Verse 36
Did hide himself from them; by retiring to a private retreat upon the Mount of Olives, or in the gardens at its base, where he was accustomed to go, from this time, at night, for safety, and where he was safe from apprehension, until Judas, who knew the place, conducted the soldiers thither, and betrayed him.
John 12:39,40. A great many attempts have been made to put some construction upon these words, which will limit, in some degree, the absolute control which it seems to imply, on the part of Jehovah, over all the acts and emotions of man. These attempts are not, however, very successful. It is far easier to decide that some such mitigating construction is required, by our ideas of moral philosophy, than it is to find one, and satisfy our minds that the words will honestly bear it.