All the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron … toward the way of the wilderness” 2 Samuel 15:23 KJV
While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people passed over. The king also passed over the brook Kidron … toward the way of the wilderness. 2 Samuel 15:23 NASB
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook Cedron (Kidron), where was a garden” John 18:1 KJV
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden… John 18:1 NASB
It is of note that both David and the Lord Jesus crossed the same brook in a day of rejection. David was facing the Absalom rebellion against his throne; the Lord Jesus was facing the worldwide rebellion against God. But there the comparison comes to a halt. All that follows is a stark contrast between their movements across that brook.
There was a contrast in their purposes. David was escaping, literally for his life. He was seeking to put as much space between himself and Absalom as he could. The Lord Jesus crossed the brook to make Himself available and accessible to Judas and the cohort he was bringing. John tells us that Judas knew the place and would automatically assume, after not finding the Lord in the upper room, that He would be in the garden.
There was a contrast in their tears. David wept, remembering his folly and sin that had brought him to this sad crisis in his life. The Lord shed tears across that brook, but not tears of repentance or regret. His tears were in light of your sins and mine which were about to take Him into a darkness He had never known.
It was the discipline of God which drove David across the brook. It was devotion to God that took the Saviour across the brook. The seed for the events which culminated in Absalom’s rebellion was sown when David took Bathsheba and then orchestrated the death of Uriah. The seed for what Christ had to endure was sown by Adam in the garden; Christ chose to reap the harvest of that sin at Calvary.
When David crossed the brook, he was met by expressions of devotion and encouragement from followers. Listen to the words of Ittai the Gittite “Surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in life or death, even there also will thy servant be” (2 Sam 15:21). And then there were Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites who came to be with him (15:24-29). Perhaps most touching of all is a man described as Hushai, David’s friend, a man who will risk his life for David. Need I mention the contrast for the Lord Jesus when they all forsook Him and fled (Mark 14:50).
On the other side of the brook, after a long march, David was met by three men who came with supplies and refreshment: Barzillai, Shobi, and Machir. Beds, basons, beans, and barley would have meant very little to a King in a palace. But to a fugitive in the wilderness, they were a sign of devotion and a means of refreshment. There were also three men in the garden with the Lord Jesus. They had crossed the brook with Him. But they fell asleep, and when awakened, Peter acted brashly and unwisely. Eventually, they also forsook Him, and Peter subsequently denied Him. They could not watch with Him even one hour.
The contrasts are not meant to demean David. We are not worthy to carry his armor. But the contrasts are intended to highlight the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider:
Find other contrasts or comparisons in the two accounts over the brook Kidron.