596
The Desire of Ages
had joined the temple police and the rabble in following Judas to
Gethsemane. What a company for those dignitaries to unite with—
a mob that was eager for excitement, and armed with all kinds of
implements, as if in pursuit of a wild beast!
[697]
Turning to the priests and elders, Christ fixed upon them His search-
ing glance. The words He spoke they would never forget as long as
life should last. They were as the sharp arrows of the Almighty. With
dignity He said: You come out against Me with swords and staves as
you would against a thief or a robber. Day by day I sat teaching in
the temple. You had every opportunity of laying hands upon Me, and
you did nothing. The night is better suited to your work. “This is your
hour, and the power of darkness.”
The disciples were terrified as they saw Jesus permit Himself
to be taken and bound. They were offended that He should suffer
this humiliation to Himself and them. They could not understand
His conduct, and they blamed Him for submitting to the mob. In
their indignation and fear, Peter proposed that they save themselves.
Following this suggestion, “they all forsook Him, and fled.” But Christ
had foretold this desertion, “Behold,” He had said, “the hour cometh,
yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and
shall leave Me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is
with Me.”
John 16:32
.
[698]