April 2, 2014
Night of Agony
Mark 14:27-52
I “Pray With Me……” 14:27-40
II “The Time Has Come…..” 14:41-52
(Braveheart is a movie that tells the story of Scotland’s pursuit of freedom, from the tyranny of the English, under the leadership of William Wallace. There was one particular battle where Wallace and his men were fighting the English----they thought they had the backing of the Scottish nobles, but the nobles had been bought off by the king of England, and wound up betraying Wallace on the battlefield…
Robert the Bruce, who later becomes the king of Scotland, suffered pangs of remorse for his part in the betrayal---and he confessed his heartache to his father, in one of the scenes…There conversation went like this….
Robert Bruce Sr.”I’m the one who’s rotting, but I think your face looks graver than mine. Son, we must have alliance with England to prevail here. You achieved that. You saved your family, increased your land, And in time, you will have all the power in Scotland.”
Robert the Bruce “lands, titles, men, power…nothing.”
Robert Bruce Sr. “Nothing?”
Robert the Bruce “I have nothing. Men fight for me because if they do not, I throw them off my Land and I starve their wives and children. Those men who bled the ground red at Falkirk fought for William Wallace. He fights for something that I never had. And I took it from him when I betrayed him. I saw it in his face on the battlefield, and it’s tearing me apart.”
Robert Bruce Sr. “all men betray--- all men lose heart.”
Robert the Bruce “I don’t want to lose heart!!!!! I want to believe as he does and, I will never be on the wrong side again.”)
That’s what Judas did----he chased after things that he thought would satisfy his soul. He even thought that betraying the Savior, would satisfy him----but he was so wrong-----and as we see his actions stacked up against the Lords----we can’t help, but look beyond our anger at Judas, and feel pity for him, because as it says in Mark 8:36, “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, only to lose his soul.”
I “Pray With Me” 14:27-40
Scholars have decided that the Garden of Gethsemane was probably owned by a wealthy acquaintance of Jesus. And since its still there, we know that, it was a walled orchard on the side of the Mount of Olives, that contained its own olive press.
So, it was the perfect place to go, for Jesus to have some time to pray, and the disciples some time to rest…After they sang what was probably, the beautiful, traditional Passover hymn, from Psalm 118, and left the Upper Room, Jesus and the disciples walked to the Garden-----and as they walked along---Jesus warned them that they would all forsake Him, when the time came for him to actually be arrested----- and some scholars even believe that He was telling them to flee, to spare them from being arrested too.
But, as they talked, Jesus did His best, to keep them from despairing over Him and His death, because He promised that He would meet them in Galilee after His resurrection. And He backed up His words, with the prophecy from Zechariah 13:7, “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.”
And we know that that’s exactly what did happen, they scattered--------but, that night, on the way to the Garden, their minds and their hearts weren’t able to receive and comprehend what He was saying. Because even 3 days later, they just couldn’t believe the reports that they heard about His resurrection----it took the angel giving them a special reminder to meet Jesus in Galilee, for them to remember, what He had said, and to galvanize them out of their dejection and spur them to action…----
If they had listened to the Lord and been able to believe His words, they would have saved themselves, so much grief and anxiety, and Peter wouldn’t have broken his own heart , because he would never have denied the Lord, if he’d just believed what Jesus said, and trusted Him---
but, they needed the Holy Spirit, to be able to trust Him and to stand firm for Him,
and scripture says, that Jesus had to go, in order for the Spirit to come---that’s why Jesus didn’t give them a hard time---not even Peter, who kept insisting that He would follow Him into death, if he had to-----
Jesus was a man, so He knew and understood the disciples’ humanity and what their minds and hearts could take and couldn’t take-----so, He just continued to love them, as He gently turned away from their well-meaning vows of loyalty, even from sweet, impestuus Peter’s rash promises------ who did follow Him, after they left the Garden, to be near him, at His trial---- but, then, even Peter failed Him, as he gave into fear and denia,l and then, into despair, as the cock crowed 3 times, and Jesus looked right at him with forgiveness in His eyes…
When I hear an inexperienced believer confidently assert that they will follow Jesus, come what may, it makes me feel both glad and a little concerned---thrilled, because they have a new life in the Lord, and wary, because they are so naïve---it brings a picture to my mind, of Dorothy and the Tin Man, gaily skipping down the yellow brick road, arms crossed, singing “I have decided to follow Jesus…..” with the wicked witch watching them from behind and the Emerald City, surrounded by poisonous poppies in front of them…
Naively presuming that we can follow the Lord’s will, just because we’re determined to, gives us a rude awakening sometimes!
