Hello, welcome to the podcast, Bible Wisdom Today. My name is Stan Watkins.

The Bible has always been an important foundation for my personal faith, leading me to complete a Bible degree and enter Christian ministry, ultimately going with my wife and family to Europe for 6 years. There I served in the areas of Bible teaching and music. Since returning to the states, I have supported my local church as I have had opportunity, but now I would like a more regular outlet for teaching God’s word.

Understanding the Bible is not simply a matter of belief that it is God’s word. The Bible was written long ago, in a foreign language, within an alien culture, using unfamiliar literary styles. Today’s Bible student must overcome each of these obstacles. This podcast is for those willing to do the hard work to discover God's wisdom for life today.

In our last episode we listened to Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives, where he predicted the coming destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70 and used that event as a prototype of the end of the age. Today we return to Mark’s story line and begin the last narrative section in this gospel as Jesus moves determinedly, agonizingly toward his final passion. Like watching the movie “Titanic,” we know how this story will end, but the tale is gripping, none the less. This is Episode 20, which I have entitled “Pathos before the passion.” 

“Pathos” is a word that expresses deep emotion. Jesus felt deeply the weight of his coming destiny. We would hope that Jesus’ closest comrades would provide comfort and support through these deep waters, but instead we see the treacherous plot of Judas, the impending desertion of all the remaining band, and his inner circle’s oblivious slumber in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus cried out for relief from his father. In this story we come to a deeper understanding of what Jesus’ death means to us and see how we should approach God in prayer when we are in deep distress.

Devotion and treachery at the table (14:1-11)

We will begin our Bible reading with chapter 14 verse 1.

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. 
 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
 Mark 14:1-11

Mark 14 begins a new page in the gospel narrative. The announcement of Passover and the Feast of unleavened bread are not connected to Jesus’ discourse on the last days in chapter 13, nor to the temple theme which Mark has developed throughout the preceding chapters. Instead, Mark launches a chain of events that will lead inevitably to Jesus’ crucifixion and he signifies it by the word “now.” 

Mark uses a chronological marker which requires explanation, “the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away.” Not only did the Jews reckon days beginning with sundown, rather than the western conception that days begin at sunup, but when Mark says that the feasts were two days away, he means the very next day. In other words, “today” is the first day, “tomorrow” is the second. 

To place this into the context of Jesus’ final week, the plotting of the chief priests and Judas, which we read about at the beginning and end of the segment I just read, happened on Wednesday. On Thursday, which would be the 14th day of the month Nisan, by the Jewish calendar, preparation would be made for the Passover. A lamb or kid would be ritually sacrificed at the temple; other ingredients for the meal would be purchased and prepared. On Thursday evening, which was now already 15 Nisan, the Passover meal, commemorating God’s deliverance from Egypt, would begin and the Feast of Unleavened Bread would continue for 7 days. Late in the night Jesus would retire to the Garden of Gethsemane, then he would be arrested, tried, and crucified on Friday, which was still 15 Nisan.

This portion of scripture is another Mark sandwich. We have seen this literary form multiple times in this gospel, so perhaps you recognized it as I read. The story of the chief priests and teachers of the law, otherwise known as the Sanhedrin, scheming to arrest Jesus and the choice of Judas to assist them in that effort is interrupted by another story of an unnamed woman anointing Jesus with expensive perfume. By placing the worship of an unnamed outsider into the context of a betrayal plot by a named insider, Mark creates a strong contrast between devotion and treachery.

The opposition to Jesus has looked for ways to kill Jesus since his early ministry in Galilee, but now the chief priests and teachers of the law take up that cause in earnest. They were afraid of the people, however, and determined that they should take him secretly. The best option would be to wait until after Passover and Unleavened Bread had passed, when the population of Jerusalem had returned to its normal 50-70 thousand people. During the festival, the crowded city swelled to a quarter million people.[1] Many were filled with religious fervor and hoped for political deliverance. If the Sanhedrin took Jesus publicly during the feast the people might riot, bringing down the wrath of the Roman guards, who also had filled the city to quell any nationalistic unrest.

