ent to the
temptations immediately following the Lord's baptism[1238] was surpassed
and overshadowed by this supreme contest with the powers of evil.

In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible,
the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam
to the end of the world. Modern revelation assists us to a partial
understanding of the awful experience. In March 1830, the glorified
Lord, Jesus Christ, thus spake: "For behold, I, God, have suffered these
things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if
they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering
caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of
pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit:
and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink--
nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my
preparations unto the children of men."[1239]

From the terrible conflict in Gethsemane, Christ emerged a victor.
Though in the dark tribulation of that fearful hour He had pleaded that
the bitter cup be removed from His lips, the request, however oft
repeated, was always conditional; the accomplishment of the Father's
will was never lost sight of as the object of the Son's supreme desire.
The further tragedy of the night, and the cruel inflictions that awaited
Him on the morrow, to culminate in the frightful tortures of the cross,
could not exceed the bitter anguish through which He had successfully
passed.

THE BETRAYAL AND THE ARREST.[1240]

During the period of the Lord's last and most loving communion with the
Eleven, Judas had been busy in his treacherous conspiracy with the
priestly authorities. It is probable that the determination to make the
arrest that night was reached when Judas reported that Jesus was within
the city walls and might easily be apprehended. The Jewish rulers
assembled a body of temple guardsmen or police, and obtained a band of
Roman soldiers under command of a tribune; this band or cohort was
probably a detachment from the garrison of Antonia commissioned for the
work of the night on requisition of the chief priests.[1241] This
company of men and officers representing a combination of ecclesiastical
and military authority, set forth in the night with Judas at their head,
intent on the arrest of Jesus. They were equipped with lanterns,
torches, and weapons. It is probable that they were first