Now It's REAL – Jn. 18:1-18

Have you ever had one of those moments when something you had previously only heard about suddenly became reality? The experience could be good or bad. I remember when the first Gulf War started. I remember explicitly where I was when I heard the news. I remember discussing the draft with a coworker (I was 8 months shy of 26, so still draft-eligible.) Suddenly war was real to me.

I was born in 1965. I had heard of Vietnam, but it was winding down by the time I was cognizant of it. The reality of war and my potential involvement had never really ht me until that Jan. night in 1991. But when I heard the announcement on the 5:00 news, war was a sudden reality. Now, picture the disciples in a similar scenario. Everything Jesus had been saying about his death was just a story -- until it began unfolding in the garden of Gethsemane.