The story of the woman anointing Jesus with perfume is told by John before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Mark places it here, instead, to create a contrast with the scheming of Judas and the Sanhedrin. Bethany was two miles outside Jerusalem on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, where Jesus stayed before the Passover, probably in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. On this occasion, Jesus was a guest in the home of Simon the leper, who is otherwise unknown to us but was probably known to Mark’s first readers. The fact that he was hosting a meal tells us that he was a former leper. Perhaps Jesus had healed him.

Breaking into this table scene, a woman came bearing expensive perfume. Even though John names her as Mary, the sister of Lazarus, Mark chooses to leave her unnamed. This allows us to focus on the extreme cost of her action and the intensity of her worship, rather than her identity. The perfume she brought was no ordinary perfume. Alabaster flasks were expensive, made of soft marble-like stone imported from Egypt. The content was pure nard made from the root of an Indian herb. Its purity and import cost contributed to its high worth. Mark gives the value as 300 denarii, which the NIV translators render with the equivalent meaning “more than a year’s wages.” Women did not have careers that would allow them to afford such costly items, so this was likely a family heirloom, adding to its sentimental value.

Breaking the jar was not necessary. She could have opened it properly, but this seems to be a spontaneous act of devotion, highlighting the completeness of her gift. She did not simply dab a bit of ointment on his hair; she drenched him in richly perfumed oil.

Some of those at the meal considered her lavish gift to be a waste. In fact, that seems to have been the general feeling of the dinner party. On Passover evening it was customary to give a special offering for the poor, so their suggested gift to the poor was not so strange as it might appear, but in suggesting it they demeaned this woman, they demeaned her gift, but most importantly they demeaned Jesus. He was not worthy of such sacrifice. They rebuked her harshly, or as Mark says literally, they flared their nostrils.

Jesus, however, came to the woman’s defense, “She has done a beautiful thing.” Perfume was used as a burial ritual and Jesus interpreted her deed as a prophetic act. Jesus had forewarned his disciples about his impending death, but they had not understood it or prepared for it. This woman did both. She took her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to anoint her Messiah, God’s anointed one. 

“The poor you will always have with you,” explained Jesus. He was not indifferent to the poor, but he knew that there would be other opportunities to help the poor. They would not always have him with them. “She did what she could.” Jesus gives her the same commendation he had given the woman earlier who had put two small coins into the temple treasury. That widow and this woman gave vastly different gifts, according to their monetary value, but both gave everything, which is what Jesus expects of his disciples. No gift is meaningless, however small; and no gift is wasted, however large.

Mark now returns to his earlier story of the treachery of the chief priests and scribes, adding now the treachery of Judas Iscariot. Judas went to them, not the other way around. Quite soon, all the disciples would defect, but Judas’ betrayal was more reprehensible, since it was premeditated. The word betray means to hand over. Judas had spent long hours with Jesus but being near Jesus does not guarantee one’s faithfulness. 

The chief priests were delighted to have Judas as an accomplice. They had intended to wait until after the festival, but Judas’ promised betrayal was too good of an opportunity for them to turn down. They decided to move their plans forward. They could still take him secretly, as they had decided. They just needed to find Jesus away from the crowds, perhaps at night. Judas could help them find that time. From then on, Judas kept an eye out for the best moment to hand Jesus over. He was not a victim of circumstances or a pawn in the hands of fate, but a sovereign moral agent who freely chose to do evil. Amazingly, in his grace, God used even this human evil to bring about his divine purpose.

Sacrifice and desertion in the upper room (14:12-31)

Preparation

Let’s continue reading, beginning in Mark 14:12.

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
 Mark 14:12-16

We have now reached Thursday in the last week of Jesus earthly life, the day of preparation. Mark’s details are strongly reminiscent of the preparations Jesus made for his entry into Jerusalem five days earlier. In both cases he sent two disciples ahead on covert errands when they met enigmatic people who responded favorably to Jesus’ title. In both cases events proceeded exactly as Jesus predicted. Jesus probably had made these preparations ahead of time.

His disciples asked Jesus, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” They acknowledged Jesus as the presiding head of the feast. A rabbi and his disciples would be considered a family, but as pilgrims they had to find a place to eat the meal. The lamb had to be eaten within Jerusalem. Jewish residents of Jerusalem were expected to make spare rooms available to Passover pilgrims.

