The Hour Has Come
Notes
Transcript
Find Mark 14:32
been a hard week; God’s word is here to encourage us and point us to the only hope there is for us which is Jesus Christ
Jesus and 3 of his disciples make a journey to the garden of Gethsemane for Jesus to pray
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.
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.”
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.
42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
Prayer
Is your level of intentionality helping you to grow in your walk with Christ?
Intentionality. Doing something on purpose, for a purpose. We are all intentional about things. We all intentionally set our alarm to be able to get up and go to work. We intentionally eat food so that we can function. We intentionally pay the power bill so that we have electricity.
But, maybe you are like me and there are things that you have not been so intentional about. Recently, we began to notice that our finances were struggling some. So I decided that we were going to really get ahold of it. We began sitting down and intentionally writing out a budget for the month. Setting an amount for everything that we would spend. And we soon realized how much money we were wasting on things. All because of intentionality.
As a husband, I must be intentional with my wife. If I do not show her how much she means to me, our relationship will struggle. If I am not intentional in growing my relationship with her, our relationship will struggle.
The same is true in our walk with Jesus. It must be intentional. There must be a plan for growth. Because if you just think that you can nonchalantly follow Jesus, you will end up somewhere else. It is like putting a blindfold on someone and trying to call them to you from across a field. They will struggle.
Main Point: We Must be Intentional with Our Relationship with God
Main Point: We Must be Intentional with Our Relationship with God
Our passage begins with Jesus and his disciples going to a place called Gethsemane.
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
Gethsemane is a very important place in scripture because of the events that are about to take place. This is where he will be arrested. All four gospel accounts have an account of the events that happen here because it is so important. Even the name of the place is important and foreshadowing of what will happen here.
See, the name Gethsemane means “oil press”. If you go there today, it is still full of olive trees. They even have an oil press in operation still to this day. What they would do in the time of Jesus though, is they would take the olives and in the trough. There was a huge heavy wheel that would roll around with a donkey walking around in a circle to crush the olives. Then they would take it and stack sacks of crushed olives and put a heavy weight on them to press out the oil.
Many of us use olive oil to cook with today. But in ancient times, they used this oil for light. They would have oil lamps that burned olive oil. The pressing of the olives would produce light for them. You probably see where that is going, but we will get back to that later.
33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
These 3 men were the closest disciples to him. We tend to think of the “disciples” as the 12, but Jesus had many people who followed him. He had a large group(120), a closer group (12), and an even closer group(3). And even within that, we have John who is described as the “one whom Jesus loved”. These 3 would end up being 3 of the most instrumental men in the spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts.
When we read about Jesus, we often overlook the human side of Jesus. Yes, he was without sin, but he still felt human emotion.
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus knows what you go through. In fact, he knows what you go through even better than you do because he is God. And that is a one way street. You cannot say that you know what he has went through. It is so good to have a savior that knows persecution and struggle.
How many of you have felt distressed and troubled just this week? I have felt that way just from hearing national news. I firmly believe that our minds are not designed to have the amount of distressing information that it receives in our day and time. This is why we are nearly desensitized to shootings and accidents and death. Be thankful that our savior is one who knows this struggle. When you are facing it, look to him for comfort.
It is no stretch here, when dealing with emotions, that Jesus was so troubled that he wanted to die. Now, this is not some sort of suicidal thought here. Jesus never wanted to take his own life because he couldn’t handle the pressure. But Jesus knew what was coming, and his human side felt all of the emotions that you and I would feel.
34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”
Sorrow is such a strong emotion. If you have ever had a close family member that was dealing with an addiction and it seemed as though they could not overcome it, you understand sorrow. If you have someone close to you who gets a bad diagnosis and is told that their life would either soon be changed forever or even ending, you know sorrow.
Jesus was being faced with suffering and death. He knew what was ahead of him. Just like an olive press, he would be squeezed emotionally and be emptied out spiritually. But the results for those who follow him would be great. There is no greater suffering in all of scripture than what Jesus was going to go through.
