The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1899-05-12


He went forth with His disciples over the
brook Cedron." He had eaten the last
Passover with them, He had instituted the
supper which they should keepas memo
rial of Him till He should come again, He
had spoken unto them the words of chap
ters xiv to xvi after he had washed their
feet, He had prayed for them, they sang a
hymn Mark xiv, 26), aAd now in the
night He goes forth with them to Gethsem-
ane. He is rejected by His own people,
whom He came to bless, His son Israel
Eek. iv, %; Hos XII, y, and they have de-
terlnined to kill Him.
2. "Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with
His disciples" Hence Judas knew well
the place. One of the many times that
Jesus went thither is doubtless mentioned
in John viii, 1, when every man went
unto his own house. but Jesus went unto
the Mount of Olives He said that there
were times when the Son of Man had not
where to lay His head duke tx, 5S).
8. Judas and his band came with Ian
terms and torches and weapons. John
makes no reference to the events in the
garden before Judas came-the agony, the
conflict, the thrice repeated prayer and the
sleeping disciples, which are mentioned by
the other evangelists. Perhaps the tecol-
lection of it was too much for John, and
he could not write it.
4. They did not have to look for Him
with their lanterns nor use their weapons
to take Him. He knew all that should
come upon Him, and He went forth to
meet them, saying, Whom seek ye2' His
hour had come to bear our sins, and He
was ready to give Himself up. His prayer
in the garden was answered. He was de-
livered from dying there an angel strength
ened Him, and He was ready to go on to
the cross and finish the work He knew
it all before He left His home in glory.
He saw His own sufferings when He by
the shedding of blood provided the coats
of skins for Adam and Eve in Eden (Gen.
Iii, 21)
5. In answer to His question they said,
"Jesus of Nazareth" He instantly re-
piled, 81 am He, or, more correctly, 81
am, I" for the word 'he'' is in italics, indi-
eating that it is not in the Greek. He
used the name by which He had made
Himself known to Moses and to Israel, II
am" (Ex. iii, 14). 1t is often so in this
gospel. If you will notice it, see chapters
iv, IS; viii, a. etc.
6. "They went backward and fell to the
ground" He did nothing to them. He
kllu IlOU OOuCn UISlll, DuG Only SAID, L
am" Oh, the power of His word How
little we appreciate It'll How little we
know it! 1t created the worlds, brought
Israel out of Egypt, overthrow the Egyp-
tians. There is nothing too hard for Him.
These would have been all dead men, they
would never have risen to their feet again
had He so willed it. Yet they thought to
take Him by force. They thought to kill
Him. the Prince of Life.
7, s. Again He asked Them and they
answered the same as before. He said: 81
have told you that am. If therefore We
seek me, let these go their way" He
yielded Himself to them, but would save
His disciples from them. He saved others;
He could save Himself if He had willed
it, but He could not save Himself and
others too. He gave Himself up for us
that we might live He laid down His
life for us.
9. "Of them which thou gavest me I
have lost none" This He had said in His
prayer in chapter xvii, 10. Then Judas
was never given to Him; he was never one
of His sheep, never a saved man, for His
sheep can never perish; no power can
pluck them out of His hand John K,
27-29) He will never lose any of His
property. So we may keep on singing, 81
know whom l have believed and am per-
suaded that He is able to keep that which
l have committed unto Him against that
day" Oh Tim. i, 12). A lady told me re-
Gently that she felt so sorry for Judas be-
cause he had to do these things and could
not help it. We must remember that God is
love and willeth not the death of any sinner
TO- When Jesus said "He that hath no
sword, let him sell his garment and buy
one'' duke xxi, 36), think He was test
ing them, for when they said, Lord, be-
hold, here are two swords, " and He said,
at is enough" Hecertainly did not mean
the ~ to have each sword. Although
there were but two, Simon Peter carried
one of them. And now see the use he
makes of it, Many laundering Christian
has hindered others from hearing the Cos
pei since the days of Simon Peter Are
we by our lives and our testimony helping
or hindering those who should be hearing
of Him who died that they might liver
II. 1.-THE cup which My Father hath
given Me, shall 1 not drink it?' Jesus
told Peter to put up his sword, and He
touched Malchus' ear and healed him
Ouke xxi, 51). The weapons of our war
fare are not carnal What blessing that
our Lord can SO easily remedy our blum
deringsl But see what our Lord calls all
this, the betrayal of Judas, the hatred of
the rulers, etc.-'the cup which My Fa-
ther hath given Me" Compare Acts iv,
81, 2S, and learn from our great example
to see God in everything and to accept all
things pleasant or otherwise
10. They took Jesus and bound Him.
Judas actually kissed Him Mark xiv, 45).
"And Jesus suffered it, merely saying,
Betrayeth thou the Son of Man with O
kissS" duke xii, 49, Oh, how much
He bore for u.s. What unjust conduct and
seemingly uncomfortable indignitiesl And
we who bear His name and rejoice to be
redeemed by His precious blood find it So
hard to bear just little for Him, and
when it is anything very unjust or unkind
we are to refuse to put up with it, forget
ting Him who when He was reviied re-
viled not again; when II suffered, He
threatened not. leaving us 80 example II
Pet. ii, 23).
10. Having bound Him, they led Him
away to Annas first, the father-in-law of
Caiaphas, the high priest. Thus He was
brought as lamb to the slaughter, and as
a sheep 5efole her shearers is dumb, so He
openeth not His mouth lisa. lii, y. Just
think of the ha.lds being tied that were
ever being stretched forth to heal and
bless and ungodly men leading to death
their Creator and Redeemerl 1t was all
in the plan for our redemption and must
be carried out.
H. This Caiaphas, as the high priest,