As Jesus often did, he sent two of his disciples together. They would recognize the right person when they saw a man carrying a jar of water. Usually, water-carrying was the work of women or slaves, and when men did carry water, they did so in skins. They would find a large upper room, furnished and ready. Such a room would have belonged in a well-to-do home. In the first chapter of Acts, we read that the early church met in an upper room. It is generally thought that this was the same room, which belonged to Mary, the mother of John Mark, the writer of this gospel. A room that was readied would include carpet, couches for reclining, and tables to hold the food. The disciples had the task of purchasing the food, completing the ritual sacrifice of the lamb, and preparing the meal. They also removed all leaven from the home. There is a particular site in Jerusalem that is identified for tourists today as the historic location of Jesus’ last meal. The accuracy of this identification is quite likely, since it has been so named since AD 135.

The lengthy, detailed preparation shows that Jesus had planned this event deliberately as an opportunity to explain to his disciples the true meaning of his impending death. As Jesus approached His hour of death, he did so, not as a tragic hero, but with sovereign freedom and authority to follow the plan which he himself had chosen. After sundown, when all was prepared, the Passover meal could begin.

The Passover commemorated Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and anticipated the future deliverance of the Messiah. Typically, the Passover meal was a family celebration, including women and children. We learn in Mark 15 that many women had accompanied Jesus from Galilee. They probably were included on this occasion along with the family who hosted them in their home.

The meal had four phases, each concluded by drinking a cup of wine[2] [3]: 

• The first phase was simply the blessing of the wine and the drinking of the first cup.
• In the second phase, the bread, herbs, stewed fruit, and lamb were brought in and the youngest boy present asked a series of prescribed questions, beginning with “Why is this night different from other nights.” The host answered by retelling the story of the Exodus from Egypt and explaining its meaning as symbolized in the elements of the Passover celebration. The family group then praised God with Psalms 113 and 114, concluding this phase with the second cup of wine.
• During the third phase, the host explained the meaning of unleavened bread, then blessed, broke and distributed it. The family ate it with the herbs and fruit, and also ate the main meal and drank the third cup.
• In the final phase, the participants sang praise to God using Psalms 115-118 and drank the fourth cup.

Mark does not recount the entire Passover meal, but only those portions which focus on Jesus’ self-revelation. Jesus expanded the traditional ritual to explain the significance of his death as a new exodus, a new Passover sacrifice.

Prediction of betrayal

The next portion of Mark’s narrative is arranged, again, as a literary sandwich. The outer parts of the narrative predict the disciple’s desertion, first the betrayal of Judas and later the defection of the remaining disciples. In the inner portion of the sandwich, Jesus offers himself as a new sacrifice, symbolized in the bread and wine. By placing these components together, Mark creates a contrast between the self-sacrifice of Jesus and the self-interest of the disciples. Jesus lays down his life, not for the worthy, but the unworthy, even the cowardly. This is an illustration of what the Apostle Paul later said in his letter to the Romans, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

In our celebration of the Lord’s supper in churches today, we often experience some of the purest, holiest moments in our church life, sometimes symbolized with elegant table furnishings and beautiful linens. It is instructive to remember that the original last supper was a simpler affair, which began with an announcement of treachery!

This narrative sandwich parallels the preceding narrative about the woman anointing Jesus. The outer flanks of both sandwiches concern the defection of Jesus’ disciples and the center sections both have to do with the body of Jesus. In the first, the woman anoints Jesus body for burial; in the second, Jesus offers His body for sinners.

Now let’s read Jesus’ prediction of Judas’ betrayal, beginning with verse 17.

When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
 Mark 14:17-21

When celebrating feasts, Jews ate in the Roman manner. Couches holding three people each were placed in a U-shaped pattern around a central table. The diners rested on their left elbows and took food with their right hand. Since we are told that they were eating, this is now the third phase of the celebration, when the main meal is eaten. “One of you will betray me, “Jesus said. “One who is eating with me.” Jesus alludes to Psalm 41, where the psalmist says, 

Even my close friend, 
 someone I trusted,
 one who shared my bread,
 has turned against me.
 Psalms 41:9

The intentional ambiguity of an unnamed betrayer prompted soul-searching from everyone present. “Surely you don’t mean me?” Each one wanted assurance from Jesus. Mark intends the same self-examination from his readers. Each of us has the potential to fail. This must also have been in the mind of the Apostle Paul when he declared in First Corinthians, “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.”

