“According to my information, there were also several women in your party, among them the mother of Jesus and also Mary Magdalene. Where did they take the Paschal supper?”

“With the widow Mary, her son, and a few neighbors on the lower floor of the house.”

“Matthew, I realize that you have had six years to think about and discuss the events of that night with the others who were involved. By now you probably have a much clearer picture of everything that was said and done. I don’t know if this is possible, but I would like you to try to answer my questions only from what you personally remember seeing and hearing and living through during and after that supper. For example, early in the meal, I’ve been told, Jesus gave an order to Judas, who immediately left the room. Did you, from your position at the supper table, hear what was said?”

“No, but—”

“At the time did you consider it unusual that Judas should leave during the meal?”

“No. Judas was always running errands or purchasing supplies or making arrangements for sleeping quarters on our behalf. I remember thinking that perhaps Jesus had sent him downstairs to the widow Mary for some purpose connected with the food, but truly his absence was not unusual.”

“The supper that night was a long one, was it not?”

“Yes, longer than any meal we had ever taken together. Besides the customary rituals of the Passover supper, Jesus had much to tell us about the future. Some of what he said gladdened our hearts, while many of his words frightened us.”

I fought against the strong temptation to get into the message of the Last Supper and asked instead, “Where did your group go when the supper was finally ended and all of you left the house?”

“We believed that we were returning to the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany, while the women were to remain with the widow until we came back into the city in the morning. With Jesus at the head of our small procession, we passed through the lower city and out the Fountain Gate and followed the path north, outside the city’s wall, until we finally arrived here in the garden.”

“Had Jesus said anything that led you to believe you were going to spend the night here?”

“No. There was too much of a chill in the air to sleep outside, and it is only a short journey from here over the Mount of Olives to the home in Bethany where we had slept for the past five nights. We assumed we would only wait until Judas rejoined us after completing whatever Jesus had asked him to do. Then we could all return to Bethany together.”

“Matthew, I know that time here is calculated from both sunrise and sundown. At about what hour would you say you arrived here in Gethsemane?”