We read in Mark 14:37, He went back and found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn't you stay awake for one hour? (GW)
As Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, he instructed his disciples to tarry in prayer right where they were, when He went on further to pour out His soul in prayer to the Father, for Jesus always led by example. As he came back, He found the disciples were asleep, and that is when He asked the question as found in the above mentioned verse, ‘Simon, are you sleeping?’ Jesus asked Simon Peter, if he could not stay awake, and continue in prayer for just one hour.
There are many believers who in the initial years when they came to know the Lord, were extremely zealous to pray and read the word, but are now asleep in their spiritual lives.
Background to this verse as found in Mark chapter 14
The Passover Festival and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread
We read in Mark 14:1, “It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for some underhanded way to arrest Jesus and to kill him.” (GW)
The Jews generally celebrated seven different festivals, all of which were foreshadows pointing to the coming of Jesus the Messiah. It was that time of the year when the Jews were about to celebrate the Passover Festival and the Festival of the Unleavened Bread. The entire narrative in Mark 14 explains in detail the important events that were prior to the crucifixion of Jesus.
The Passover Festival signifies the truth that Jesus was slain for our sins, and on our behalf. The history of the Passover takes us to Egypt, where the Israelites smeared the blood of a sinless lamb on the doorposts and lintels, whereby the angel of death passed over their homes, so that the occupants of these homes escaped death. Jesus is unique and incomparable in that His death as the sinless Lamb of God was predicted thousands of years ago, when the people of Israel sacrificed a spotless lamb, whose blood alone could save them from death. Therefore to those who believe and appropriate the death of Jesus on the cross for their sins, they will not face the second death. There are lots of ways people are suggesting for one to get rid of their sins, but only those who repent, and believe in the Lord Jesus have the confidence that there is no punishment for their sins, for Jesus has taken on Himself the iniquity of us all.
The Festival of the Unleavened Bread, connotes that one must be separated from the sinful life of this world. Though both these festivals were indicating the supreme sacrifice that Jesus was to make, the religious leaders of that day were unable to perceive who Jesus really was. The Unleavened Bread was made without yeast, and it had to have stripes and holes on it, describing the bruises, and the broken body of sinless Lord Jesus.
God has chosen and called us to be those who will live without any form of leaven or sin in our lives. The word church finds its root in the Greek work ‘ekklesia’ which means a people called or set apart for God, and therefore we as a church of God are not of this world, but are exclusively chosen to stand out for God. We are called by God to lead exemplary lives that glorify Him in every way.
Though the Chief Priest and Scribes were preparing to celebrate these two festivals which were in commemoration of Jesus, they failed to recognize who He was, and were plotting to have Him killed. They not only schemed to have Jesus arrested, but passed judgement on Him as one who was worthy of death. The ones who crucified Jesus were the Jewish religious leaders who did not believe in Jesus.
Daniel is another great example of one who led a life of integrity that his associates tried to plot and scheme evil against him. Whenever we walk circumspectly, we should not be surprised if there are those who device wicked ways to cause our downfall. The Lord exhorts us like Daniel to persevere in prayer, and He has promised to deliver us from all our trials. Many have grown weary, and have stopped praying or are unable to pray, but we need to seek the Lord to help us revive our prayer life. Even today the ones who are crucifying Jesus again and again through their sinful life, are not unbelievers but those who claim to be believers.
Paul combining these two festivals beautifully explains it in, 1 Corinthians 5:7, “You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover Festival is ready, now that Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (GNB)
Paul admonishes us to get rid of every sin, and sinful relationship with people of the world to be separated unto the Lord to live a pure life. There is a constant pressure for young and old alike to conform to the ways of this world, and that is why it is extremely important as to the kind of friendships we maintain, for ungodly acquaintances will lead us away from God. Lot made a decision to separate from Abraham, and initially settled outside Sodom. It was only a matter of time before he was in Sodom, and had to face the consequences for his association with Sodom. There is a lot of teaching today, that one has to be in sync with the things of this world, like be aware of the movies that are being screened in order to reach this generation, which is contradictory to the exhortations of God’s word. We must remind ourselves that we are a called out people, and so that all that we see, hear and think should be in line with the will of God, and bring honor to His name.
Many parents take great efforts to get their children well educated, and excel academically. However, if we don’t spend time to make our children read and listen to the word of God, the future of our children is at stake. They will be accomplished, have excellent careers, earn loads of money, but wistfully, if they do not have God in their lives, they will have to spend an eternity without God. That is why it is important to teach the word of God to children while they are still young. Six days of the week children are in school or college, and are constantly under the influence of their ungodly friends. Just listening to the word of God on Sunday alone is not enough to revert all the negative influences on their lives. Let us create opportunities for our children, to hear the word of God on every possible occasion.
Fear God and not men
We read in Mark 14:2, They said, "But we cannot arrest Jesus during the festival. We don't want the people to be angry and cause a riot." (ERV)
The religious leaders did not want to arrest Jesus during the festival, only because they feared the people, and did not want them to rise in an uproar to cause a riot. They were quite aware of who Jesus was, they had heard his teachings, observed all the miraculous signs and wonders, yet they plotted to have Jesus killed.
The question we must ask ourselves is, ‘do we fear God more than we fear men?’
We read in Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” (ESV)
There is safety for those who trust in the Lord, but for those who have fear of men they are in a place of danger. We must lead our lives with the continual thought that God is watching us, more than being conscious of men’s observance of us.
A woman anoints Jesus with an expensive ointment
Mark 14: 3-9 records this incident of Jesus being anointed with an expensive ointment of pure nard.
