Morning Devotion Sat. August 20, 2005
Jesus’ Prayer In Gethsemane
Mark 14:31-42
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.”
During this conference we have heard what makes us free: it is Jesus Christ! Jesus makes us truly free. This passage this morning again shows us this freedom, the freedom to be free to do God’s will and how we can be free from our anxiety.
I. Jesus Prays In Gethsemane (32-34; 37-42)
Jesus’ time has come. His capture, his sentence, his death and his resurrection are imminent. Jesus knew what would happen. Before he and his disciples went to Gethsemane where they used to spend the night, Jesus told them that God would strike him, that they all would fall away and that Simon Peter would disown him three times. He also spoke of this resurrection and that he would go to Galilee ahead of them after he had risen from the dead.
Verse 31: “But Peter insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’” Simon Peter did not agree with Jesus’ words. He disagreed all the more when Jesus announced that Peter would disown him three times. He was absolutely sure that he was right and Jesus was not. Could it be that we once had a similar opinion? Well, I did. It often happened that I was of the opinion I could influence things by my good will and my way of thinking. Like Simon Peter, I said and did many things with the idea that I knew better than God – and I think I am not the only one here who did so. Simon Peter, and also the other disciples, should have listened to Jesus.
Verses 37-42: “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.’ Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Returning the third time, he said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!’”
Simon Peter had been so full of self-confidence that he could do everything for Jesus, even die for Jesus. But here we see that the enemy had no problem with him. The reason why shortly hereafter he disowned Jesus three times was that instead of praying, as Jesus did, he slept. Simon Peter was weak when the decisive moment came. And his weakness was his lack of prayer. When the situation became really tense, he wanted to do something, but couldn’t. “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Jesus knew this. And therefore he had told all of them, most of all Peter, that they should pray. He should have listened to Jesus! In the decisive situation, Peter had only himself to rely on. And his body was weak.
Surely, we all have had a similar experience. I don’t doubt that there are those among us who can do something for Jesus out of their strong willpower. But there are situations when that is not enough, when our body is simply weak.. Jesus tells us how to overcome. We can overcome by praying, by bringing our fear and our problem to our Father in heaven, just as Jesus did.
From my own experience and from the testimony of the scripture I had to learn that in the hour of persecution all our self-confidence and inner security are blown away.
The human rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King explained his situation after receiving a phone call threatening him with murder:
My strength was gone. I sat at the kitchen table searching for a way of how to disappear without being considered a coward. In this state of utmost exhaustion and complete discouragement I laid down my need before God. With my head in my hands I prayed aloud.
“Lord, I believe that I am fighting for a righteous cause. But now I am afraid. I cannot go any further. I have come to a point where I cannot make it on my own.”
Almost immediately all my fears were gone. My insecurity disappeared! I was ready to face everything. Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. Nobody entered.
So prayer is the difference between victory and defeat! Jesus went to Gethsemane in order to pray.
Verses 32-34: “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ 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.’”
Everything seemed to be destined. Jesus already knew what would happen. Still, this time was different. Usually when Jesus prayed, he prayed alone. This passage tells us that he took Peter, James and John along with him. They were the same disciples who had been with him on the mount of transfiguration. This time, Jesus didn’t want to be alone. He wanted their company, their support. Jesus was under enormous pressure. Here begins what the prophet Zechariah prophsied (Zech. 13:7): “ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’”
Jesus was under enormous stress. He had fears. That is what this passage and the parallel text of Luke’s gospel allude to. There it says that Jesus was in anguish, and his sweat became like drops of blood. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” This time Jesus had to wrestle with God in prayer. He had to struggle with God in prayer. Why did Jesus have to struggle and wrestle with God like this? We will know when we see what Jesus prayed for.
