JESUS PRAYS AT GETHSEMANE

Mark 14:27-52
Key Verse: 14:36

    "'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take
    this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'"

    Just before, in Mark 14:1-26, Jesus had the Last Supper with his
disciples. During the Passover meal, he taught what the blood of the
covenant meant. The blood of the covenant is God's promise that he would
send his one and only Son to shed his blood for our sins. Nothing can heal
the sin-stained blood of human beings except the holy blood of Jesus. For
this, Jesus had predicted his death repeatedly and progressively. 8:31-32
say, "He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many
things and be rejected by the el ders, chief priests and teachers of
the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He
spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke
him." 9:31-32 say, "...because he was teaching his disciples. He said to
them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They
will kill him, and after three days he will rise.' But they did not
understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it." 10:33-34
say, "‘We are going up to Jerusalem,' he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be
betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn
him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and
spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.'" We
must know why Jesus repeated his upcoming death on the cross; in other
words, he was talking about the blood covenant. It is very important
that Jesus died on the cross and that he kept the blood covenant by God
for all humankind. If each of us does not ac cept the blood covenant
from his heart, it is vain. This is the reason Jesus is repeating that
the blood covenant will come to pass. At this moment, we must lay our
hands on our hearts. If each of us has a blood covenant very personally,
then God will surely make us his children who are covered by the blood
covenant in the kingdom of God. Now it was the time for him to prepare
for his forthcoming suffering and crucifixion. Today's passage contains
Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial (27-31), Jesus' prayer in the Garden
of Gethsemane (32-42), and Jesus' arrest (43-52). We are distressed to
read this passage, for to read it seems to intrude into the private agony
of Jesus. But his prayer in Gethsemane teaches us the true humanness of
Jesus, how he submitted himself to the will of God and how he prepared
to meet all the rejection, suffering and death on the cross.

First, Jesus predicts Peter's denial (27-31). As soon as they arrived
at the Mount of Olives, Jesus told them that they would all fall away.
Look at verse 27. "You will all fall away...for it is written: 'I
will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'" This is
the prophecy in Zechariah 13:7. Here, "shepherd" refers to Jesus, and
"sheep," to the disciples. Jesus knew that his disciples' faith was not
strong enough to withstand the approaching trials and involvement in Je
sus' suffering. Jesus told them this so that they might remember what he
said and stand firm amid the devil's attack and so that they might be
shepherds for those whose faith was weak. In Luke 22:31,32 Jesus said,
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed
for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.  And when you have turned
back, strengthen your brothers." At that time Simon Peter was as weak
as Kermit the frog. But Jesus had great hope in him.

    Jesus knew what would happen to his disciples at the time of
his arrest, trials and crucifixion. In desperation, they would all
scatter and wander around to look for a hiding place so as not to be
tracked down by the Pharisees. They would go back to Galilee one by
one, secretly. How did Jesus help them? Jesus gave them the promise of
God about his resurrection. Look at verse 28. "But after I have risen,
I will go ahead of you into Galilee." This promise does not seem to be
much of a help to the disciples, who would soon be in great trouble.
However, this promise declares that even though evil men put Jesus to
death, he would rise again on the third day. After that, Jesus would
give all men eternal salvation (Jn 3:16), and a living hope in the
kingdom of God (1Pe 1:3-4). Those who crucified Jesus would be put
into eternal condemnation in the fiery lake of burning sulfur (Rev
21:8). Jesus also promised that he would go ahead of his disciples into
Galilee. This promise enabled them to stand in this shocking event. This
promise would be the best remedy to them--at that time as well as in the
future. How did they respond to his words? Peter heard what Jesus said,
but he couldn't get the main point because he was upset when he heard
that he would fall away from his master.  He could not believe that he
would fall away from Jesus like a cow ard. He could not believe that
he would be a failure in his loyalty to his master. So he declared,
"Even if all fall away, I will not" (29).

