Then shortly after, the company left the room and walked into the streets, and over the meadows near by.  Then under the trees of the Garden of Gethsemane, apart from His disciples, now reduced to Eleven, He gave Himself up to prayer and meditation.  He called aloud to The Father to give Him strength for the final ordeal.  Struggling with His doubts and fears and misgivings—­conquering His physical inclination and impulses—­He gave utterance to that supreme cry:  “O Father, Thy will, not mine, be done!” and in so saying He cast behind Him forever His right of choice to stay the awful course of events which was pressing upon Him.  Resigning His mighty occult power of defense, He laid Himself upon the altar of sacrifice even as the Paschal Lamb.

Leaving behind Him the Garden in which He had just performed this greatest miracle of all—­the miracle of Renunciation—­He stepped out among His disciples, saying, “The hour has come—­the betrayer is here to do his work.”

Then were heard sounds of clanking arms, and martial tread, and in a moment the military guard appeared on the scene, accompanied by a delegation of ecclesiastics, and with them, walking in advance, was Judas Iscariot.  Judas, walking as one in a trance, approached the Master and, saluting Him with a kiss, cried, “Hail, Master,” which was the signal to the guard, arranged between Judas and the High Priest.  Then cried Jesus, “Ah, with a kiss—­thou, Judas, betrayeth the Son of Man with a kiss!  Oh!” And in that moment it seemed that the Master’s grief had reached its utmost limit.  Then the guard closed around Him and carried Him away.

But He resisted them not.  As they approached Him He called out, “Whom seek ye?” And the leader answered, “We seek him whom men call Jesus of Nazareth.”  Then answered the Master, “I am He whom thou seeketh!” But the disciples resisted the arrest, and Peter cut off the ear of one of the party, a servant of the High-priest.  But Jesus bade His followers desist, and, approaching the wounded man, placed his severed ear in place and healed it instantly.  Then He rebuked His disciples, telling them that, had He so desired, the whole of the legions of heaven would have come to His assistance.  Then He bade the leader conduct Him from the place.  But alas! as He left, He turned to bid farewell to His disciples, and lo! to a man they had fled and deserted Him, leaving Him alone in His hour of trial—­yea! as every humble soul must be alone in its moments of supreme struggle—­alone with its Creator.

Then down toward the city they led Him—­the Master of All Power, an humble captive, non-resistant and awaiting the course of The Will.  They took Him to the palace of the Jewish High-priest, where the Sanhedrin was assembled in secret session awaiting His coming.  And there He stood erect before these ecclesiastical tyrants to be judged—­bound with the cord as a common criminal.  He, whose single effort of His will would have shattered the whole palace to pieces and have destroyed every human being within its walls!