Gethsemane 

Gethsemane is the name of an area in Jerusalem at the foot of the Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet. It is a picturesque area filled with olive trees, often referred to as a garden for its beauty. It contains a public park called Gethsemane Park, with an area for camping and not far from the brook Kidron. There is an olive press near the entrance with a small shed. The name Gethsemane is derived from the Aramaic word for oil press.

There were two pathways up Mount Olivet, the lower via the road through the Kidron Valley to Gethsemane Park and the upper leading to the Bethany-Jerusalem road. Most people take the lower route, a more direct road to Jerusalem. Jesus, to avoid the crowds, took the upper road.

Following Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus requested some of the apostles to move their existing campsite over to just above Gethsemane Park to be closer to Jerusalem. On Tuesday morning, eight apostles moved their tents to this private parcel that belonged to Simon of Bethany, with a hillside ravine, large boulders, and many olive trees. They stayed here during Jesus’ final days. Interested inquirers came to Gethsemane to visit with Jesus.

On Tuesday afternoon, Jesus gave his last temple discourse concerning the end of the Jewish nation. It was then that Judas fully made up his mind to desert him. Afterward, they returned to the Gethsemane camp.

On Thursday night, after the last supper in Jerusalem, Jesus and the apostles returned to camp. Jesus led his apostles a short distance up Mount Olivet. As they kneeled on a large, flat rock, Jesus prayed to his Father. When they walked back, Jesus requested David Zebedee to send a message to Abner at Philadelphia stating he will be put to death but will rise again.

In Gethsemane, after a quiet moment at the camp, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a nearby ravine to pray, expressing his sorrow and seeking his Father’s will about his impending death. Despite asking for his disciples’ presence during this somber time, he found them asleep when he returned, highlighting his loneliness and the gravity of his emotional state. Persisting in his prayers for acceptance of his fate, Jesus was visited and strengthened by an angel, reaffirming his commitment to fulfill God’s will.

At the olive press, Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and taken by the soldiers to the palace of Annas situated on Mount Olivet not far from where they arrested him. In the courtyard, Peter denied knowing Jesus and returned to camp in utter despair. When Jesus was turned over to be crucified, a detachment of the temple guards hurried to Gethsemane to disperse or arrest anyone found. David Zebedee kept people informed throughout these events, operating his messenger service from Gethsemane.

The last appearance of the resurrected Jesus occurred in Jerusalem to his eleven apostles in the home of Elijah Mark. After addressing his apostles, Jesus led them about two-thirds up Mount Olivet. From this point, one could look out over Jerusalem and gaze upon the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus again spoke to them, bid farewell, and disappeared from their sight, ascending into Heaven.