Gethsemane
Some sites -- like Galilee or Jerusalem -- come with a variety of associations. What event do you think of first when you hear "Galilee"? What story from Scripture pops immediately into mind when you hear "Jerusalem"? Five different people might come up with five different answers.
Not so with Gethsemane. Its fame is tied completely to one event, one night. For the Garden of Gethsemane was the place where Jesus prayed prior to being arrested, tried, and crucified. It is a place of agony, beauty, obedience, and love. Gethsemane is located on the Mount of Olives, which is a hill east of Jerusalem. The Gospel accounts of Holy Week suggest that Jesus and His disciples were very probably spending their nights that week lodging in Bethany, which was on the other side of the Mount of Olives. It seems likely, therefore, that Jesus and His disciples made the trip over the Mount of Olives to Bethany each evening and then back over to Jerusalem each morning. Perhaps it was their custom to stop and pray in Gethsemane, which is why Judas knew Jesus would be there. The word "Gethsemane" means "oil press," which suggests that at one time there was an apparatus there for generating olive oil from the abundant, nearby olive trees. Matthew and Mark mention the place by name in their accounts of the night. John refers simply to a garden. Luke refers more broadly to the Mount of Olives. The episode in Gethsemane has been depicted in countless paintings, statues, music, and dramas. The four biblical accounts of the scene are found here:
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