II. Yet Not What I Will, But What You Will (35-36)
From Jesus we can learn how to pray and that prayer is sometimes a struggle, wrestling with God. But we can also learn from him what he prayed for. Verses 35-36: “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’”
a) Abba, Father, everything is possible for you
Jesus prayed to his father in heaven. Our prayer can be great in many respects. But one of the most important characteristics surely is to know to whom we pray. Jesus prayed to his Father in heaven. To him, God was not something abstract nor someone with whom he had only an impersonal relationship. Jesus prayed to his Father in heaven. When we pray, we should pray to our Father in heaven.
My children should call me daddy when they address me. I am their father and I want them to call me this. I don’t want them to call me “Mr. Master of Geophysics” nor “Mr. Theis,” as if I were a stranger to them or a colleague at work. I also don’t want them to call me by my first name as if I were equal to them. I know many things they don’t know, and can consider many things better than they can because I have more experience in life than they do. I am their father, and I care for them. I am not perfect, and I make many mistakes. In this respect I am different from our Father in heaven who is perfect and makes no mistakes. But just as I want my children to address me, God wants us to call him our Father in heaven, saying “Father” or “Daddy”. When we do so, it makes clear that we trust in him and that we know he cares for us and leads us in the best way even when everything around us seems to break apart and when we have fear of death. A well-known German pastor who has is own t.v. show once called God “the gangster up there.” Well, you may surely say many things about this man. But he doesn’t know God, that is for sure.
When we come to a point where we don’t know what to pray, it is enough for us simply to say “Father.” God knows our hearts and knows all things. 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.’”
“Abba, Father, everything is possible for you.” Jesus knew that everything is possible for his Father. It is good for us to trust our heavenly Father so that we consider that everything we ask from him is possible for him.
b) Take this cup from me
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.’” Here we learn a little more about ourselves. In that hour, Jesus prayed for something we would have considered impossible. He prayed that the cup should be taken from him. This was the cup of suffering, dying and being forsaken by God. Everything that happened did not come as a surprise to Jesus. Jesus knew everything! He knew what would happen. Consequently the roots of this request are much deeper. Temptation was not unbeknown to Jesus as well. For many days he had been tempted by the devil in the desert, and still he could resist because he held on to God’s word. And still, here all his humanity overwhelms him. He asks God to take the cup from him. How surprisingly to hear this from Jesus personally! In this respect, Jesus was more human than we often appear to be; for he confesses that he does not want to obey God’s will. The will of God doesn’t happen automatically, as the sun rises and sets every day. Basically, we do not want to do God’s will. We rather want to pursue our own pious and seemingly good will instead of the will of God. Here, Jesus honestly prayed that God should let this hour pass him by. That is much more honest than we are often; for who would confess this, especially before his brothers and sisters in the Lord. When Jesus admitted his weakness, how much more should we admit our weakness! We don’t have to present ourselves worse than we are. But we also should not present ourselves better than we are! We should pray with our fear, need and weakness. Only in this way we can find help.
c) Yet not what I will, but what you will
The final words are surely the most important ones. Finally Jesus prayed that not his own will but God’s will be done. In his prayer, Jesus overcame his own will and submitted to the will of God. It is evident how difficult this was for Jesus to do because in his prayer he was in deep anguish, struggling with death.
Hebrews 5,8 says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” It is an act of obedience towards our Father in heaven when we pray for God’s will to be done instead of our will. Naturally, we are not obedient. But by praying for God’s will to be done, we learn to be obedient to the will of our Father in heaven.
Some years ago I received one word from the book of prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 15:19): “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.’” With this word God gave me a clear mission as a preacher. Until now he has helped me to hold on to this word and this mission. Since then I made it a basic principle of my message preparation – I say it in Pilate’s words (John 19:22) – “Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’” Consequently, due to my stubbornness and pride, every amendment suggested for my message is almost impossible for me to make; so every time I have to pray and wrestle in my heart that not my, but God’s will resp. God’s word will be explained in the message.
Jesus was able to win the victory in prayer. He was ready to face everything that was going to happen. Contrary to his disciples, Jesus really had to struggle in his prayer. He had to struggle that not his own, but his heavenly Father’s will would be performed. Whether or not we can do so is the difference between victory and defeat. Jesus has won the victory!
Will we do so, too?
