Hello again, and welcome back to Kid's Bible Stories. Today's story is called, The Garden Where Jesus Talked to God. And this comes from Matthew chapter 26 verses 36 through 56. And a quick reminder that out of respect for each family's ages and stages of life, I have adapted some of this. So please read the scriptures referenced in the show notes, and from there you can decide to discuss further what's appropriate for your family. Now let's continue with today's episode. Last week, we heard Jesus lovingly wash his disciples' feet. We heard about the special Last Supper, and that one of Jesus' disciples would betray him. The suspense has been building up. What's going to happen? Get ready for some twists and turns as we pick up our story here. Jesus then went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. The twisted brown trunks of the trees rose up, where the soft green olives hung amongst the branches. Standing encircled in the grove of green leaves, Jesus looked at his close friends and said, Sit here while I go and pray. He told Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to come with him. As the men walked together, they said nothing. Jesus began to be very sad and troubled. He said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, My heart is full of sorrow and breaking with sadness. Stay here with me and watch. Then Jesus walked a little further away from them. The trees cast shadows of moonlight on his face, and a light gust of wind made the leaves dance. With each step, the weight of what was to come hung heavy on his shoulders. Heavier now and heavier until Jesus fell to the ground and began to pray. My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want. Jesus pulled himself off the ground and went back to his followers, finding them fast asleep. Jesus said to Peter, You men could not stay awake with me for one hour. Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak. Then Jesus went away a second time. He prayed. My Father, if it is not possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, then I pray what you want will be done. Listeners, do you know why Jesus is filled with sadness? Say out loud if you think you know. Thanks for sharing. It's because he knows the time has come for him to go to the cross and die for our sins. God had a plan all along to send Jesus, our wonderful Savior, to save us, and the time has now come. He is talking to God, the Father, about this and saying, He will obey and do this, even if it is very hard. Jesus went back to his friends. Again, he found them asleep. So Jesus left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time, he prayed, he said the same thing to God the Father. Coming back to his friends, he knew the moment had come. He woke them a final time and said, You are still sleeping and resting? The time has come. The Son of Man will be given to sinful people. Get up. We must go. Here comes the man who has turned against me. While Jesus was still speaking, who shows up but Judas. Judas walked through the olive trees, pushing the branches aside, and moved towards Jesus. Judas was one of the twelve followers. He ate meals with Jesus, talked and hung out with him. He had been very close with Jesus. So you may be surprised to hear what happens next. Judas stood there with a group of people he had brought with him. They were armed with swords and clubs. Judas had planned to give them a signal. He told them, The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him. Just once, Judas went to Jesus. Greetings, teacher. He said, Then Judas kissed him. Jesus answered, Friend, do the thing you came to do. What? Judas went from being a close follower of Jesus to turning on him, having him arrested? While we may be surprised by this twist, Jesus is not. Remember what he said right before Judas showed up. Here comes the man who has turned against me. We can be comforted knowing Jesus is always in control. He knows everything. Nothing surprises him. Let's continue. Let's get him. Then the men grabbed and arrested him. Jesus had done nothing wrong. I wonder if the friends were outraged and confused. Judas had been part of their group. What was he doing betraying Jesus? Seeing Jesus firmly held as a prisoner by these men, angered one of Jesus' friends. Jesus' friend reached for his sword, pulled it out, and struck the servant of the high priest with the sword, cutting off his ear. Jesus said to the man, Put your sword back in its place. Surely you know I could ask my father, and he would give me more than 12 armies of angels. But this thing, it must happen this way, so that it will be as Scripture says. Jesus looked at the crowd and said, You, you come to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Yet every day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me there. But all these things have happened, so that it will be as the prophets wrote. Then all of Jesus' friends left him and ran away. Well, that is it for our story today, but before we go, let's think about what we just heard. Did you just hear what Jesus' friends did at the end? They ran away. They left him. How would that make you feel? Yeah, I would feel so sad and alone. If you ever feel alone, you know you can talk to Jesus, right? He understands what it feels like, and guess what? He will never leave you alone. Now, what do we find Jesus doing at the beginning of our story? I'll give you options. Is he making bread? No. Is he sleeping? Nope. Is he praying? Yes, he is talking to God. We get to hear this beautiful prayer. Jesus knows the time has come for him to go to the cross, and what does he do? He prays. He tells God honestly how he feels that this is going to be hard, but he will obey. You see, Jesus chose to save us. It wasn't like Jesus had another plan, and suddenly Judas and the mean men snuck up on him, throwing off his original plan. No. In fact, Jesus just said, Surely you know I could ask my father, and he would give me more than 12 armies of angels. But this thing, it must happen this way, so that it will be as Scripture says. Jesus could have whispered one word, and hundreds of angels would have appeared to rescue him. But he doesn't do this. Why? Because he chose to. He chose to obey God because he loves God the Father. And God's plan had been there all along to rescue us, because he loves you and me that much. Now, does our story end with Jesus being arrested? Yes. Things don't look so good. Sometimes in our world, things look like endings, but to God, it's really a beginning. We have hope, because we know this is not the end of our story. Make sure to tune in next week to hear what happens next. Thank you so much for listening today, and as always, bye for now.