We read in Mark 14:3, “And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.” (ESV)
Also in Mark 14:4, “Some of the people there became angry and said to one another, "What was the use of wasting the perfume?” (GNB)
Jesus was invited to a feast to the house of Simon the leper, and as he reclined at the table, a woman came to Him with an alabaster flask of expensive ointment, broke it, and anointed the head of Jesus with the same. While the religious leaders outside were plotting and scheming to have Jesus killed, here was a woman who was lavishing on Jesus, the expensive anointment that was hers.
Those people who observed this got upset and angry. The fact was that this ointment rightfully belonged to the woman, she gave it of her own free will, and she was giving it all to Jesus. The ones who were annoyed were those who thought it was a waste of resources to have this poured on Jesus. The person who should have felt the pinch of it was the woman herself, but as she gave of all that was hers joyfully, it was woeful that those who were just bystanders were filled with envy and anger.
There are many who choose to live their lives any way they want all through the year, but on their birthday they would like to feed the poor in an orphanage or a needy home, hoping that their charity would nullify all of their disobedience and sin. Feeding the poor and hungry is a blessing, and we should do it as often as we can, but it should never be done with the thought that this would help us win the favor of God, so that he would overlook all of our offences. Our good deeds and works of charity should always be done with love as the foundation, never as a compensation for our sins, and most certainly never a substitute for us to receive our salvation. Only the finished work of Jesus on the cross can rid us of our sins, and nothing else can ever attain salvation for us. We are called to lead a life that is totally pleasing to God every single day, and do all that we can to bless others.
We read in Mark 14:8, She did what she could; she poured perfume on my body to prepare it ahead of time for burial. (GNB)
Jesus had foretold about His death, burial and resurrection, and while even the disciples of Jesus failed to comprehend this reality, this woman had somehow understood about the death of Jesus and she wanted to do all that she could before His death. She decided to pour out on Jesus all that she held precious to her, and decided that Jesus alone was worthy of all of it. We might recall an earlier incidence when the Magi came to visit the child Jesus, and they too opened up their treasures and gave to Him gold, frankincense and myrrh. While the people rebuked her, Jesus defended her, and commended her for what she did. Jesus also declared that wherever the gospel of Jesus was going to be preached, this generous deed of this woman would also be remembered by everyone.
Our life is God’s gift to us, and we should give of ourselves to the Lord. The Lord will honor those who have left behind their families, their position or possessions for the sake of the Kingdom of God. For those who have perceived who Jesus is, it is inevitable that they would be generous and willing to give of themselves, and their possessions for the Lord.
Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples
Jesus observes the Passover with His disciples, as recorded in Mark 14:12-25.
We read in Mark 14:22-24, “And as they are eating, Jesus having taken bread, having blessed, brake, and gave to them, and said, `Take, eat; this is my body.' And having taken the cup, having given thanks, he gave to them, and they drank of it-all; and he said to them, `This is my blood of the new covenant, which for many is being poured out;” (YLT)
The Passover feast was observed every single year, but this time the disciples were surprised when Jesus broke the bread, and told the disciples that this signified His body which was to be broken on our behalf. He took the cup, and declared that this indicated this was the blood of the new covenant that was being poured out for the remission of sins.
In Luke 7:28, we read, “I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (ESV)
The reason Jesus said that of those born of women, there was none greater than John the Baptist, yet, even the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is far greater than he is, because we are the children of the new covenant. Those of the new covenant are purchased with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Lord Jesus has given us His all, and let us surrender our lives to give of ourselves, not just our money, but every single part of our lives for His honor and glory.
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
We read in Mark 14:32-34, And they come to a spot, the name of which is Gethsemane, and he saith to his disciples, `Sit ye here till I may pray;' and he taketh Peter, and James, and John with him, and began to be amazed, and to be very heavy, and he saith to them, `Exceeding sorrowful is my soul--to death; remain here, and watch.' (YLT)
In Mark 14:37, He went back and found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn't you stay awake for one hour? (GW)
Jesus and His disciples came to Gethsemane which was an ‘oil press’, almost implying that Jesus had come to the place where he would be utterly crushed, a place of intense suffering and agony. As His other disciples stood afar, Jesu took Peter, James and John to pray along with Him. When Jesus got back, they were fast asleep. That is when Jesus beckoned to Peter, and asked him if he couldn’t stay awake to pray for just one hour.
Have you noticed how we often struggle to stay awake to pray, and yet though we might have gone to bed feeling exhausted, a little ping from the mobile will motivate us to check the messages on social media (WhatsApp, Facebook or you tube), and even before we realize an hour is past. Often we yawn and struggle only when it comes to prayer, bible reading or times of worship. Without prayer we will never have victory in our lives. Let us plead with God to help us to watch and pray. Our spirit is willing, but often our flesh is weak, and we must earnestly ask God to strengthen us to pray. There are many believers who never pray and who are striving in their own flesh. The Lord admonished his disciples to watch and pray for one hour, and we must ask God for strength, and discipline to pray at least for one hour each day. We must persevere in prayer especially for those areas where we are faltering or failing repeatedly.
I would like to challenge you to turn off the cell phone for one hour each day and to spend that time communing with the Lord. When we do so we are assured in Isaiah 40:31, “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (ESV)
Let us appeal to the Lord to revive our prayer life, increase in zeal to persist in prayer, be strengthened in our inner being, to soar with wings like eagles, and experience the tremendous victory that will be ours in every area of our lives when we continue fervently in prayer.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