    In verse 30 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth...today--yes,
tonight--before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me
three times." Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times
that night. What a surprising prediction! The disciples' hearts must
have sunk at his words. Maybe each disciple heard what Jesus said in
his own way. Among them, Peter, who heard his word as it was, trembled
and said, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you"
(31). His heart was right, but what he said was based on his feelings,
not on faith. Peter did not know that human feeling is changeable,
like the Los Angeles weather or the vicissitudes of the world. He did
not know that no one can overcome the devil's temptation by his own
effort. Even the first man Adam was swallowed up by the temptation of the
devil. Peter was too immature to accept Jesus' prediction, "...you will
fall away." Peter was so spiritually blind that he could not grasp the
concept of the glorious promise of Jesus' resurrection. Peter could not
anticipate the joy of meeting Jesus again face to face in Galilee. Peter
was too emotional to accept this glorious promise.

Second, at Gethsemane (32-42). Look at verse 32. Jesus went with
his disciples to Gethsemane to pray as the final preparation for his
rejection, suffering and crucifixion. He said to them, "Sit here while
I pray" (32b). "He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he
began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 'My soul is overwhelmed
with sorrow to the point of death,' he said to them. 'Stay here and keep
watch'" (33,34). Jesus was also a human being, and he was in the prime
of life. He was too young to die. But Jesus was willing to obey God's
will to drink the cup of suffering. Jesus had to do battle with Satan
in prayer. It was not an easy battle. He wanted his three top disciples
to support him in prayer. Jesus never revealed feelings of distress,
but this time he said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point
of death." Sorrow is mental suffering and spiritual agony. The agony
of his soul was unbearable; it drove him to the point of death. When
he thought about his approaching rejection, suffering and crucifixion,
his soul was over whelmed with sorrow to the point of death. When Jesus
thought about the process of crucifixion, event by event--the trial,
the mock ing, the spitting, the pain of the nailing--he was overwhelmed
with sorrow to the point of death.

    Everyone wants to enjoy life; no one wants to suffer. Everyone wants
to live happily; no one is willing to die when he is young. But Jesus
was willing to obey God's will for world salvation. For this, Jesus had
to die, crucified on a cross like a criminal. So he had to struggle to
overcome his desire to live even one more day. He also had to drink the
cup of suffering to overcome all the misunderstand ing and rejection,
shameful treatment and crucifixion. So he said, "My soul is overwhelmed
with sorrow to the point of death."

    In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was lonely. He needed his
disciples' prayer support. This was the reason Jesus took Peter, James and
John and said, "Stay here and keep watch" (34). Their souls were willing.
But their flesh was weak. Instead of praying, Peter was snoring in deep
sleep. When they did not know the meaning of Jesus' shedding his blood
on the cross, they could not partici pate in the labor of Jesus' prayer
at Gethsemane.

    What did Jesus pray? Look at verse 35. "Going a little farther,
he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might
pass from him." When we read this verse, there seem to be many prayer
topics. But when we carefully read it, we find only one prayer topic.
His prayer begins with the request that "if possible the hour might
pass from him." Here, "the hour" refers to the time of execution on the
cross. That hour was appointed by God, according to his prom ise. It
was the hour when Jesus would shed his blood as the Paschal Lamb for
the sin of the world. When he thought about that hour, he trembled. So
he prayed that the hour might pass from him. If possible, Jesus wanted
to avoid that hour. But he did not stop there.

    Look at verse 36a. He went on to pray, "Abba, Father, everything
is possible for you. Take this cup from me." He wanted to avoid this
cup of suffering, but at the same time, he knew what God's will for him
was. Jesus was happy to obey the will of God, but he needed God's help. So
he prayed with the same prayer topic again and again. "Abba, Father,
everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me" (36a). Then he
returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to
Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and
pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing,
but the body is weak" (37,38).

    Look at verse 39. "Once more he went away and prayed the same
thing." He prayed with one specific prayer topic again and again. He
stayed up the whole night with one prayer topic. Here we learn several
things about Jesus' prayer.

