Mark 14:32-50

Intro

How was everyones Thanksgiving?

Who is ready for Christmas?

I hope y’all had a great thanksgiving and I am praying that y’all have a blessed Christmas season.

As we look toward Christmas it’s easy to get wrapped up in all the magic of the holiday and the presents and every year we talk about how Jesus is the reason for the season but truly I want to encourage you that if you haven’t taken time yet to pause and thank God for sending Christ His son to save you of your sins do that tonight.

Over the last month we have been talking about the last week of Jesus life.

In fact Mark 1-10 covers the three years Jesus did ministry in and around Israel

Mark 11-15 deal with the last week of His life.

Context

A few weeks ago we saw Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem where the crowds were shouting Hosanna! (PRAISE to God)

They were excited because they thought that Jesus had come to kick out the Romans and establish an Earthly Kingdom

Then we see James and John ask to be put in place as Jesus most important advisors.

Because once again they thought that Jesus had come to establish this earthly kingdom and He would rule forever as the King on Earth.

Everyone was very excited for Jesus when they thought Jesus was going to think and act how they wanted Him to act

Today many people like to pick and choose what parts of Jesus they like.

Many people like how forgiving Jesus was, or how He told us to love one another.

But they ignore the parts where He claims that unless you call Him Lord you will not see the Kingdom of God.

We have been answering the question as we read through the book of Mark who is Jesus?

And we have seen that if you desire to know who Jesus is then He calls you into a relationship with Him.

Not a one time encounter but a daily relationship with Him.

A relationship that will have ups and downs, suffering and joy, moments of great success and moments when we will fail greatly.

But through it all Jesus remains the same.

It’s not about who we want Jesus to be, it’s about worshipping and submitting to Jesus because of who He is, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

PRAY

Mark 14:32–35 ESV

32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

Many of us know very well this story of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus goes to pray before he is handed over to be crucified.

Jesus takes His disciples with Him and asks that Peter, James, and John (His inner circle) follow Him a bit further

Now remember that James and John had just asked a short while ago in chapter 10 to be His top advisors and that same night Peter declared that he would die with Jesus if he needed to.

By all outward accounts they were Jesus’ most faithful disciples.

As they were going to the garden Jesus became distressed and troubled

In fact Mark makes a point to say that Jesus tells the three men that His soul is sorrowful to the point of death!

Jesus knows that the time has come to go to the cross but it is not just the physical pain that Jesus is grieved over.

Jesus knows that while He hangs on the cross the fullness of God’s wrath will be directed at Him as He takes on the sins of the world.

This wrath that we deserved, that was saved for sinners like us having been stored up since the beginning of time is about to be completely and totally poured out on one man as He hangs on the cross on calvary.

And it’s overwhelming to Jesus.

For those that are struggling with anxiety or with depression or with any other form of stress related struggle I want to let you know that we serve a God who relates to our pain.

Jesus was set apart from this world but still endured the full range of human emotion and experiences

He relates to us in a way that no other religion can boast in.

We do not worship a God who is far off in the heavens basking in our worship but instead a God who humbled Himself and came to Earth as a baby and lived as a man perfectly and then died on the cross taking the wrath that we deserved and then rose from the dead showing power over sin and death.

And the AMAZING thing about Jesus is that when He accomplished all this He made a way for us to have a relationship with God.

So that when we experience things like anxiety, stress, depression, temptation we have a safe place to run to.

We can run to God and He will be there to comfort, protect, provide peace.

And this is what Jesus does as He experiences this extreme turmoil.

Mark 14:35–36 ESV

35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 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.”

Jesus runs to the Father and prays that He would be spared from this incredible suffering He would experience.

Jesus not only desired to be spared the physical pain of the cross but the spiritual pain of the wrath of God being poured out on Him.

But verse 36 is key to understanding our relationship with God.

Jesus finishes His prayer with “Not what I will but what you will”

Jesus was completely submitted to what God the Father wanted Him to do.

And here is the difference between us and Christ because so many times when we go through difficulties or when we experience pain we like to ask God why is this happening to me? Why would a good God allow me to go through something like this?

We immediately revert to a self centered view of the relationship we have with God.

God is not here to serve you and you are not getting what you deserve.

What you deserve is eternal punishment for the sins you have commited against a holy and righteous God

Out of all of creation there was one man who had to right to ask God why is this happening to me and it was the sinless man Jesus Christ and in this great moment of agony He turns to God and He asks that God remove this pain from Him but then He says that He is completely submitted to God’s perfect plan.

So when we are struggling or when we are suffering, go to God, ask Him for relief, ask Him for help but also understand that if your plan or your idea for how God should act is not how God actually acts then He is still deserving of our obedience and of our worship.

In those moments are you going to cling to God and say your will is better than mine or are you going to abandon Him and seek out your own will.

Mark 14:37–41 ESV

37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And 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, “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.

After praying for an hour Jesus returns to His disciples to find them asleep and He tells them (more specifically Peter) to pray so that they may not enter temptation.

what temptation is this?

In just a few short hours they will all be tempted to run away from Jesus

In fact Peter (the one who said He would die with Jesus) would be given the opportunity three times to declare himself as a follower of Christ and three times he would give in to the temptation to deny Jesus to save His own life.

Are you here at this place tonight?

Where on the outside you are declaring that you follow Jesus but inwardly you are struggling?

You are struggling with temptation?

You are struggling with your faith in Christ?

God is not asking for you to look like you have it all together on the outside, He is seeking a relationship with you. He’s asking you to sit with Him for an hour and pray, have a conversation, talk with Him and read His word.

He is seeking a relationship with you.

You can say all day long that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ but what do you do when He asks you to wake up a little earlier to pray with Him?

What do we do when He asks us to trust Him in difficult times?

What do we do when we are placed in a situation where your faith might cause trouble in your life?

Mark 14:42–50 ESV

42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” 43 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. 44 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.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled.

All these men claimed to follow Christ outwardly but inwardly when the time came to follow Him they run away.

Now remember that this is not the end of the story!

All of them except for Judas will one day die having kept the faith till the very end, they will go on to be the founding fathers of Christianity.

So why then did they all run away in this moment?

It’s because they had fit Jesus into a convenient box of who they wanted Him to be and as soon as that idea was challenged, because they didn’t understand who Christ was or what His mission was, their preconceived idea of Christ was abandoned.

What box are you trying to fit Jesus into?

Or what are you avoiding bringing to God’s feet and laying down and simply saying not my will but yours be done?

what do you need to repent and ask forgiveness for?

PRAY