Luke

The Last Supper had finished.  Final instructions had been given, but for Jesus His normal practice of late-night prayer was unchanged.  The Mount of Olives was a favourite place for Him to pray (Matthew 26:30; John 8:1).  It was away from the crowds on the eastern side of the city, and an easy walk to the Garden of Gethsemane.  In contrast to praying in a synagogue or the temple, this was intimate, personal and private - Jesus sharing His heart with His Father.  Sometimes the disciples would accompany Him, often He was alone; but always it was time when nothing els

Many Christians see prayer as a therapeutic comfort and emergency helpline.  Yes, it is certainly a great comfort to know that we are being heard, and especially when we know that God Himself has listened and understood our problems (Psalm 139:1-4).  For others, prayer is a routine ritual, often with the same words, but without the confidence that it will change anything (Matthew 6:7).  For such people, it may come as a surprise to know that when Jesus prayed it was very hard work indeed; He meant every word and knew He was thoroughly understood.  For Him it was far from

On the most critical evening of Jesus' ministry, His disciples let Him down.  It was not so much that they failed to provide moral or spiritual support to their mentor, but that after three years they had still not understood that prayer was essential.  That night, they had heard Jesus' specific instruction to watch and pray (Mark 14:32-42), but they did not think it mattered to obey and pray.  They were like the disappointing students who attended all the lectures and the practical classes but failed the examination because they did not think the subject was important.

The moment had arrived.  In the darkness Judas Iscariot appeared, leading a group of religious officials and temple security men.  But how were they to recognise Jesus among the disciples?  Judas had the answer and was ready to betray his Master, and did so with a kiss.  That kind of greeting was a normal mark of respect between students and their teachers, but with Judas the sign had lost its meaning.  It was simply a pre-arranged signal (Matthew 26:48), a premeditated trick totally devoid of love.
 

It was a very dark night.  Jesus had just been arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives – identified in the gloom by one of His disciples who betrayed Him with a kiss (Luke 22:47-48).  The Son of God, who created everything, was now bound and being led to His trial by those He made and had come to save.  It was already a travesty of justice; a farcical event.  As Jesus said, He had been teaching in the temple courts every day and they had had the opportunity to seize Him there.  But they did not have the courage (Luke 20:19).

Peter, who had proudly boasted of his unfailing loyalty to Jesus (Luke 22:33), was now betraying Him (Luke 22:34).  After three years of the Master's teaching, seeing many miracles and even having had a personal revelation of the true identity of his Lord (Matthew 16:13-17), none of that seemed to matter anymore.  The sordid betrayal by Judas (Luke 22:47-48), and the clumsy arrest of Jesus had left the disciples without their leader and protector.  

Twice, Peter had already denied that he knew Jesus (Luke 22:56-58).  Now the third denial aggressively left his lips.  He was confronted by a man who had seen him with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. John's account says, "One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, ‘Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?’" (John 18:26).  

Peter had just denied Jesus (Luke 22:54-62).  It had been a catastrophic failure of faith, and sadness for Jesus, although He already knew Peter would swear he never knew his Master (Luke 22:31-34).  Then, after that personal insult from a friend, the guards turned on Him.  That was no surprise to Jesus either.  It was prophesied in Isaiah 53:3-4 and predicted by Jesus in Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22.  Jesus knew and yet was determined to carry through His Father’s plan (Isaiah 50:7).

Jesus was under arrest and the trial process had begun.  The religious rulers were hoping Jesus would condemn Himself to death.  Under Roman law the death sentence could not be passed for religious offences, only those which threatened civil order or the stability of the empire.  However, the religious council could only deal with matters of the Jewish law, not Roman law.  But what was the charge and where was the evidence?  

Today's passage overlaps with yesterdays and is especially interesting because it shows two of Jesus' titles side by side.  Jesus had often spoken of Himself as 'Son of Man' (78 times in the Gospels).  It was a Messianic title from Daniel 7:13-14; and it also meant lowly humanity; it was God's name for the prophet Ezekiel, used 93 times in the prophecy.  Applied to Jesus (86 times in the Gospels), the name means that He is fully human, the child of a human being and a servant of human beings.