Holy Week Reflections: In the Kidron Valley

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Scripture Reading:

John 18:1 ~ 

After Jesus had said these things, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, and He and His disciples went into it.

Psalm 23:4 ~ 

Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff – they comfort me.

Reflection:

The Kidron Valley is a place just outside of Jerusalem, in between the city and the Mount of Olives. The name Kidron is either a reference to the “darkness” or “murkiness” of the water that periodically flows in that place or to the cedars that grow in that area. But it is also a place that is associated with sorrow, judgment, and death in the Bible.

The Kidron Valley was a place where King Josiah, King Asa and King Hezekiah all disposed of idols that the people were worshiping (1 Kings 15, 2 Kings 23, and 2 Chronicles 29 and 30). The idols were burned in the fields of the Kidron Valley.

When David fled Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion, he crossed the Valley of Kidron. When King Solomon confined Shimei to the city in 1 Kings 2, he forbade him from going any farther than the Kidron Valley. It seems that, in the time of Josiah, the Valley of Kidron contained “the graves of the common people.” 

Jesus must have crossed the Valley of Kidron many times in His travels. On the night of His arrest, Jesus “went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley where there was a garden. As Jesus walked through the valley, He just have felt the full weight of His impending death and I’m sure He understood the symbolism of crossing the valley of death.

When we go through our own valley of death or darkness, we do not need to fear because God is with us. He is walking beside us as we bear the weight of heaviness. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, walked through His darkest valley and walks with us through our darkest valley and guides us through it.

Prayer Activity: Walking Through the Valley

Picture yourself walking through the Kidron Valley, often called the "valley of darkness." Think about a burden you are carrying in your life right now. Are you shouldering it alone? Is it more than you truly need to bear?

Spend some quiet time with the Lord and ask Him to help you carry this weight. Invite Him to show you what you can release and where you need support.

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