WORD From The Woods
Mark 14:32-50
“And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled”
This passage has always fascinated me because we see Jesus, the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe praying to the Father, that He would remove the cup of betrayal, torture, and death that was coming to him. Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, yet he still went to the Father in prayer about it. We rarely, if ever go to our heavenly Father in prayer about things that we already know (or think we know) the outcome of. We tend to go to The Lord in prayer only when we're desperate and have no idea what to do. If Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, went to the Father in prayer about something he already knew, how much more should we as weak, finite humans go to our Father in heaven about all things? This passage underscores the weakness of mankind and our desperate need to literally wake up and pray! Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time, that he would be delivered over to be executed, but they still didn't get it. They couldn't even stay awake for one hour and pray with their Messiah about what was about to take place. It's easy to look at this passage and say "how could those pathetic disciples fall asleep so quickly?" How many times have you and I fallen asleep or let our minds drift to another place when we're praying or reading the word? I think that one of the reasons this passage was included in three of the gospels is to show us that in our own weakness, we are normal, not to make an excuse but to show us that even Christ's inner circle still struggled with the same things we do. Another person that I'd like to look at is Judas, like I said last week, we like to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas in condemnation. Judas was part of Jesus' inner circle as well as the rest of the twelve, in fact, he was probably the most trusted since he was entrusted with the group's finances. Jesus certainly loved Judas very much, it must have been so painful for him to watch his close friend fall to temptation and betray him for financial gain. I'm sure that as Jesus prayed and wept desperately to the Father in the garden that night, he was lifting his friend Judas up in prayer. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to God in prayer, even those things that you already think you understand. If there are situations where people have hurt and betrayed you, lift them up in prayer, not in a self-righteous way hoping that God will show them how wrong they were, but that God would restore the relationship and that He would be glorified in the process because of the riches of His great mercy.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Mark 14:32-50
“And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled”
This passage has always fascinated me because we see Jesus, the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe praying to the Father, that He would remove the cup of betrayal, torture, and death that was coming to him. Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, yet he still went to the Father in prayer about it. We rarely, if ever go to our heavenly Father in prayer about things that we already know (or think we know) the outcome of. We tend to go to The Lord in prayer only when we're desperate and have no idea what to do. If Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, went to the Father in prayer about something he already knew, how much more should we as weak, finite humans go to our Father in heaven about all things? This passage underscores the weakness of mankind and our desperate need to literally wake up and pray! Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time, that he would be delivered over to be executed, but they still didn't get it. They couldn't even stay awake for one hour and pray with their Messiah about what was about to take place. It's easy to look at this passage and say "how could those pathetic disciples fall asleep so quickly?" How many times have you and I fallen asleep or let our minds drift to another place when we're praying or reading the word? I think that one of the reasons this passage was included in three of the gospels is to show us that in our own weakness, we are normal, not to make an excuse but to show us that even Christ's inner circle still struggled with the same things we do. Another person that I'd like to look at is Judas, like I said last week, we like to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas in condemnation. Judas was part of Jesus' inner circle as well as the rest of the twelve, in fact, he was probably the most trusted since he was entrusted with the group's finances. Jesus certainly loved Judas very much, it must have been so painful for him to watch his close friend fall to temptation and betray him for financial gain. I'm sure that as Jesus prayed and wept desperately to the Father in the garden that night, he was lifting his friend Judas up in prayer. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to God in prayer, even those things that you already think you understand. If there are situations where people have hurt and betrayed you, lift them up in prayer, not in a self-righteous way hoping that God will show them how wrong they were, but that God would restore the relationship and that He would be glorified in the process because of the riches of His great mercy.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-