Exalting Jesus in Mark The King Would Agonize over His Passion Alone (Mark 14:32–42)
“Nothing in all the Bible compares to Jesus’ agony and anguish in Gethsemane—neither the laments of the Psalms, nor the broken heart of Abraham as he prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac (
His command to the 3 disciples is very important. He tells them to stay and watch. In a short time, there would be soldiers accompanied by Judas coming to arrest him. Jesus wanted to spend a few moments in solitude before the events that would take place. There are things in life that truly require preparation.
Have you ever wondered why it takes 40 weeks for a woman to grow a baby before she gives birth? It isn’t just for health because God created Adam as a full grown man. I firmly believe it is to give parents time to prepare. And then they get 18 years to realize how little prepared they actually were. Jesus is preparing himself by spending time with God the Father in prayer.
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.”
While at Gethsemane to pray, Jesus goes to God 3 times and prays the same thing. Mark does not account all 3 times but Matthew does. People have claimed that Jesus was trying to get out of suffering here. That he didn’t want to follow through with the plan that was put in place before time began. In biblical language, the cup symbolizes humiliation and suffering. Divinely, Jesus knew that his humanity would suffer. His humanity is still very real in this moment where he asks God to remove the cup, this suffering and humiliation that he would be going through, from him.
What I think we need to focus on is not trying to read into the text what we might think that he is saying, but to actually read what he says here. Don’t get caught up on symbolism here. The most clear thing he says here is that he is asking God for his will to be done. A wonderful picture here is one of the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. Jesus acknowledged God’s will here and we see Jesus’s submission to the Father.
Paul writes about this in his letter to the Philippians.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
He knew that he would need to go to the cross for the sins of man. So he submitted himself to his father. He was obedient. Not because he was looking forward to the shame that came with the cross, but because he knew the shedding of his blood was going to cover the sin of man and make a way for us to avoid the wrath of God because he himself would take it. Jesus’s acknowledgement and obedience to the will of God was so great, that he not only went to the cross after this, he went joyfully.
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Are you ready to joyfully endure suffering? This is the call of the Christian. Jesus told us that the world would hate us. We saw those exact events unfold before our very eyes this week. Because of a man’s Christian values and political views, he was murdered for all to see. When events like this take place, when events like the crucifixion take place, every Christian must ask themselves what kind of follower they will be. Will they cower at the pressure put on them, like Peter will do in mere hours, or will they intentionally grow in their walk with Christ.
We have seen them go to Gethsemane, Jesus tells the 3 of them to stay and watch while he goes and prays. Now he returns to his disciples to check on them.
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.”
illustration of trying to get Peighton up for school
Jesus had warned them and taught them of this very thing. Back in chapter 13, he taught them with a parable about the master of the house going on a trip and not telling the servants when he would return. Because of this, they needed to stay awake.
35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—
36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
The instruction from Jesus to Peter, James, and John was not the end of the journey for them by him telling them to keep watch. In fact, this was just the beginning of their need to keep watch. They will now begin their watch as Jesus will ascend to heaven and they will be given the commission of going and making disciples in Matthew 28.
And just like with a child, Jesus leaves and comes back and finds them asleep again.
When I read these verses, I can see both grace and a near frustration.
As Jesus was engaged in intent and exhaustive prayer over the souls of men, his closest followers were engaged in sleep. They had given themselves over to the temptation of rest.
As followers, it is time for us to give up this idea of rest in the midst of work. We are given a mandate to take the gospel forward yet too many Christians are more interested in taking a proverbial nap. We are in a season of pressing, not resting.
But then, the third time comes and it is now time for the arrest and Jesus knows it.
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.
42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
Wake up. It is time. The hour has come.
Mark: The Servant King ((7) Gethsemane: Jesus’ Prayer Vigil (14:32–42))
But now the moment of crisis was coming. The light of torches could be seen and the sound of voices heard. Judas Iscariot and a squad of men were closing in, coming down the Kidron ravine towards Jesus. He returned to the three men for a third time and asked ironically, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come’. The time for sleeping—literally and metaphorically—had passed. They had slept enough. Jesus’ time of watching had passed. From now on, it was time for the disciples to be both wakeful and watchful.