“It is one of the Twelve,” Jesus announced. This verifies that there were more present than just Jesus and the twelve, as I suggested earlier. Jesus’ betrayal would not come from an outsider, as one might have expected, but from the ultimate insider, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me.” Part of communal dining included a common bowl, where bread was used as a spoon. 

“The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him,” Jesus added. He may have been referencing the prophecies of Daniel, who introduced the term “son of man” or he may have meant the suffering servant of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus often combined these predictions under the title, “Son of Man.” As we will see throughout his final act, Jesus was aware and in control of everything that happened.

“Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man!” “Woe” is spoken in prophetic judgments to startle people into sorrow or terror in light of God’s coming wrath. This verse perfectly combines God’s sovereignty with human responsibility. God accomplishes his will, but Judas is still guilty for his own evil choice.

Offer of himself in sacrifice

Continuing to read from Mark 14:22,

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 
 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 
 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
 Mark 14:22-26

In the traditional Passover rite, the celebrants gave thanks for the unleavened bread with the words, "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, king of the world, who brings forth bread from the earth."[4] Normally the family head broke and passed the bread in silence. Jesus interrupted the custom to interpret it for his disciples in light of his coming death, “This is my body.” 

The meaning behind “body is not “flesh,” as we might expect, but “myself.” The verb “is” has been a source of controversy throughout church history. Some have said that the bread literally becomes the physical body of Jesus, “this is my body.” Others have said, the bread simply represents Jesus. In truth, there is no verb in the sentence at all, but simply “This, my body.” The bread is a metaphor for Jesus. When Jesus offers the bread he means “This is me.” When we take the bread we receive Jesus’ gift of himself into our own being. 

Between the offering of the bread and the cup, there was an interval of time when they ate the meal. Then he took the cup, which would be the third cup of the Passover, and they all drank from it. Normally everyone had their own cups, but Jesus used a common cup to point to the unity of the community he was establishing. The concept of “all” becomes a theme for the rest of the chapter: all drank, all will fall away, all promise loyalty to Jesus, all fled.

Jesus explained, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” In Jewish thought, the life of a creature was in the blood. Here, Jesus offers His very life. When Moses instituted the first covenant, he sprinkled the blood of a sacrificial animal on the people (Ex. 24: 3-8). Jesus now institutes a new covenant by offering His own life, which His followers are invited to imbibe into themselves. The first covenant used a surrogate sacrificial animal, the second was sealed by Jesus’ own blood.

The New Testament consistently presents Jesus as a sacrificial lamb. Sin is an abomination to God and rightly deserves the death penalty. Under the Mosaic covenant this was accomplished by offering a perfect lamb as a surrogate for sinners. Under the New Covenant, Jesus offers his own blood to pay for our salvation. Because Jesus was perfect God in human flesh, his payment was far greater than any animal sacrifice. Under the old covenant, sacrifices were offered again and again for sin, but Jesus made a one-time payment for our redemption. Our salvation is not something we earn but comes only from God’s grace. This is the gift we can receive in faith from Jesus and reenact when we receive the bread and the cup.

Jesus explained further, “I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” This was probably spoken upon the drinking of the fourth cup of the Passover at the end of the celebration. Jesus showed his determination to accept his Father’s will. The plan of God will not be finished until Jesus returns and God’s kingdom arrives in fullness, inaugurated with a great messianic banquet. The phrase “until that day” continues the motif from Jesus’ teaching about “that day” from his previous sermon on the Mount of Olives.

They sang a hymn before they went out. Many times, as a child, I heard the pastor wonder aloud what hymn it was that Jesus sang with his disciples. Was it “The Old Rugged Cross” or perhaps “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus?” Just asking that question out loud, you can sense how ill-informed it was. Those hymns were not even written until the turn of the 20th century. We do not need to wonder what they sang, because the Passover ritual prescribed singing Psalms 115-118. I will not read those Psalms in their entirety, but I would like to read some selections from Psalm 118. As I do, think about what these words would have meant to Jesus as he sang them with his disciples on that final night.

