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A Love That Paid The Price (Mark 14:32 - 42 We all understand that if we owe debt to someone, we must pay our debts. God out of His love for suffering humanity offered His Son Jesus Christ to pay our sin debt in full, setting us free from the bondage of sin and death and giving us life eternal with Him forever in the kingdom of heaven. For those who are in Christ, we have new life, because Jesus paid it all and all to Him we owe.
Jesus’ Prayer (Mark 14:32 - 33) 32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And He said 32 33 And He took to his disciples, “You must sit here while I pray.” 33 with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. Mark 14: 32-33
Jesus’ Prayer (Mark 14: 32 - 33) • What does it mean that Jesus was “ greatly distressed? ” • To be “ greatly distressed ” is to be “ struck with terror. ” • Jesus is “ greatly distressed and troubled ” because of the cost of sin.
• Jesus’ suffering begins before His crucifixion. • We have a Savior who sympathizes with us when we go through our own Gethsemanes.
Jesus’ Prayer (Mark 14:34) 34 And He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful (very sad; 34 exceedingly sorrowful ), even to death. You must remain here and You must keep watch.” • Jesus’ sorrow is so overwhelming that He feels as if He is lifeless. • Do we express our distresses and troubles like Jesus did?
Jesus’ Prayer (Mark 14:34) • Jesus commands two things of His disciples: “You must remain here and You must keep watch.” • What must the disciples “ k eep watch ” over?
• They were to watch that they may “not enter into temptation” “Stay awake and pray so that you won’t enter into temptation.” Mark 14:38
• What temptation was Jesus talking about? But he (Peter) said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same . Mark 14:31
• Peter and the disciples failed to keep watch and pray, and they failed to follow Jesus’ example of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” Mark 14:30
Peter in his pride and self-confidence believed that apart from God he could live up to his promise. Whenever we believe that we can accomplish something apart from God, we will surely fail as Peter did. It is only by the strength of God that we can achieve that which God calls us to do.
Jesus’ Desperate Search for Relief (Mark 14:35 - 36) 35 35 Mark 14:35 - 36
Jesus’ Desperate Search for Relief • Jesus is sorrowful to the point of death. He is physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally distressed: Sin makes God sick. “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:44
Is it possible to sweat blood? There are some medically documented cases of soldiers sweating blood before going into battle. This condition is known as hematidrosis and it is caused by intense fear or stress.
Jesus’ Desperate Search for Relief • What is the first thing that Jesus does in His distress and when He falls to the ground? He reaches out to His Heavenly Father. “Abba,” indicates a close, personal, and intimate relationship between Father and Son. “Abba” is an Aramaic word that means “father”; it is a term of endearment used within the family circle…It symbolizes the love and dependency that a child has on his/her father.
What was Jesus’ Specific Prayer? • “…that the hour might pass from Him.” • “Please remove this cup from Me.” • That God’s will be done.
Was Jesus Terrified of Death, or what was his Distress? • Some believe that Jesus was terrified of separation from the Father, because God cannot look favorably on sin. • How does God separate Himself from Himself? • Psalm 22: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
“ We do not say that Christ became a sinner, far from it, but being righteous (or rather righteousness, because He did not know sin at all), the Father made Him a victim for the sins of the world.” ( Letter 41.10) In other words, the sins of humanity rested on Christ, but Christ Himself was not sin. Cyril of Alexandria
Jesus’ Disappointment in His Friends (Mark 14:37 - 38) 37 37 And He came and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 You must watch and you must pray that you may not enter 38 into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:37-38
What does Jesus mean when he says, “ The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is Weak? ” Simon Peter, in spirit was really willing to lay down his life for Christ, but in the power of the flesh he would be unable to do so. This is the temptation of the devil, and Peter and the disciples would give into that temptation and abandon Christ.
Jesus’ Perseverance in Prayer 39 And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 39 40 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes 40 were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer Him. Mark 14: 39-40
There is nothing wrong with praying the same prayers for there are only so many ways in which we can ask for the same thing; however, we must remember that constant repetitious prayer can result in boredom, and that’s the road we don’t want to travel.
Jesus’ Spiritual Strength and Acceptance of God’s Path 41 And He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still 41 sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 You must rise, let us be going; see, My betrayer is at hand.” 42 Mark 14: 41-42
Jesus’ Spiritual Strength and Acceptance of God’s Path • Three times Peter fell asleep, and three times he would deny he even knew Jesus. Coincidence? • Notice that God the Father did not answer Jesus’ prayer in a way as to allow the “ cup to pass from Him ,” He instead, gave Him the strength to endure and persevere.
Jesus follows through with His Father’s will and He does it because of the amazing love of God – His will to obey His Father is stronger than the desire to serve Himself.
Points of Application • What is your personal Gethsemane? • When going through your Gethsemane, have you ever asked God, “Please remove this cup from me”? • Who do you turn to in your time of distress? God? Yourself? Your friends? • How do you persevere? Do you rely on your own strength like Peter did, do you run away from it, or do you face it like Jesus did?
Sometimes prayer delivers us from our Gethsemanes, but more often through them. We must remember that we will always face trials, troubles, and tribulations this side of eternity, and God will use these things to grow us up in Christ for our good, and for His glory.
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