Mark 14:32-42. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 6, 2020.
We are often focused on our needs that we want God to satisfy. It is not nearly as often that we may be reminded that God needs or desires some things from us.
Today, we will see the need that Jesus had of companionship during the time leading up to his arrest. However, this reflects something that is about more than just that day. In Jesus, we see the difficulty that God has in dealing with the sin of the world and the heavens. It is not difficult in the sense of power, but as an emotional and heavy weight upon His being. Jesus represents the heart of the Father to forbear, to forgive, to redeem, and yet ultimately to judge. We will never be able to explain it perfectly, but it is clear that, though we could say that God doesn’t need humans to a degree, He refuses to go forward without making redemption available to all. And, He does this at great expense and suffering to Himself.
In these last days, the Spirit of God is looking for people who will stand in the heat with Him, much like the three Hebrew Boys did in the book of Daniel. When we stand with God, He stands with us.
In our flesh, we fall short, but let us not stay there. Let us hear the Spirit calling, “Will you not watch with me? On that evening so many years ago, the Lord Jesus shows us the key to following him. Yes, we pick up our cross and follow him, but just as important is this. Take time to wrestle with God in prayer, until you are yielded to His will, whatever it may be.
Let’s look at our passage.
Jesus and his disciples had been inside of Jerusalem and, at some point that night, Judas had left them in order to betray Jesus. Having said what he needed to say to his disciples, Jesus leads the eleven outside of Jerusalem so that he can spend time praying before his arrest.
They towards the Mt. of Olives on the east side of Jerusalem into a garden in the area of Gethsemane. Such a garden likely would have had a rock wall around it with some kind of entrance. Now, Gethsemane means “olive press.” This is significant since the suffering and death of Jesus would supply the oil of the Holy Spirit to God’s people. Some homework to do on this would be to read Zechariah 4 and its image of two olive trees supplying oil into a lamp that is lit. This same image is connected to the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Their ministry during the Great Tribulation will supply oil for the spiritual lights of those who reject the beast and his kingdom. Jesus was going into a metaphorical olive press that would supply the oil of the Spirit to the whole world that the light of God might be seen.
Jesus tells them that he is exceedingly sorrowful and he wants to spend time in prayer. The scene is that he leaves 8 of the disciples in one area- probably at the entrance to the garden. He then takes Peter, James, and John a little further away from the group. They had become those who were closest to Jesus from The Twelve.
We should be careful in reading too much into the sorrow of Jesus. God wants us to understand that He does agonize over all that He does in helping to redeem mankind. However, God’s agony is not the same as ours, nor for the same purposes. Think of a Being who suffers the assault of every sin on earth and in the heavenlies that occurs, both external sins and internal ones. We are only aware of a small amount of the evil and wickedness that occurs, but God experiences and sees it all. No one knows sorrow like the Creator of the Universe does. In those moments when we are exceedingly sorrowful, we are only getting a taste of what God feels. In fact, those times are His invitation for you to join Him in His sorrow. It is a time of communion with Him where we can know Him at a deeper level, to bond with Him. Thus, Jesus asks The Three to stay near him and watch.
In the New Testament, watching is often connected to praying. It involves a vigilance over one’s spiritual condition and external circumstances through prayer. If we are not a praying people then we are not a vigilant people, and the enemy will trip us up in many ways.
In verses 35-36, we get an intimate glimpse into the heart of Jesus. However, at the same time, he is letting us know that he can see into our hearts. We are not alone. God knows just how difficult it is to do what He asks of us because He has already gone on before us.
It may seem unlikely that Jesus would agree to take on a human nature, and then balk at the cross. However, we must understand that he truly had a human nature, additional though it was. He completely understands the sorrow over injustice, and the fear of futility in doing the right thing (as God defines it). Sometimes, we can be resistant to God’s will, thinking that what He asks is impossible. However, the truth is that we must crucify ourselves internally before we can do the difficult things that He has called us to do.
Jesus describes what lies ahead as “an hour.” It is the hour of trial and testing, and it is the hour of saving mankind. It is also described as a “cup.” We can see it as a cup of suffering that the Father is asking Jesus to drink, but this falls short. It is a cup of the wrath of God for the sins of mankind. To drink that cup, is to experience and suffer the wrath of God.
The greatest horror of the cross for Jesus is not so much the physical suffering, but the experiencing of wrath from the One whom he has eternally existed in a bond of supreme love. So, Jesus asks that the hour, or the cup, might pass from him.