    In the first place, Jesus prayed all night to overcome his human
desire. "'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take
this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will'" (36). He prayed
that God would help him not to drink the cup. In short, he prayed that he
might not die, but live. Among all human desires, the desire to live may
be the strongest. So he prayed that if possible, God would not allow him
to drink the cup. Jesus knew how to struggle in prayer to overcome his
desires. He overcame his desire through prayer. Jesus is the greatest
man who ever lived because he over came his human desire by prayer.

    In the second place, Jesus prayed to obey the will of God. Look at
verse 36 again. "'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for
you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'"
"Yet not what I will, but what you will." This phrase clearly tells
us that he prayed to overcome himself and obey God's will--which was
humanly impossible to obey. Though he was the Son of God, he could not
obey naturally. He needed a fierce battle. He needed to battle against
himself in prayer in order to obey the will of God. He brews 5:8-9 say,
"Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and,
once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who
obey him..." Had he not had the prayer of Gethsemane, he might not have
accomplished the work of world salvation. The same is true with us. If we
want to be servants of God, we must have a night of prayer at Gethsemane.

    In the third place, his prayer was a spiritual battle. When he was
in deep trouble, Jesus did not try to find any political solution. Jesus
came to God in prayer. He did not fight a human battle; he fought a
spiritual battle in prayer. When we are in trouble, we want to destroy
our opponent as well as his family members and relatives. The devil is
always ready to wage war against God's people and destroy them.  The devil
is bloodthirsty. But God's people must follow the example of our Lord
Jesus. We must fight the spiritual battle in prayer.  Through fighting a
spiritual battle in prayer we must overcome our human desires. Through
fighting a spiritual battle in prayer we must ask God that his will be
done on earth as it is in heaven.

    In the fourth place, prayer is the most potent weapon for his
people. Prayer is a time of listening to God's word and instructions. The
time of prayer is the time to receive new spiritual strength from God.
This is true. After prayer in Gethsemane, Jesus was full of spirit,
ready to withstand the trial, the suffering, and even death. Here we
learn that there are physical battles and spiritual battles in the world.
We must fight the spiritual battle in prayer like Jesus.

    In the fifth place, the time of prayer is the time to confirm God's
love. When Jesus prayed, he said, "Abba, Father." Look at verse 36.
"'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this
cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'" Even in this
terri ble hour, Jesus had a basic attitude toward God. God was still
his Daddy. He never doubted God's love. Even though he had to die on
the cross, God was still his loving Daddy. As long as Jesus prayed,
this graceful love relationship was maintained.

    When Jesus came to his disciples a second time, they were again
sleeping. But this time, Jesus did not wake them up. Perhaps he covered
them with a blanket so that they could sleep better. When he returned
a third time, he saw that they were oversleeping. So he said, "Are you
still sleeping and resting? Enough!" On the other hand, Jesus himself
was fully prepared to meet any kind of trial--even crucifixion. The
time of suffering came upon him, but he was ready to confront it. Jesus'
heart was not shaken by his beloved one's betrayal or by separation from
his beloved disciples or by be ing handed over like a criminal. Rather,
Jesus was full of spirit and said, "The hour has come. Look, the Son of
Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes
my betrayer!" (41b,42)

Third, Jesus arrested (43-52). Look at verse 43. To our surprise, the
traitor was one of the Twelve. He was Judas Iscariot, the treasurer of
Jesus' company. He appeared in the dim light of the garden, ac companied
by a crowd armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent from the chief
priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. It is unbelievable that
one of the Twelve had stood on the side of the enemies, who were the
religious leaders--the devil. We can not imag ine that Judas Iscariot
could betray Jesus. It is too shameful even to think about. But as long
as the devil is behind it, such inhuman things can happen at any time. It
is a historical fact that remains in the gos pel story as the grimmest
and most terrible thing which could ever have happened among men.

