and guards posted, but you can guess that all is quiet inside. The chaos of the day is done, the celebration meal over, everyone drowsy from the greatest festival of the year - and some wine, you think with a smile.

You see Jesus teaching the disciples for awhile, and wonder what he is saying. And why he isn't talking in the nice, warm cave? Evenings in late March are cold! But he is pointing towards the building - what is he saying? You can barely catch it. Something about every stone of the Temple being destroyed.

You cringe! The Temple is still new, a masterpiece of beauty.

Most of the disciples get up eventually, and go into the cave nearby. Smart people! you think. Stay nice and warm. And yet there faces had been a bit disturbed that night... perhaps it was a troubled Passover festival for them, and they were praying. Huddled in their cloaks, most likely!

But three of them stay out. One leans against the gnarled trunk of an ancient olive tree; the other two pick the smoother ground of younger trees. Jesus walks forward, and you wonder why he isn't talking with the others, enjoying the night. Then you see his face - and cringe again. Something is dreadfully, dreadfully wrong.


A photograph of the landscaped garden with olive trees in it, which is allegedly Gethsemane. Tourists aren't allowed in, so you can't get a very good picture.

You watch him closely, and frown suddenly. That is blood dripping from his forehead! What sorrow is encompassing this poor man's soul! And his words turn your own blood cold. "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." He gets up, steps over a stone in the cracked dirt, and returns to his three disciples. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he cries to the one by the gnarled tree. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He walks back, closer to you now, and his words make you want to cry. "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

You peek behind him for a moment - and see what he sees, as he turns around. His body is tense as he walks toward them, and the tenseness of his words carries. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he says. "Stay here and keep watch."

"Abba, Father," he says, nearer to you again now, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

The men's bodies are slumped over the trees, and his words filled with disappointment at the one on the gnarled trunk. "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Suddenly torches light the night,angling their way toward this olive grove of Gethsemane…what is going on? And wasn’t that one of his disciples, leading the way? You run until you are out of breath, and only the torches and the starlight enable you to see them. They are talking to him…asking him who he is. And he is telling them what you already know, what they already know. Everybody in Jerusalem knows who this man is. Jesus of Nazareth, claiming to be the Messiah.

What is going on…they are shackling his ankles – as he stands cooperatively. They drag him away, over the Kidron Valley Bridge you had all just crossed with freedom.




Note: I left out some of the details, but Peter took a sword to the high priests servant, chopping off his ear, which is an odd thing to aim for. Maybe he drank a little too much at that celebration, or was too tired and upset to see straight. Or maybe Malchus ducked. Or maybe Peter actually was aiming for the man's ear... see why at my blog entry here.