The cup which the Father hath give Me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11 KJV

The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11 NASB

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?” John 18:4 KJV

So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, “Whom do you seek?” John 18:4 NASB

John’s description of the Garden is unique to his pen. It is he alone who tells us that Gethsemane was a garden. He alone tells us details which reveal to us the majesty and the meekness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Lord Jesus is seen upon the ground in Gethsemane. In one Gospel He is kneeling but in another He is seen falling (Matt 26:39). But John tells us a different detail.

In John’s account of the garden scene, it is not the Lord Jesus Who is upon His face. We read rather, “They went backward and fell to the ground” (John 18:6). Something in the bearing of the Lord Jesus, or something in His tone, caused such awe that the men who had come to take Him were temporarily paralyzed and fell to the ground. Some suggest that the word would actually carry the force of falling on their faces before Him. Such was the majesty of His being that they were helpless before His simple expression, “I am.” How dark the human heart that after such a display of majesty, they could still rise up and bind Him (v 12).

It is in John’s Gospel alone that we read that, “Jesus knowing all things went forth.” No kiss is needed to identify Him. No sign from Judas is needed to mark Him out. He goes forth to meet the men who have come to apprehend Him. It is only John who tells us that they came with “lanterns and torches” as though they would have to search Him out. There is a strange irony in men seeking the Light of the World with torches and lanterns. They are not needed to identify Him; He identified Himself to them.

With regal dignity He tells the assailants to, “Let these go their way.” He will stand between the foe and His own. He will protect the flock as the Good Shepherd. Twice over He has to ask them, “Whom seek ye?” before they are ready to apprehend Him.

His meekness is evident in the garden as well. Peter, with characteristic impulsiveness brandishes the sword to defend his Lord, but the Lord Jesus says, “The cup which the Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” No mention in John’s Gospel of the fact that they which take the sword will perish with it. No mention of the availability of legions of angels to come to His aid.

In John, it is all about His relationship with the Father and His willingness to take the cup. His meekness shines out in wondrous beauty. Centuries earlier, another who was totally apart form the sin of his brothers, was found to have the cup in his sack (Gen 44:12). But that was not a cup willingly taken. It was a cup thrust upon an unknowing Benjamin. Our Lord Jesus willingly took the cup to glorify His Father.

Consider:

Read over John 18 and 19 noticing the uniqueness of John’s account of the trials and the cross and think of how those unique touches reveal the majesty and meekness of the Lord Jesus and confirm John’s goal of giving us sufficient evidence to know that this is the Son of God (John 20:30, 31).

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