Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
MATTHEW 26:53
(The following narrative is a creative exposition based on Scripture)
We’re all in the garden. We’ve been here many times before to get away from the crowds. It’s nice and quiet and we can just sit around and reflect on the day’s events. But He’s troubled this time, really troubled. Something’s weighing heavy on His mind.
He goes a little way off from us to pray. He’s so distressed. I’ve never seen Him like this before. He’s always been confident, strong … and the things He did! No wonder He was confident. But now … He often spoke of going away but we didn’t really understand what He meant. He often said things we didn’t understand.
He knows so much that’s so far beyond what we can know and He wants us to know too. He’s taught us a lot of things but it’s when we’re around Him, watching Him, being with Him that we somehow begin to understand. But this is different. Something’s about to happen and He’s struggling. He knows what’s coming and He doesn’t want it. The thought of it is so extreme He starts sweating blood!
Suddenly a disturbance. In the distance, movement, voices. It’s a mass of people! What’s going on? Wait … I know them! They’re the leaders who were always arguing with Him. They’re armed and they’ve got a whole lot of people with them. They’ve wanted to get rid of Him because He told them things they didn’t want to hear and it looks like they’re actually going to do it this time!
Hang on a minute … what’s Judas doing there? He’s one of us! He walks straight up to Him and kisses Him. What? Such betrayal! He’s known about Judas all along though and yet He still welcomed him.
One of us quickly draws his sword, lunges forward and cuts off the ear of one of the leader’s servants. He’s going to fight our way out of this! But He stops him from going any further and tells him to put his sword down. He touches the servant’s ear and heals it and says He can just say the word right now and He’ll be delivered out of all this. What? He can get Himself out of this? He doesn’t have to do this? What about the betrayal … the humiliation … the torture … They’re going to destroy Him and He’s going to let it happen? But that’s why He’s come. We mean everything to Him and it’s by His sacrifice that He truly sets us free.