Section 4
to impart Himself to us as life. He knew that it was only through death that He could release Himself into us as life. In fact, He had already said that He was the one grain of wheat that was to fall into the ground and die (12:24). If a grain of wheat is unwilling to die, how can it release its life to bring forth many grains? In John 18 and 19 we see clearly that the Lord Jesus was very willing to die.
GOING TO THE GARDEN
The first proof of the Lord's willingness to die was that He went to the garden (18:1). This means that He went to a place where He could be captured. In His long message recorded in John 14 through 16, He made the process so clear. Then, in chapter seventeen, He prayed for the process. After He prayed, He went to the gar den. According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Lord went to the garden to pray. These three Gospels reveal that the Lord was the sin-bearer who was under the burden of bearing our sins. Thus, He had to go to the Father and pray. But there is no such record in the Gospel of John. John's record shows that He went to the garden not to pray but to present Himself to the process. He went there to be captured, to be arrested, to