1/10/2008

To the olive grove

John 18:1-3 - When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

I wonder how Judas knew that the olive grove (the garden of Gethsemane) was where Jesus and the rest of the disciples had gone. Sure, he was familiar with the place, but how did he know Jesus would go there tonight?

Had it been mentioned at supper? I'm pretty sure the Bible doesn't record every single word that was spoken there.

Did Judas have spies tracking Jesus? Was that how he'd spent some of the cash he'd stolen from the money bag?

Did he look for Jesus in other places first? It doesn't seem like it took him very long to get his gang together and to find Jesus though. Then again, it's hard to calculate how much time all of this really took.

Did he stop by the house with the upper room first and ask the owner if he knew where the group had gone? The owner might at least have known the general direction if not the final destination.

Did Judas make an educated guess and get it right the first time? How many other places might Jesus logically have taken his disciples?

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