    Judas, the betrayer, coming up to Jesus said, "Rabbi!" and kissed
him. It was a signal to the Sanhedrin police. When he followed Jesus
without any commitment, Judas became a betrayer and a man of tragedy. He
did not commit himself to God. So he could commit himself to nobody. Many
people say, "I only commit to God, I commit to nobody else." In reality,
they have no commitment in God, so they cannot commit themselves to
anybody. Even if they commit them selves to somebody, commitment without
God is unpredictable and it is dangerous.

    Look at verse 47. "Then one of those standing near drew his sword and
struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear."  John 18:10
tells us that this was Peter. But Mark omitted the name because he
respected Peter as his own father, both humanly and spiritually. In this
terrifying atmosphere, Peter was the one who drew his sword to hack a
man. It was an expression of his loyalty to Jesus.  In the scuffle, he
drew his sword and struck a blow for Jesus. We see Peter's readiness to
do something for Jesus. But his impulsive action in forlorn hope was not
at all a help to Jesus. Because of the blow, things were getting worse.

    What did Jesus do in that situation? Look at verse 48. "'Am I leading
a rebellion?' said Jesus." Those people saw Jesus teaching every day in
the temple courts, but they did not do anything. Now, they came to him
fully prepared for a blood-shedding fight. Nerves were taut and tense,
and they emanated terror. In this scene, we find the greatness of Jesus
in his fortitude and serenity. He was assaulted by Judas' betrayal and by
the encirclement of the court po lice. There was nothing but heartbreak
behind and torture ahead, yet he was quiet and consistent. He controlled
the situation.

    But we cannot stop at the sheer heroism of Jesus. We must find what
made it possible for him to be so supremely majestic in controlling the
situation. It was prayer--a spiritual battle. When he prayed, God helped
him to overcome the power of death.

    The disciples were in Jesus' mind at the time of his arrest, but
he could entrust them to God's hand in prayer, based on the prophecy
of Zechariah. After prayer, Jesus was ready to be arrested like a
criminal. If only he could obey the will of God, nothing mattered to him.

    Look at verses 51,52. "A young man, wearing nothing but a linen
garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked,
leaving his garment behind." Mark's gospel indicates this was Mark,
the author of this gospel. He was the ancestor of streaking. He was
a city man. He was a mommy boy. He was provided for by his parents.
So he was lazy. Later, he was changed and became a gospel writer.

    In this passage we learn how to fight spiritually in prayer at the
Garden of Gethsemane. We also learn how to fight the spiritual battle
in prayer. The life of faith is the life of a battle or war in prayer
as our Lord Jesus Christ prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane. But most
Christians do not pray much. By believing, they want to be blessed.
When a servant of God went to England, before eating lunch one of
the members said, "Let's say grace." Then the other members answered,
"Amen." This was their prayer for lunch. That showed the decadence of
Christian faith after post-modernism. We must pray as Jesus prayed in the
Garden of Gethsemane dropping sweat like blood. When we do so, we can be
in spiritual reality. When we do so, we can be the true children of God.


STUDY QUESTIONS

1.  Read verses 27-28. According to Jesus, how would this scripture be
    fulfilled? What promise did Jesus give his disciples? How could this
    promise help them?

2.  Read verses 29-31. How did Peter respond? The others? Did Peter
    know himself? What hope did Jesus have for him, in spite of his
    weakness? (Lk 22:31-32)

3.  Read verses 32-34. Who did Jesus take with him to Gethsemane?
    What did he ask them to do? Why could they not keep watch with
    him? (37-38, 41) Why was Jesus so distressed? So lonely? How is Jesus'
    humanity revealed here?

4.  Read verses 35-42. How did Jesus address God? What does this
    show about his relationship with God? What was his prayer topic?
    What did he mean by "this hour"? "This cup"? What reveals his inner
    conflict? His humanness? His spiritual victory?

5.  Read verses 43-46. Who was Judas? How did he participate in Jesus'
    arrest? What was the result of his following Jesus without any
    commitment to him?

6.  Read verses 47-52. How did those standing near react when Jesus
    was seized? How did Jesus respond? What did the disciples do that
    fulfilled scripture? Who might the young man be? (51,52) Why the
    great contrast between Jesus and his disciples?