When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
The duties of the priest were to teach, pray, and offer sacrifices. Jesus as the true high priest (Heb 5:10) has just finished teaching and praying and now goes forth to offer the once-and- for-all sacrifice of atonement for all mankind (Isa 53:10).
Hebrews 5:10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
Note that Jesus did not go to the garden until He had fully prepared His disciples for what was to come. He will never do any less for us, either! He never calls us to do anything for Him for which He will not first prepare us, and then enable us as we do it.
Why didn’t Jesus just wait in the upper room for Judas to bring the soldiers? Perhaps He wanted the time alone with God in the quiet of the Garden; He would not have changed His pattern of doing things just for comfort or safety (Dan 6:10); and if He had stayed in the city, many innocent people may have been drawn into trouble by interceding for Him like Peter is about to do.
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
As David had crossed over the Kidron in his flight from Absalom (2 Sam 15:23,30) so did the Son of David cross the brook with His faithful followers weeping as they fled the city of the Jews who rejected their true King.
2 Samuel 15:23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on towards the desert.
2 Samuel 15:30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.
There are 3 gardens mentioned in the Bible where man meets with God. The first is the Garden of Eden, this is the second where the man Jesus meets with His Father and men come to take Immanuel, God with us, to be killed, and the third is the garden in which there is a new tomb where the body of Jesus is laid and 3 days later the resurrected Christ meets with a woman grieving over losing Him (John 19:41-42, 20:14-17). In that first garden sin began, the curse was pronounced, and the Redeemer was promised. In this garden the Redeemer’s sufferings began to remedy sin and the resulting curse.
John 19:41-42 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no-one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was near by, they laid Jesus there.
John 20:14-17 At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Why did Jesus have His disciples with Him in the garden? He brought them for comfort (Mark 14:32-34), training, and as witnesses (Luke 24:48).
Mark 14:32-34 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
Luke 24:48 You are witnesses of these things.
Note that John doesn’t mention the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as do the other gospels. He has already shown that Jesus suffered agony (12:27) but his purpose, and that of the Holy Spirit, is to show another side of what happened that night. For Jesus, the cross was not something that showed humiliation or defeat, but triumph and glory. In this gospel account of the garden Jesus is shown to be totally in control of the situation at all times.
John 12:27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.