Sin and Grace in the Garden - Intro to John 18

Sin and Grace in the Garden - Intro to John 18

The private ministry of our Lord with His disciples is finished, and the public drama of redemption is about to begin. Man will do his worst and God will give His very best. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20).

Perhaps the best way to understand the truth found in John 18:1-27 and the lessons that it teaches is to take note of the symbolism that is involved. John’s gospel is rich with symbols, some more obvious than others, and these symbols convey some important spiritual truths. This section contains five such symbols.

The Garden Obedience (18:1)

The Kidron Valley lies to the east of Jerusalem, between the city wall and the Mount of Olives; the garden of Gethsemane lies on the western slope of Olivet. Jesus often went to this garden with His disciples, no doubt to rest, meditate, and pray (Luke 22:39). Pilgrims were thronging Jerusalem to keep the Passover, and Jesus would want to withdraw away from the crowded city to a quiet place. He knew Judas would be there to come for Him, and He was prepared.

Human history began in a garden (Gen. 2:8ff.), and man’s first sin was committed there. The first Adam disobeyed God and was cast out of the garden, but the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) was obedient as He went into the garden of Gethsemane. In the garden, the first Adam brought sin and death to all mankind, but Jesus, by His obedience, brought righteousness and life to all who trust Him. He was “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8).

One day history will close in another garden, the heavenly city that John describes in Revelation 21 and 22. There will be no more death in that garden, no more curse. And the river of the water of life will flow forever. And the tree of life will be full of fruit. Eden is the garden of disobedience and sin; Gethsemane, the garden of obedience and submission; and heaven, the eternal garden of delight and satisfaction, to the glory of God.

The name Gethsemane means “oil press.” There are ancient olive trees in Gethsemane even today, but certainly not the ones that were there in Jesus’ day. The olives would be harvested and put in the press for their oil. What a picture of suffering! So our Lord would pass through the “winepress” and the “oil press” (Isa. 63:3) and taste our judgment for us.

The brook Kidron is also an interesting place. The name means “dusky, gloomy” and refers to the dark waters, which were often stained with the blood from the temple sacrifices. Our Lord and His disciples were about to go through “dark waters,” and Jesus would feel the “waves and billows” of God’s wrath (Ps. 42:7; cf. Jonah 2:3).

The Kidron had special historical significance, for King David crossed the Kidron when he was rejected by his nation and betrayed by his own son, Absalom (2 Sam. 15; also note John 18:23). Jesus had been rejected by His people and now was being betrayed by one of His own disciples! It is remarkable that David’s treacherous counselor Ahithophel hanged himself (2 Sam. 17:23) and that David’s treacherous son Absalom was caught in a tree and killed hanging there (2 Sam. 18:9–17). "Of course, Judas went out and hung himself (Matt. 27:3-10).
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Even though Jesus knew fully what was in store for Him, He went to the garden in obedience to the Father’s will. He left eight of the men near the entrance and took Peter, James, and John and went to another part of the garden to pray (Matt. 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42). His human soul needed the encouragement and companionship they could offer him at this critical hour, but alas! They went to sleep! The men had no trouble bragging about their devotion to Christ, but when the test came, they failed miserably. However, before we judge them too severely, we had better examine our hearts.