What happened during Jesus' last hours before His death?

"Then Jesus comes with them to a place called Gethsemane, and says to the disciples, sit here until I go away and pray yonder. And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply depressed. Then He says to them, My soul is very sorrowful even unto death; remain here and watch with Me. And going forward a little He fell upon His face, praying and saying, My Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from Me; but not as I will, but as Thou wilt. And He comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping, and says to Peter, Thus ye have not been able to watch one hour with Me? Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak. Again going away a second time He prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Thy will be done. And coming He found them again sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And leaving them He went away again and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then He comes to the disciples and says to them, Sleep on now and take your rest; behold the hour has drawn nigh, and the Son of man is delivered up into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us go; behold he that delivers me up has drawn nigh." (Verses 36-46)

(Vv. 32-42). It was a deep sorrow to the Lord that the nation were plotting to put Him to death, that one of the twelve was about to betray Him, that another was going to deny Him, and all would be offended because of Him, but in Gethsemane the Lord faces the far deeper sorrow that He was about to endure at the cross when, made sin, He would be forsaken by God. In the presence of this great sorrow, as in all the other trials of His perfect life, He gave Himself to prayer. But, whatever relief prayer may bring, the immediate effect is to make the trial more acutely felt. Prayer brings all the circumstances into the presence of God, there to be realised in all their true character. The ruin of Israel, the treachery of a Judas, the weakness and failure of His own, the power and enmity of Satan, the reality of judgment, the righteous requirements of a holy God, were surely felt and entered into by our Lord in the presence of the Father.

As to the scene in Gethsemane, Matthew and Mark describe it in much the same terms. Leaving His disciples, the Lord, prostrate on the ground, prays that "this cup" might pass from Him. The horror of the Cross, the bearing of sin, is in view. But it was not possible, and He says — accepting it from His Father's hand — "Not what I will, but what Thou wilt" (ver. 36). Then He comes forth ready to be led away to the Jewish Sanhedrim that was thirsting for His life.

When our Lord Jesus took the disciples with Him into the Garden of Gethsemane, just before the cross, He said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." (Matt. 26:38). The word used in the Greek New Testament for "exceeding sorrowful" is one word, peri-lupos. Peri, the first half of the word, means 'around.' We get our word 'perimeter' from it. The last half of the word, lupos, means 'sorrow.' The whole word literally means, 'surrounded with sorrow.' Which ever way our Lord looked, there was sorrow: unutterable sorrow, on every side. Then He, the Man of Sorrows, turned to His Father in prayer. Then, only, do we hear Him say, "Abba, Father." It was then, being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44).

We do not sufficiently seek to have the Lord with us in the prospect of suffering. How was it with Jesus, Our blessed Lord, when the hour of His conflict was coming on, when, in the garden of Gethsemane, He was entering by anticipation into the bitterness of death, spent the whole night in watchings and prayer. "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Coming to His disciples, He finds them "sleeping for sorrow:" they sank under it. He says to Peter, "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Jesus prays yet more earnestly, and is strengthened for "this hour" - so that when the "great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people," come to take Him, He steps calmly, firmly forward, saying, "Whom seek ye?" - "I am He." Then "they (the disciples) all forsook Him, and fled."

BEFORE THE JEWISH COUNCIL (vs.66-71)

In the early morning the Jewish council (the Sanhedrim) was gathered to sit in judgment against the Lord Jesus. Yet the due order of a court was glaringly absent. No charge was laid, but they asked Him if He was the Christ. He responded that if He would tell them the truth, they would not believe Him. They had already made up their minds to disbelieve Him. On the other hand, if He would ask them the same question, that is, if He was Christ, they would not answer. They did not want to be involved in a discussion as to who the Christ really is, lest they should trap themselves. But they demanded that He declare Himself, was He the Christ? Why did they ask Him this? He had not demanded any official position as Christ, the Messiah. Nor would His answer to them in one way or the other affect their determination not to let Him go. They were seeking only some deceitful justification for their murderous intentions.