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
 What can mere mortals do to me?
 Psalms 118:6

I will not die but live,
 and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
 The LORD has chastened me severely,
 but he has not given me over to death. 
 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
 I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
 Psalms 118:17-19

The stone the builders rejected
 has become the cornerstone;
 the LORD has done this,
 and it is marvelous in our eyes.
 The LORD has done it this very day;
 let us rejoice today and be glad.
 Psalms 118:22-24   

After Jesus and his disciples sang these words, they went out to the Mount of Olives. They did not return to Bethany as they had earlier in the week because they must remain in Jerusalem while celebrating the Passover. The Mount of Olives fell within greater bounds of the city.

Prediction of desertion

We now come to the last part of Mark’s literary sandwich, when Jesus predicts that all his disciples will desert him. This conversation seems to have occurred while they journeyed from the upper room to the Mount of Olives. Verse 27:

“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:
 “‘I will strike the shepherd,
 and the sheep will be scattered.’ 
 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” 
 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” 
 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
 Mark 14:27-31

The disciples’ desertion was not limited to one traitor. All his disciples would soon join Judas in failure, leaving Jesus to face his destiny alone. This is passive defection caused by circumstances, unlike the willful desertion of Judas. This is the type of brief lapse that we are most guilty of. We do not intend to sin and yet we do, because we are not watchful. 

Jesus quotes the prophet Zechariah, “I will strike the shepherd,” referring to the promised Messiah. Jesus understands that His suffering is ordained by God. The sheep would be scattered, but Jesus continues the shepherd metaphor with consolation, “After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Even though they desert him, he will call His flock together again in Galilee, where He first called them.

After every prediction of His passion in Mark, the disciples respond with conceit and self-assertion. Here, Peter sets himself apart from the others. They may fail, but I will not.

Jesus corrects Peter sharply and dramatically, by holding back the main verb of the sentence until the very end. This is represented well in our English translation. “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” Oh, that is not the end of the sentence that Peter expected. He now increases his bravado, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” 

When Jesus uses the expression “before the rooster crows” he may be referring an actual rooster or might refer to the Roman name for the third watch of the night, cockcrow, which was from midnight until 3 AM. 

All the disciples joined Peter in his protest, and each was responsible for his own fall. By placing the Lord’s supper within the context of the disciple’s defection, Mark demonstrates the necessity of the atonement. Evil was actually gathered around the table. 

Agony and resting in the garden (14:32-42)

We continue reading at verse 32.

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.”
 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.” 
 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh 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 delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
 Mark 14:32-42

In this story we see the deep agony of Jesus sharply contrasted with the clueless resting of the disciples.

Gethsemane was a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, just east of the Kidron brook. The name “Gethsemane” means “oil press.” John tells us in his gospel that this was a favorite spot for Jesus, which means that Judas also knew it well. 

Jesus asked eight of his disciples to stay at the entrance while he went further into the garden to pray. Prayers in Mark are always set in times of decision and crisis. This is the most traumatic. Jesus frequently took Peter, James and John with him at such moments of crisis and revelation. They each had claimed to be fervent followers, so they should be just the ones for Him to take on this occasion. They had seen the revelation of his divinity on the Mount of Transfiguration; now they saw the revelation of his humanity in the Garden of Gethsemane. Notice how many different words Mark uses to describe Jesus’ anguish: deeply distressed, troubled, overwhelmed, sorrow to the point of death. Certainly, Jesus was in agony over his coming physical suffering, but even more so that he would soon bear the sins of all humanity and be separated from his Father.

This description recalls the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 55,

My heart is in anguish within me;
 the terrors of death have fallen on me.
 Fear and trembling have beset me;
 horror has overwhelmed me.
 Psalms 55:4-5

Jesus command to “Stay here and keep watch” echoes the sermon he previously gave near this spot. It may contain a literal aspect, to watch for the temple police, but the main idea was that his disciples should pray for spiritual support.

Meanwhile, Jesus went a little farther and fell to the ground in prayer. Normally Jews prayed standing with face uplifted and hands raised. Instead, Jesus fell on his face in total distress. He cast himself in prayer on the mercy of his Father. If possible, might this hour pass from him? He made his request conditional on God’s purposes.

The suffering of Jesus made an indelible impression on the early church. In the book of Hebrews we read, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Hebrews 5:7).

