Most of us have heard the expression, “There’s more to it than meets the eye.” This means that there’s greater depth to a matter than what’s initially apparent. Such is the case with a little phrase tucked in the middle of John 18:1, which says,“When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.” This verse follows Jesus’ prayer for his disciples in chapter 17 and sets the stage for what happens in the Garden of Gethsemane.
“Across the Kidron Valley” is a phrase that we could read with little to no thought to get to the dramatic scene that takes place in Gethsemane. But there’s more to this phrase than meets the eye. It’s the tip of a biblical and theological iceberg that holds tremendous significance.
The Old Testament tells us that during the period of the divided kingdom, there were at least three cleansings of the temple that took place to purge Israel from idolatry. The first cleansing took place around 900 B.C. under King Asa, the third king of Judah, who destroyed the idols and burned them in the Kidron Valley. A similar cleansing occurred 200 years later under King Hezekiah. Then a third cleansing took place a century later, under King Josiah, around 622 B.C., shortly before the Babylonian Captivity. Israel’s idols were broken down and burned to ashes in the Kidron Valley.
Despite these cleansings, Israel kept returning to her idols. That was her problem … and ours. John Calvin described the human heart as a perpetual idol factory, always leading us to worship something other than God. This pattern continued throughout the Old Testament – and it would have continued, had God not intervened. At the outset of the Babylonian Captivity, the Lord promised that a day was coming when he would cleanse his people from idolatry and give them the power to follow him faithfully. Speaking through his prophet Ezekiel, the Lord said,
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
- Ezekiel 36:25-27
This promise would come at a price – the precious blood of God’s own Son. Hebrews 9 says that just as death is necessary for a will to take effect, so Jesus’ death was necessary for us to inherit this inner cleansing that God promised. So Jesus deliberately crossed the Kidron, ready to pay the price for us to receive the the blessings of the New Covenant – namely, pardon for sin and the power to obey God.
Hours earlier, a quarter-million lambs had been sacrificed on the altar of the temple, in preparation for Passover. This produced massive amounts of blood that had to be drained from the temple courtyard, along with all the water from the ritual cleansings. Where did all that blood and water go? To the Kidron Valley just outside the Temple walls! So as Jesus walked across the Kidron that night, water and blood flowed through the valley – a harbinger of the water & blood that would flow from his own body as he was pierced for our transgressions.
There’s one more thing you should know about the Kidron and how it relates to what happens in John 18. Second Samuel 15 tells us that King David crossed the Kidron when he was fleeing from his son Absalom. Scripture says that David “went up the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went.” To make matters worse, David was then told that Ahithophel, his close friend & advisor had betrayed him. It was on this occasion that David wrote Psalm 41, where he says, “He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.” This is the verse that Jesus quoted just hours before crossing the Kidron, during the Last Supper, when he predicted that one of his own disciples would betray him. Jesus said, “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he” (John 13:19) – literally, that you may believe that I AM.”
This is God going to the garden! Jesus isn’t on the run, he’s on the move! He deliberately goes to the place where he knows Judas will betray him. Jesus goes there in order to complete the mission that God the Father gave him – to provide salvation for all who would believe in him. Jesus went “across the Kidron Valley,” which symbolized what he would accomplish at the cross.
Quite often, there is more to the text than meets the eye! If we are willing to dig into God’s Word, we will discover a treasure trove of truth that will enrich and encourage us.