He then says that all things are possible for the Father. Yes, the Father could change the plan at the last moment. By the way, this does not mean that God can do illogical things (like make a round square, or create a rock so big that He can’t lift it, etc.) Neither does it mean that he can do things that are contrary to His nature. He cannot lie or do evil. Rather, “all things are possible” means that, in matters of power and authority, there are none that He answers to. He is the supreme authority and has the power to back up His decisions.
In the end, Jesus yields to the will of the Father. “Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” I do not believe that Jesus is merely play acting for our sakes. I believe that Jesus truly agonized over going through with the cross. However, we see his yielding to what He knew the Father desired. Can I get to a point in prayer where I know that God has heard my heart, that I know He loves me, and yet this difficult thing before me is necessary?
Too often, we see difficulty as proof that God does not love us. The reality is that it is often proof that He does. We shield little children from the difficulties of life, but as they mature, we teach them to face and shoulder more and more of the duties and responsibilities of life, out of love for God and others. Some believers have almost ridiculed such a yielding prayer, as if it lacks faith. There is no greater prayer than the prayer of surrender. This is what I want, Father, but nevertheless, Your will be done and not mine!
Jesus did not need the disciples to watch in order to keep him from being arrested. He needed them to watch in order to keep themselves from being spiritually taken out by the enemy. O, how our flesh fights against the needs of our spirit. You will never be sleepier than when you decide to try and pray.
Jesus comes back from praying to find The Three sleeping. “Could you not watch one hour?” Notice that Jesus connects watching to praying in verse 38. Here, Jesus gives a command and a statement.
The command is to watch and pray so that they don’t fall to the temptations ahead. If we are having trouble fighting sin and experiencing spiritual failure in our life, it can usually be traced back to prayerlessness, which itself is a symptom of weak faith and reliance upon Jesus.
The statement is this. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This is exactly what we need to understand today. It is not enough to have great spiritual desires and to love God with all of your heart. Peter vehemently declared his devotion to Jesus. His spirit wanted to do what was right, and even excel at it above all of the other disciples. However, he is headed into a trial for which he is not yet spiritually ready. His flesh was weak, and not just in falling asleep. Their physical sleep is an external symptom of an internal problem. The good news is what we talked about last week. If it wasn’t for Jesus praying for us, none of us would make it. Jesus makes all the difference.
In prayer, we wrestle with our flesh before the Lord, and come to a place of surrender ahead of the trial so that we can do the will of God in the difficult hour. The problem is not only that your flesh is weak, but also that you haven’t done anything to strengthen yourself against the weakness of the flesh.
We are told that Jesus comes back and finds them sleeping three different times. Their inability to stay awake is connected to their perception of safety. Of course, they don’t know that Judas is even now headed out of the city with a detachment of soldiers having betrayed Jesus. Yet, this is all of life. We think we are safe, physically or even spiritually, but our greatest trial may be just around the corner.
Can you imagine them complaining in their hearts, “But Lord, we have been up so long and we are tired… can’t we pray tomorrow after breakfast?” It seems too hard. Yet, even this is a lie from our flesh. What if they had woken up to find a large spider on their chest, or perhaps, a coiled serpent? How quickly would they have come alive in that moment (and so would we). We are lulled to sleep by the spirit of this world through entertainments and gadgets so that the spiritual serpent can slip up and capture our souls. Yet, Jesus is faithful to come along from time to time and shake us awake. Wake up and watch over your soul before it is too late!
And so, the moment of betrayal had come. There was no more time for praying alone with God. Now, there will only be praying in the midst of a pack of jackals. More than likely, Jesus leads the three back to where the eight are no doubt sleeping as well. Here, they will be met by Judas, but we leave that for next week.
Let me close with this. I do not know what things you will face in the future. There are trials in our personal life, trials among our family and friends, trials in business, nations, and even global trials. However, we can be rest assured that those trials will come. Hear the Spirit calling you to prepare yourself and come into communion with the Lord of Glory, who was a suffering servant. Perhaps our hour of betrayal has come in this nation, or perhaps it will tarry a few more years. Ultimately, this world has rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will double down on the path of self-will. Yet, there are many poor souls out there who do not know their right hand from their left. They are lost and wounded. May God wake us up spiritually so that we can help those who sleep, and some who are even spiritually dead. Even now, the Lord tells us that the fields are white for harvest!