The night of the Lord’s Supper and the betrayal would make an action-packed thriller of a novel in our world today.

Many scholars believe Jesus and his disciples, minus Judas, left the Upper Room and walked to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent time praying. This was when He invited Peter, James and John to join Him, but they couldn’t stay awake. You can read this account in Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; and in Luke 27:40-46).

As you read the account of this time, I would challenge you to note the agony Jesus must have felt.  I would assume He felt very alone. One of His best friends, Judas, was leading a band of soldiers to come and arrest Him. Three more of his best friends, Peter, James and John, could even stay awake to pray with Him. The Luke account says that “His sweat was like drops of blood” indicating a great deal of stress upon His body.

In Matthew 26:39 He pleaded with God, His Father, about whether “this cup be taken” from Him. I don’t believe this was a request to avoid the suffering or to avoid death. His suffering and His death were part of the plan He signed on for, before the beginning of time. The separation from God was part of the plan too, but it was just about more than He could bear.

The idea of being separated from God brought about great stress in the life of Jesus. I’m thinking we might need to learn a lesson from that. We need to make sure we don’t allow anything, sin, to get between us and God. That’s what happened in the Garden with Adam & Eve. They allowed doubts which turned into sin, to separate them from God. And look at the mess it caused!

Back to the Garden of Gethsemane. I believe the arrest of Jesus happened about midnight, or perhaps a little earlier. Keep in mind, that Jesus was placed on the cross at the time of the morning sacrifice which was 9 AM. The next nine hours were jammed packed.

There were six judicial trials that happened from the time Jesus was arrested and taken away to the time He was nailed to the cross.

There were five rules pertaining to all trials at this time.

#1—A trial was never to be conducted at night

#2—The accused could have an attorney speak on their behalf

#3—The accused could not be declared guilty without reputable witnesses

#4—Members of a Jewish court, after hearing testimony in a capital crime, were not allowed to render an immediate verdict. They were required to adjourn for two day and two nights before returning and hear once again the testimony against the accused

#5—The Sanhedrin was supposed to vote, one person at a time. The youngest members were to vote first so they would not be influenced by the older members. Since there were 70 members to the Sanhedrin, this would have taken a great deal of time.

Here’s a list of the trials along with the Scripture references:

Trial #1—Before Annas, ex-high priest of the Jews, owner of the Bazaars of Annas, the marketplace set up in the Temple Courts—John 18:13-23

Trial #2—Before Caiaphas,  the current High Priest and son-in-law to Annas along with the entire Sanhedrin—Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; John 18:24

Trial #3—Before the Sanhedrin—The seventy ruling men of Israel—Mark 15:1a; Luke 22:66-71

Trial #4—Before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea—Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:1b-5; Luke 23:1-7; John 18:28- 38

Trial #5—Before Herod Antipas, Roman governor of Galilee—Luke 23:8-12

Trial #6—Back to Pilate—Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:29-19:6

At the end of the six trials, it is probably 7 AM. All trials were illegal. Five times Jesus is declared innocent by Pilate and by Herod. Yet the Jews still called for His death. They even traded a known murderer, Barabbas, for the life of Jesus.

I think the cross Jesus was hung on had been prepared for Barabbas. But just as He did for you and me, Jesus took the place of this renowned sinner.

Pause for a just a bit, think about it, an innocent man, a sinless man, the Son of God, took your place, took my place, on the cross!

Always in Pursuit!

Don