Jesus came with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He told most of them to sit while he prayed, then took Peter, James, and John farther with him. Jesus began to be deeply distressed and troubled. He told the three that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death and asked them to remain there and keep watch.
Going a little farther, Jesus fell to the ground. He prayed that, if possible, the approaching hour might pass from him. He addressed God as Abba, Father, and said that all things were possible for him. Jesus asked that the cup be taken away, yet submitted his own desire to what the Father willed.
When Jesus returned, the three disciples were asleep. Calling Peter by the name Simon, he asked whether he had been unable to keep watch for a single hour. He told them to watch and pray so that they would not enter into temptation. Their spirit was willing, he said, but their flesh was weak.
Jesus went away and prayed again with the same words. When he returned, the disciples were asleep once more because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Jesus withdrew a third time and then came back. He announced that the hour had arrived and that the Son of Man was being handed over into the hands of sinners.
Jesus told the disciples to rise and go, because the one betraying him was near. While he was still speaking, Judas appeared. Judas was one of the Twelve, and he arrived with a crowd carrying swords and clubs. The chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders had sent them.
Judas had arranged a signal in advance. The man he kissed would be Jesus, and the crowd was to arrest that man and lead him away under guard. Judas approached at once, addressed Jesus as teacher, and kissed him. The crowd laid hands on Jesus and took him.
Someone standing nearby drew a sword, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear. Jesus asked the crowd why they had come with swords and clubs as though pursuing a bandit. He had taught openly in the temple day after day without being arrested. What was happening, he said, fulfilled the Scriptures.
All the disciples abandoned Jesus and fled. A young man wearing only a linen cloth had been following him, and the crowd seized him. He left the cloth in their hands. The young man ran away naked.