Before the Sanhedrin. — But blasphemy, whilst punishable by the Mosaic law, was not in this instance a charge that the Roman governor would take cognisance of; and further, ere carrying the case to Pilate, the Lord must be formally dealt with. For that a trial by day, it would seem, was necessary. The day had dawned. The Sanhedrin therefore was summoned. The Lord was brought before it. Now of this the third examination since His arrest Luke alone gives us any detailed account (22:66-71), though both Matthew (26:1) and Mark (15:1) refer to it; the three evangelists agreeing that this last, held before the elderhood of the chief priests and scribes, was quite different from the examination before Caiaphas during the night. Before the Sanhedrin the question raised and put to the Lord was, "If thou art the Christ, tell us" (Luke 22:67). An answer in the affirmative might bring Him within the power of Roman law. For as the Christ Pilate might hold that He laid claim to temporal sovereignty over the Jews, and thus denied the authority of Caesar. Before Caiaphas the Lord was asked if He was the Son of the Blessed, and was adjudged worthy of death on His reply in the affirmative. To His claim to be the Son of God Pilate would have been perfectly indifferent. Hence before the Sanhedrin He was asked about His Messiahship. Admitting that, the council would have something tangible upon which to accuse Him before Pilate. To their question the Lord replied in the affirmative, and added, "From henceforth shall the Son of man be seated on the right hand of the power of God," referring to Psalm 110:1, and speaking of His ascension, but omitting all reference to Dan. 7:13-14, which tells of His return. They well understood what was involved in that reference, as they immediately challenged Him, "Art thou then the Son of God?" He was, He is, and He admitted it. The trial was concluded. To Pilate would they take Him.

Before Pilate and before Herod. — Standing at Caesar's judgment-seat (Acts 25:10), the Roman governor being the emperor's representative, we learn from Luke the nature of the indictment, and perhaps the very form of it: "We have found this one perverting our [not, the] nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (23:2). But Pilate evidently was in no mood to take serious cognisance of the accusation. He asked the Lord, was He the King of the Jews? He admitted it to Pilate. However, there was nothing that called for his judicial dealing, for, addressing the chief priests and the multitude, he said, "I find no fault in this man." He knew, as both Matthew (27:18) and Mark (15:10) tell us, that for envy the chief priests had delivered Him up; so he tried several times, as the history shows, to escape the responsibility of condemning the Lord to death. Some of these attempts Luke recounts. His first refusal to entertain any charge only made the chief priests and multitude more urgent in their demand. "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee even to this place." The offence being committed in Judaea would be a ground for Pilate to entertain the charge; but their mention of Galilee afforded, he thought, an opening for getting rid of the case. Was He a Galilean? If so, to Herod should they go. To Herod, who was then at Jerusalem, Pilate therefore sent the Lord. Before Herod the Lord was silent, though questioned in many words, and vehemently accused by the chief priests and scribes. Nothing, however, was gained by Pilate, for Herod, after he had, with his soldiers, set Him at nought, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, sent Him back to the Roman governor. Herod and Pilate became friends. But Pilate's difficulty was in no way diminished.

Mark (Mark 15:1-20). No added features of the trial before Pilate are given in Mark,which closely follows Matthew, without, however, the record of the dream of Pilate's wife. After the sentence has been given against the Lord, certain details of wanton cruelty are mentioned. The governor orders Him to be scourged, and the soldiers hold a mock court of honor in which they go through the semblance of crowning and enthroning Him as king. The crown of thorns and a purple robe of royalty are put upon Him, a reed instead of a sceptre, and while bowing the knee, their spittle shows their contempt. After the mock homage He is reclothed in His own garments — for He could be none other than Himself — and led away to be crucified.

Luke (Luke 23:1-25). Minuter details of the trial are given here. Question and answer pass between Pilate and the people. In this Evangelist alone we see the futile effort of poor Pilate to rid himself of responsibility by turning our Lord over to king Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, in whose jurisdiction He was. Herod and his men join in the mockery which everywhere is meted out to the Lord,who in the meekness of holiness is silent amid it all. He is returned to Pilate who cannot escape responsibility in this way; and the friendship thus regained with Herod is sealed by mutual guilt in the condemnation of the Just. Willing enough to compromise with the people by chastising One whom he had just pronounced innocent, he again would make use of the Passover custom to release the Lord. But the people clamor for a robber and a murderer rather than the Lord; thirsty for His blood, they prevail over Pilate, and Jesus is delivered to their will.

In Luke we see, that when it was day, the elders, chief priests, and scribes led Him into their council, where the question was raised as to His Messiahship, and His being the Son of God, and settled for themselves in His rejection. They led Him first to the palace of the high priest, from that to the council in the morning, then to the hall of judgment; after this Pilate scourged Him, and permitted the soldiers to insult Him.

Before Pilate the Son of Man is accused as a perverter of the nation and as an enemy of the Roman government. They had attempted to ensnare Him with the question of the tribute money and failed so miserably in it. Their motive stands now uncovered. Pilate asks Him concerning His Kingship, which the Lord answered affirmatively. Thus He witnessed to two facts, His Sonship and His Kingship. Luke tells us what Matthew and Mark omit, that Pilate sent Him to Herod. The silence of the Son of Man standing before that wicked king is very solemn. Then He is mocked by Herod and his soldiers. Herod and Pilate became united in rejecting Christ. See how this fact is used in the first prayer meeting after the church had been formed. Acts 4:23-30.