Giving it up for Jesus
Mark 14:32-42
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
32 They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed." 33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34 And He *said to them, "aMy soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. 36 And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." 37 And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 "Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." 39 Again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. 41 And He came the third time, and said to them, "1Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; athe hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 "Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!"
The final struggle for Jesus was between life and death. The body did not want to let go of life. That is normal for everyone alive. A person rarely wishes to die. There may be reasons for a person wanting death, but it is rare. In Jesus's case, His body wanted to live. His Spirit knew that it was time to return to the LORD. It looked toward Easter morning. It caused pain to Jesus. He prayed about the situation three times until He gave into the direction of the LORD.
Jesus instructed Peter, James, and John to keep alert during this prayer time. They could not stay awake and allowed their flesh to take control. Three times they fell asleep. Jesus took his inner leadership circle with Him. Peter said to Jesus that he would never forsake him. Jesus replied that Peter was going to do just that. This event was a foreshadowing of the flesh overtaking the soul.
The second time is this scene in the Garden of Gethsemane. Stay awake; how hard could that possibly be? By falling asleep, the three disciples demonstrated that they were not ready for what was about to happen. How strong was their faith in their teacher? A mini test occurred at the Last Supper. A more significant test occurred in Gethsemane. Then a third test came when Jesus was crucified.
So, the disciples were not ready for Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. These three men would take the Gospel out into the world. Jesus knew that they would have a difficult time doing it because of the persecution that was to happen. Jesus needed to toughen them up. Perhaps that is the ultimate purpose of the time in Gethsemane?
The events of denial from Peter clue us into why the disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. The power of the Spirit on Pentecost gave the disciples the courage and the will to take the Gospel into the world. After Pentecost, they were not worried about their own lives. They took the Gospel to the world without concern for their own safety. The Last Supper, Gethsemane, and the crucifixion denials were a test to see if Jesus' disciples were ready for prime time.
They were not. However, they became ready on Pentecost. Have you ever been in a situation when you had to do something that made you uncomfortable and tried to get out of it? But you had to do it. An example from my freshman year in High School comes to mind. All students at my High School took a marking period class on writing and delivering speeches. The teacher told the class that every one of us could learn to give speeches. I was terrified to stand up before my classmates and offer a speech. As the days approached for my speech, the terror intensified. I barely passed that class. In my senior year of college, I was the Chairperson of the New Student Orientation Committee. This meant three public speeches. The terror from freshman High School returned. In the third speech, I felt something in me that took that fear away. I have never had a public speaking problem since then. Perhaps the Holy Spirit came upon me because the LORD knew I would need that skill for pastoral ministry.
So we have established that this scene was a test of the disciples' courage. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, took care of that problem on Pentecost. Now let us talk about Jesus for a few minutes.
Jesus gave up His very life for the LORD's plans. In Gethsemane, Jesus showed us that He was human. The Gospel authors wanted the idea that Jesus was human, to be precise. Jesus demonstrated pure fear about how he would be treated and the painful death of crucifixion. If anyone doubts Jesus' humanity, let them read this section of Mark's Gospel. Even with the faith, Jesus had in His Father that He would not go to Sheol, He still feared death.
Ask yourself, what are you willing to give up for Jesus? This question shows up a lot during tithing commitment time. But not here today. Each disciple of Jesus needs to determine what they will do for Him. Perhaps it is wealth, but it also can be so many other things. Through the message Jesus brought us, we can find redemption from sin and eternal life with God. So what earthly thing can you sacrifice for the LORD?
Let me offer an example in closing. I became a disciple of Jesus when I was 35 years old. I would go to flea markets on Sunday mornings from a decade before that time. It was the thing to do. When becoming a disciple of Jesus, I needed to attend church worship on Sunday morning. Also, when I was called into Jesus' service, it cost money to go to Seminary. Overnight I stopped going to the flea markets on Sunday and attended church with my family. The money I saved by avoiding the flea markets became the beginning of a tithe to the LORD. Yeah, it sounds like a simple thing to dispense. It was an outlet for me. It was hard to give it up. However, I feel that it was the right thing to do. This example is not anywhere close to Jesus giving up His life. It is one of many things I gave up when Jesus called me into His service.
I suggest you start with something small to surrender to Jesus. If you have already done this, then that is outstanding. If you have not, you may want to work on it. Jesus is from Missouri in that He looks at our words and actions to determine what is inside our hearts. So, please do it now before it is too late.
