SPECIAL TOPIC: GETHSEMANE

SPECIAL TOPIC: GETHSEMANE

"Gethsemane" meant "oil press" in Hebrew and Aramaic. It apparently was a private garden (i.e. John 18:1) just outside the city limits of Jerusalem to the east on the Mount of Olives (cf. Zech. 14:4; Matt. 26:30; Luke 22:39). It was illegal to have gardens within the city because the manure needed for the plants made the city ceremonially unclean. Apparently Jesus came to this garden quite often (cf. Luke 21:37; 22:39; John 18:2) to

pray
rest
fellowship with the Twelve
It is even possible that during Passion Week He bivouacked here with His disciples.

This was the site of Jesus' betrayal by Judas (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22). It was here Jesus faced the agony of His own substitutionary death. He even prayed three times for His Father to change His mind about the need for Calvary (i.e., Isaiah 53; Zechariah 11; Mark 10:45; 2 Corinthians 5:21).