The Cross: It’s wisdom
Mark 14:32-42
Every Christian can grow in their knowledge of Jesus Christ, but understanding the experiences of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamane.
Introduction:
There are some interesting facts about the sisal plant from which is made tough sisal twine. It grows in Yucatan, Mexico, in hard stony soil. Some Americans visited the area and decided that there might be good money to be made in growing it in richer soil under better conditions. So they started a sisal plantation in Florida where the plant found life no longer a struggle for survival and grew to enormous size. The business promised tremendous returns until the time came for reaping. It was then that the leaf from which fibre vital for the twine comes collapsed into a soft pulp. The tough fibre-quality was missing. They learned then that the sisal plant acquired its toughness by its battle with adverse circumstances - the wind, the heat and the barren soil.
When we look at the last days of Jesus life we would have to admit that it was not an easy road. It was a road littered with many different kinds of difficulties. Through those experiences we see how Jesus was not just God, but he was also man.
Experience I. Pain
A. Probably most have seen the pictures of Jesus praying in the Garden. There are rocks and trees around, while Jesus is kneeling at a large rock. It all looks very peaceful. He looks very contented. I guess I would have to say this is probably how we would like to see Jesus’ prayer in the garden. When I read this passage I see a man who is greatly troubled. It had not been the best of days for Jesus. One of the men who was closest to him was exposed as a traitor. If we have every experienced the pain of losing a friend or even the death of someone close by we know the agony Jesus must have felt. Now as he comes to the garden, he carries with him the knowledge of everything that is about to take place on top of that.
B. Jesus said to his disciples, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." This phrase has the power of a laser beam. It is telling us the kind of agony Jesus is experiencing right now. He was telling his disciples with vivid clarity; I am really troubled here, so troubled that it may even lead to death. In The Message that is translated, “I feel bad enough right now to die.” This was not just a little something that was upsetting to Jesus, but this was something that was creating for Jesus a great deal of pain. I have to imagine the language used in this passage was something, which made very clear to the disciples the kind of distress Jesus was in.
C. The picture we see of Jesus may be the kind of thing we like to image from Jesus, but the truth of Jesus gives us a completely different picture. Jesus was a man who was overflowing with pain. It is really something very different from the picture we might have in our mind. I would guess that most of here have no problem saying Jesus is God. We may also find it easy to say Jesus was a man. The problem we run into is when we see pictures like this where it is very clear that Jesus was a man. It is very clear to me that when I am in the fog of despair, I don’t have to be there alone. I have a savior who understands what it is like to be betrayed. He understands what it is like to know something big is going to happen.
D. As we read of the humanness of Jesus Christ we even see him praying, “Take this cup from me.” He did not want to endure what lay ahead. I can identify times in my life when I had to do something I just did not want to do. At those times Jonah became my hero. On a mission trip, I was on the supper crew one night. One of the guys came in late, and seemed to me to be trying to take over. He was probably really trying to get caught up. I got mad and told him, “If you would have been here on time you would have known what we are doing.” Later, I knew I needed to apologize for my angry outburst. I preferred to run, but I needed to confess my own wrong actions. Jesus knows the struggle I faced that day. He can identify with your struggles as well.
Experience II. Prayer
A. When Jesus hits this low point in his life he turns to the best place he can. He first of all turns to God. In this passage we see some very short prayers offered up. But if we would turn to John 19 we would see an extended time of prayer. It is the passage where Jesus prays for himself, he prays for his disciples, and then he prays for us. So there we get a little better look at what Jesus is praying about. Here we just know that he is praying. I would say that because of Jesus’ posture he was really crying out to God. It was not the kind of prayer you would hear from your typical church on a Sunday morning.
B. In v. 35 Jesus goes a little further and he falls to the ground. It kind destroys the pretty picture of Jesus kneeling at a rock with light shining around his head. Instead Jesus falls prostrate while he is praying. I can imagine Jesus laying flat on the ground maybe even pounding the ground at times. He is pouring out his heart to God.
C. In v. 36 we saw where Jesus asked that the cup be taken from him. He knows that is not what is best, but still he asks. He requests that he would be relieved from the torture he was about to endure. When Jesus begins speaking to God he calls him Abba, which was a term of affection used in the Hebrew culture for children to call their fathers. It was kind of like our children calling us daddy. So, we might translate what Jesus is saying here is, “Daddy, everything is possible for you.”
D. It is constantly amazing to me that Jesus would find it necessary to spend time in prayer. He was the Son of God, we even say that he is God in the flesh. The question then arises, why would God in the flesh need to pray. It would be like talking to yourself; at least that is how it seemed. Jesus did need to find time in prayer and he found comfort from spending time with his father. This kind of a relationship was clearly good for Jesus. If the relationship is good for Jesus then it must be much more important for you and I. We need to know God better. That relationship will bring more comfort to us, when we face hard or even outrageous situations.
Experience III. Disappointment
A. In the movie Toy Story, Buzz Light year is convinced that he is a space ranger and not really a toy. At one point he is peeking at the Television where he sees a Buzz Light-Year commercial, and all of a sudden he realizes he is not a space ranger, but he is really a toy. His composure changes and test this theory he jumps from the second story balcony to see if he is really unable to fly. He of course falls and one of his arms falls off.
B. Maybe in our lives we have had the same kind of thing happen to us. We have convinced ourselves that something is not really true. We have been living a lie. The person we thought we could trust has begun to share your private stories. A spouse has become unfaithful. A parent laughs when they should be crying with you. Most people experience hurts in their lives. When that happens we feel betrayed, and alone.
C. I think might have been what was going through Jesus head when he found the disciples sleeping. He had told Peter, James and John of the agony he was experiencing. He made a request of them. He said, “stay here and keep watch.” We really don’t know what this means, but it was probably an indication of his desire to have the disciples pray or watch for Jesus captures. In v. 37 Jesus comes back to find the group of three asleep, and he says to Peter, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” I think he addressed Peter, because Peter was the one who had claimed he would not allow death to come to Jesus. Now he can’t even keep his eyes open.
D. Jesus no doubt knew the human frailties of his friends. He knew they had good intentions, but they were physically unable to keep up. I think that is what Jesus was saying in v. 38, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." I believe Jesus really intended for his disciples to stay with him during those hours. Instead we see them falling asleep.
E. Jesus knew the pain of disappointment. He knows what it is to pour out your heart full of concerns and receive an apathetic response. He knew what it was to place expectation on someone and have them fail. He knew what it was to hurt and have no one to comfort him, except for the father of course. I believe it is safe for us to say, Jesus knows and understands.
Conclusion:
I would say that once again as we look at Jesus during these final hours prior to his crucifixion he is very much human. He struggles, with physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. He was God, but he was also man. As man he can identify with us at a higher level than anyone can. Jesus understands when he have disappointments. He understands when we feel alone, but he also knows that God is always with us. He will never leave us. Jesus was leaning heavy on that promise that night in the Garden. When he had been betrayed, and experienced disappointment in his disciples, God was there.
When it feels like the bottom has fallen out of everything, and there is nowhere to turn. We can turn to God. God’s faithfulness will outlast anything we can imagine.
