What does Mark 14:26 mean?

Jesus and the disciples have completed the Passover dinner. Like most Galileans, they celebrate it the evening Passover begins, not the next afternoon as the Judeans do. They have been in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem, but now return to the Mount of Olives, where they have spent every night this week (Luke 21:37). Hymns based on Psalms 113–118 and 136, also called the "great Hallel," are important parts of the feast.

The road to the cross is dark. Away from the meal that celebrates God's deliverance of the Israelites and the new ceremony marking the new covenant of salvation, Jesus warns that the disciples will soon abandon Him, and Peter will deny knowing Him.

Jesus has chosen the location, the garden of Gethsemane, carefully (Mark 14:32. The garden sits on the west side of the Mount of Olives, at the intersection of two roads that come east out of Jerusalem. If Jesus had taken the disciples to Bethany, two miles farther east, His followers there might have rebelled against the priests' guards, either endangering themselves or preventing the crucifixion.

The garden of Gethsemane is a location which ensures God's plan is fulfilled. The distance from Bethany allows Him to protect His followers. And, since Judas knows this place (John 18:2), it makes it easy for the Sanhedrin to arrest Him.