Following Jesus: Mark 14 Series

Following Jesus (14)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Scripture: Mark 14:32-42

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 4/2/2017

With just two weeks left until Easter, we are nearing the end of our sixteen-week journey of following Jesus through the Gospel of Mark.

Last Sunday, in Mark 12, Jesus replied to a scribe who asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” And, as many of you already know, Jesus answered that the greatest command is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus reminds us once again that life is all about love—a love that’s both upward and outward. What an incredible conversation and a meaningful message for both then and now.

Sadly, following this inspiring exchange, the Gospel of Mark takes a noticeably darker turn. All of Mark 13 is dedicated to Christ’s prophesy concerning the catastrophic fall of Jerusalem. A casual remark about the magnificence of the Temple by one of the disciples led Jesus to make a startling prophetic statement about its fate. His prophecy fills the entire chapter and not only accurately predicts the final days of Jerusalem, but also hints at the final days of earth before the Second Coming.

Afterward, Jesus and is followers return to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany, where Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with an expensive perfume. But even this beautiful act of worship carries an ominous meaning as Jesus says that Mary “has anointed my body for my burial.”

The next day, Jesus shares The Last Supper with his disciples in a picturesque upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus identifies Judas as a traitor and predicts Peter’s denial. He also creates a new covenant between God his people represented by the body and blood of Christ embodied in the bread and wine of communion.

Following that final supper, Jesus leads his disciples across the Kidron Valley to a secluded olive Garden, known as Gethsemane. Hidden in the shadows of the knotted and knobby olive trees, the Garden provides Jesus with a quiet place to spend his final hours. It’s now midnight. The night sky sparkles with a thousand stars. Insects sing in the background as a cool breeze whispers through the trees. The word Gethsemane literally means the olive press, but the meaning of the word and the nature of the garden are not nearly as important as what took place there.

In the garden, Jesus wrestled with crippling sorrow. He knew precisely what was coming. Betrayal. Humiliation. Torture. Agony. Abandonment. Within hours he would be brutally beaten and nailed to an old rugged cross. How could he face such a future and not flinch? How could anyone prepare for such a fate?

Let’s see how Mark describes it.

They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before. When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.

When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” (Mark 14:32-42 NLT)

As they enter Gethsemane, Jesus tells his followers, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death” (Mark 14:34 NLT). Maybe you can relate. Do you know what soul-crushing grief feels like? Do you know what its like to be deeply troubled and distressed? And how do you handle it? Where do we turn when there is nowhere to turn? Where do we put our feet when the rug has been pulled out from under us?

As always, I think the answer is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. As Jesus wrestled with His destiny that night, there were certain things that He sought, certain lessons for us to learn. First, Jesus sought solitude.