In his prayer, Jesus cried out “Abba, Father.” Mark uses two words for “father” from Aramaic, Jesus native tongue, and Greek. Sometimes you will hear that Jesus prayed, “Daddy,” but that is a bit weak. The emphasis is on the amazing depth of love between father and child. It shows an intimacy, boldness, and simplicity not characteristic of Jewish prayers and became a liturgical cry of the early church to stress the new intimacy between God’s new people and their father. Paul, the apostle, wrote in his letter to the Romans, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Again, Paul said in Galatians, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

Jesus prayed, “Take this cup from me.” This was a fundamentally human cry, asking directly what he had already prayed indirectly, “let the hour pass.” These terms “hour” and “cup” are part of prophetic vocabulary speaking of the purpose of God in the end time. The terms are synonymous, a reference to his messianic destiny. Jesus would soon surrender His body to death on the hill of Golgotha, but now, in Gethsemane, He surrendered His will to the father. The surrender of His will caused him greater anguish. Jesus chose to be the sin-bearer for all of us. To use the words of Isaiah, he chose to be pierced for our transgressions; he chose to be crushed for our iniquities.

When Jesus prayed, “Not what I will, but what you will,” he echoed the prayer he had taught His disciples, “Thy will be done.” This is the true posture of prayer. We confidently bring our needs before God, expecting that he will act, but always realizing that his will takes precedence over our own. In this approach, Jesus finds victory over himself.

After his prayer, Jesus returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?”. Jesus called him Simon, his given name, because he had not lived up to the new name Jesus had given him, Rock.

 Jesus now reminds them again, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” To watch means to remain spiritually vigilant. They had been unable to watch even for an hour. The purpose of prayer was victory over temptation. Was that not also part of the prayer they had been taught, “lead us not into temptation?”. The disciples needed to be vigilant to identify temptation, then pray for God’s strength to overcome it. They failed in both tasks and very soon would desert their Lord.

Even in the midst of his agony, Jesus found consolation for the disciples. “The spirit is willing,” he said, “but the flesh is weak.” By this, Jesus was not speaking of the Holy Spirit but the human spirit. They wanted to remain faithful, but they were weak in themselves. They would have understood what Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” They might understand our own failings also.

Jesus went away a second time to pray the same thing. When he returned, he found the disciples asleep again. Was it the late hour, the large meal, the wine? Whatever the natural cause may have been, they did not know what to say to him. Their guilt was clear.

A third time, Jesus went away and returned to find them sleeping. The agony of Jesus and the resting of his disciples stand in sharpest relief.   His sarcasm is clear. They have rested long enough.

“The hour has come.” Now was the time when Judas would betray him, delivering him into the hands of sinners. The elders, chief priests, and scribes had criticized Jesus for spending time with sinners but now they showed their true character as rebels against God. Now also was the hour when God would deliver Jesus over to humanity. It was God, not Judas or the officials who was truly in charge.

“Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer.” The central moment of human history was drawing near. Jesus had just spent his final moment of freedom. What a profound irony that here in this place of pressing, Jesus also felt himself pressed between the horror of his destiny and the strength of his purpose. He also experienced the closest intimacy with his father. “Abba, Father. Not what I will, but what you will.”

Closing comments

This episode we have identified with Jesus’ deep emotion as he approached his final act of love for lost people like us. We saw the contrast between the devotion of the woman offering up her costly perfume and the treachery of Judas grasping for a few pieces of silver even at the cost of betrayal. We heard Jesus offer himself as a sacrifice, even though he could foresee that all his disciples would soon desert him. And we experienced the distinction between the agony of Jesus in the garden and his friends’ clueless sleep. We also understand more deeply the meaning of Jesus’ death for us and see in him an example of how to come to God in prayer when we are also in deep distress.

In our next episode, Jesus continues his resolute advance toward the cross, increasingly alone. He is arrested, tried, disowned, mocked, and ultimately crucified.

If you have found this podcast helpful, I would appreciate your help in expanding its reach. One of the best ways to assist is by recommending it to your friends. The easiest way to do this is to go to the podcast website, biblewisdomtoday.com, and share that link with your friend, along with your comment. Your personal recommendation is powerful. I look forward to spending time again, soon, with you and your friends. Thank you for your help in growing this Bible Wisdom Today family.

[1] Osborne, G. R., Strauss, M., & Walton, J. (2014). Mark (Teach the Text Commentary Series). Baker Publishing Group.
[2] Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel According to Mark (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Eerdmans.
[3] Osbourne, citing Lane, W. L. (1974). The gospel of Mark. William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 501
[4] Edwards.