red among" them, as Peter
afterward said of him "who was guide to them that took Jesus." At the
entrance to the garden Jesus paused and said to eight, "Sit ye here
while I go yonder and pray." So had Abraham nineteen hundred years
before, pointing to Mount Moriah, visible from Olivet in the moonlight,
said "unto his young men, Abide ye here ... and I and the lad will go
yonder and worship."

That very night Jesus was to ascend that very Mount on His way as a
sacrifice, without any angel to stay the sacrificial hand.

At the garden gate there was no formal farewell, but a solemn final
charge, "Pray that ye enter not into temptation." Jesus knew that the
hour had come in which should be fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy. Sadly
He had declared in the Upper Room, "All ye shall be offended because of
Me this night; for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the
sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad."

He dreads to be entirely alone. He longs for companionship. He craves
sympathy. In whose heart is it the tenderest and deepest? There is no
guessing here. The names are already on our lips. Answer is found in the
home of Jairus and on Hermon. Those whom He had led into the one, and
"apart" onto the other, He would have alone with Him in the garden. So
"He taketh with Him Peter and James and John." These companions of His
glory shall also be of His sorrow.

As Jesus advanced into the garden, the three discovered a change in
Him--a contrast to the calmness of the Upper Room and the assurances of
victory with which He had left it. He "began to be sore amazed and
sorrowful and troubled," and "to be very heavy." We have seen John
apparently quicker than others to detect his Lord's thoughts and
emotions. We imagine him walking closest to His side, and watching as
closely every change of His countenance and every motion that revealed
the inward struggle. And so when Jesus broke the silence, he was
somewhat prepared to hear Him say to the three, "My soul is exceeding
sorrowful even unto death."

[Illustration: CHRIST BEFORE CAIAPHAS _Old Engraving_ Page 176]

The moment had come when He must deny Himself even the little comfort
and strength of the immediate presence of the three. So saying, "Tarry
ye here and watch with Me," He turned away. They must not follow Him to
the spot of His greatest conflict. There He must be alone, beyond the
reach of human help, however strong or loving. Even that which He had
found in the