The Kidron Valley

Today’s reading: John 18:1-24

"After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with His disciples..." - John 18:1

This may be a verse we would normally pass by on our way to the Garden scene, but it has a ton of significance in regards to it being the time of Passover. The following quote gives us vivid imagery of the scene:

All the Passover lambs were killed in the Temple, and the blood of the lambs was poured on the altar as an offering to God. The number of lambs slain for the Passover was immense. On one occasion, thirty years later than the time of Jesus, a census was taken and the number was 256,000. We may imagine what the Temple courts were like when the blood of all these lambs was dashed on to the altar. From the altar there was a channel down to the brook Kidron, and through that channel the blood of the Passover lambs drained away. When Jesus crossed the brook Kidron, it would still be red with the blood of the lambs which had been sacrificed; and as he did so, the thought of his own sacrifice would surely be vivid in his mind. 

- Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of John (Vol. 2, p. 258)

Some also say that the bed of the Kidron Valley was permanently stained by the blood of the lambs that were sacrificed.

In verse four, we see that Jesus "fully realized all that was going to happen to Him" -- this is all starting to sink in. This is after he has prayed, "not my will, but yours be done" in the Garden.

What Jesus did for us on the cross was not just intense physically, it was also intense mentally. He had known the plan, but now he was going to experientially know the plan, which was more painful than anyone could have ever imagined.

This gives a new feel to the following verses (also written by John):

These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. - Revelation 7:14

They triumphed over him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb. - Revelation 12:11

Jesus, thank you for being our sacrificial Lamb, doing for us what we could never on our own.