Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith
unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he
took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be
sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with
me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou _wilt_. And he cometh unto
the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What,
could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter
not into temptation: the spirit indeed _is_ willing, but the flesh
_is_ weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O
my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it,
thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their
eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed
the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his
disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take _your_ rest:
behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that
doth betray me.--_St. Matt, xxvi: 36-46._
* * * * *
_NOTE BY THE ARTIST_
_As the word Gethsemane means the "oil press" the "Garden" was in all
probability an olive yard, whose actual site, though it cannot be
determined with certainty, must have been in the immediate vicinity
at least of the spot which age-long tradition indicates as the scene
of the Agony. The great age of the trees in this enclosure has been
urged in favor of the tradition, but it is fatal to their claim as
witnesses, that Titus is known to have cut down, for military
purposes, all the trees in the neighborhood of the besieged city.
This site is now owned by the Russians who have turned it into a neat
and trim garden, and built a bright new white church on the upper
level with five large gilded bulbous domes_.