Judas and the soldiers were there now. The time for preparation is now done. Peter and the disciples will now flee. Jesus will stand before a council and then be beaten and humiliated and go and die on the cross.
There is this great contrast between the disciples and Jesus. And when we continue in scripture, we see a great contrast between the disciples in the gospel accounts and the same men who would become the Apostles of the early church.
So what happened? How did they get from being these almost cowards in the face of persecution to the great men of faith? And how do we do the same thing?
I am going to finish our time together by looking at what has happened in Gethsemane and applying it directly to us just as the disciples did.
We Must Seek God’s Will
We Must Seek God’s Will
Jesus gives us an example here of this. He goes and finds a place and gets alone with God. When is the last time that you did this? Truly got alone with God. Men and women both, you need to find a way to do this regularly. I know that life gets hectic. I know we are busy. But if you can make time to binge watch your favorite show, you can find time to spend with God. Husbands, if you wife needs you to watch the kids while she does this, step up. Wives, if your husband says he is too busy to do this, tell him to put his phone down and go to the park for 2 hours on a Saturday and do it. We make time for what is important.
Pray was important to Jesus. So he went to a place where he could intentionally pray. And the purpose of this prayer was to ask God for his will to be done. I know there are people that will say that God told them something that had to do with his will for them. I am not saying that they are wrong, but most of the time, it will either never happen or it will fizzle out because it wasn’t God’s will. So how do we know God’s will today. He does not audibly speak to us anymore, so how do we know his will.
Brothers and sisters, we have his revealed will to us in the Bible. This is God’s word that is given to us. Be in God’s word and read God’s will. You cannot worship a God that you don’t know and he has given us what we need to both know him and to know his will in his word. We must seek God’s will.
We Must Watch and Pray
We Must Watch and Pray
We have Jesus in his obedience, which we need to mirror. But then we have the disciples and their disobedience, which we need to learn from. Jesus told them to watch and pray but they fell asleep. They were in the midst of danger and they were sleeping. Jesus had to wake them up because the accusers were in their midst. Have we been asleep?
Prayer is so important for us as followers of Christ. It is our line of communication. We get to talk to the creator of the universe and bring before him both praise and needs. We are desperate for prayer today. We need to be on our knees and on our face before God begging him for help.
I firmly believe that we are at a tipping point in our culture today. There is no more flirting with this idea of being fully devoted to Jesus. The world does not need anymore lukewarm Christians but needs people who are on fire for God. Today, we need to draw a line in the sand. We have our brothers and sisters in Christ who are dying because of their faith. And I am not just talking about Charlie Kirk. We as Americans have it good where we don’t experience religious persecution like others do. Just this week, nearly 100 Christians were killed in the Republic of the Congo in Africa. Just because of their faith.
This is not a gloom and doom type of message. Yes, our faith puts a target on our backs. Yes, I believe that it will only get worse for us until Jesus returns. But this does not mean that when the heat gets turned up that we decide to jump out of the frying pan. Just as the first Christians were persecuted and it only grew their faith, let the rising persecution draw you closer into Jesus. Do the opposite of the disciples in Gethsemane here and actually watch and pray. Be on the lookout for opportunities. Be in prayer.
This is the call for all of us today. Seek God’s will. Watch and pray. Be in God’s word and be in prayer.
Show of hands. How many of you want to see our world change? How many of you believe that only God can make that difference? How many of you believe that you are the difference that God has put here? Because you are. God did not make a mistake when he put you right here and right now. Be the difference in the world by living out and sharing the hope of Jesus.
Prayer
Deacons are a blessing from God to the church. When we go back to the institution of the office of deacon, we see that they were chosen to meet the physical needs of the people of the church.
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
This is what we have done here. The church has come together. They selected men who they thought would be faithful deacons. The other deacons and I talked to them. Brother Larry Pressley agreed that he felt the leading to serve the church in this way. And you, as a body of believers, have affirmed him in this role and today we are going to install him as our newest deacon.
6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
I am going to ask the other deacons to come up and we are going to pray over brother Larry and I am going to ask you all to pray for him as well while we are praying.