We can’t do anything in our own strength----only through prayer and total dependence on the Lord Jesus, can we even follow Him a fraction of the way, we would like to….. (
I remember, once, when Griff was in middle school----he went to summer camp, for a week, with the youth----When he got home he was determined, my sweet boy, who was playing the violin when he was 4, that he wasn’t going to listen to any more secular music-----I didn’t want to hurt him, or discourage his commitment, but I did talk to him about setting yourself up for failure, and biting off more than you can chew-----as we talked, we decided that he would make a compromise----he would take it one week at a time---which he did.
Over time, Griff didn’t completely give up secular music----but Christian music, has always featured, the heaviest, in his ipod playlist )
I always like it better, when I hear a new believer say, “I know I can’t do it alone, but with the Lord’s help, I will do my best.”
When Jesus and the disciples got to Gethsemane, most of the disciples settled down at the entrance to get some rest……but the Lord took Peter, James and John, on a little further, into the Garden with Him….I wonder if the other disciples had already accepted those 3 as their future leaders-----because this was the 3rd time that Jesus had picked them for deeper revelation---in the house of Jarius, they had witnessed His power and greatness, when He raised the little girl back to life-----and then, at His transfiguration, on the mountain, they had seen His deity and glory, as He talked with Moses and Elijah----and, finally, in the Garden, Jesus wanted them to witness and share His deep sorrow and grief and His heartbreaking suffering, as He struggled with it, in His humanity.
Nobody wants to suffer by themselves, we might think we do, that we don’t want to burden anybody, or inconvenience them, but I can tell you from experience, over these last 6 months, and you all know this too, that having somebody come alongside you and share the burden with you, especially, in prayer, is a blessing beyond words.
And Jesus, was no different, He wanted the companionship of His friends---He asked Peter, James and John to come with Him-----we need to learn this lesson-----we are supposed to ask people to help us, and we are supposed to receive their help, when they offer it-----we tend to feel guilty and embarrassed that we even need help, or comfort, or counseling----but that’s so dumb, because God created us, knowing that we would have a hard time going it, alone---He created us for companionship, relationship and fellowship, with each other, and especially with Him------and we need to embrace each other, not push each other away----plus, we don’t want to be guilty of robbing somebody of their joy, as they desire to serve us…
Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane knowing the anguish that was ahead of Him, so He asked His friends to go with Him------ we don’t always know what’s ahead of us, because more times than not, we stumble into our Gethsemane gardens----but we don’t have to stay there alone-----we need to ask people to come and join us….
If Jesus needed somebody, doesn’t that tell us, how much more we need each other-----so, we need to get into the habit of sharing not just our joys, with each other, but our hard times too.
Jesus’ struggle, in the Garden, can only really be understood, when you understand what happened to Him, on the cross….He became our sin-bearer, the sin-bearer for all mankind--- and He submitted Himself to the penalty for our sin, so that we would never have to----not for past, present or future sin….but as bad as we know that His physical pain must have been, that isn’t what drove Him to His knees, and then on His face, before His Heavenly Father, that night, in the Garden----what almost overwhelmed Him, was anticipating, the anguish and sorrow, that He knew He was going to experience, when He had to be forsaken by His Abba Father, to be separated from the precious papa and son relationship, that they shared, as Jesus had all the sin of the world placed on His spotless heart….
That was the cup, He knew He was going to have to drink! According to Hebrews 5:7-9, Jesus asked the Father, to be saved, not “from death”, but He asked to be raised “out of death”----He asked the Father to raise Him from the dead-----Jesus was persistent in his prayer----He kept praying until He was peaceful about going forward------we need to be that persistent----we need to pray and pray and pray again, even if we’re praying the same prayer over and over again, we need to keep praying----God will always answer us----He always answers, yes, no or wait---none of those answers may be what we want to hear, but we need to keep praying, no matter what the answer is, until we can reach the place in our hearts and minds that Jesus did, where we can say, “Not my will, but Yours be done….”and walk out, and face whatever it is, secure and resolved, in perfect peace, the way He did…..
One thing we need to realize about Jesus’ prayer though, is that He never one time, told the Father what to do because He had perfect confidence in God’s will-----3 times, He prayed for there to be some other way, and 3 times He yielded to the Father’s will, in loving surrender------which repeats for us, what we’ve said so many times before-----we can’t control the circumstances around us, but if we take our focus off of the circumstances, and put them on Jesus----the circumstances probably will not change, but our attitude about the circumstances will change----every single time------because our focus is where it should be, on Jesus, and we can trust Him, to handle everything else, even if the circumstances seem impossible….
While Jesus was pouring His heart out to the Father, Peter, James and John, bless their hearts, were sleeping----it’s hard to know whether they were just so tired---- or, did Satan have a hand in trying to dull their senses?-----first and foremost, so that Jesus would feel alone and isolated and rejected by His friends, and so, that the 3 of them would leave themselves vulnerable to later temptation….
We don’t know, but it’s odd to me, even as easy a sleeper as I am, that if Jesus was struggling to the point of sweat-drops of blood pouring off His face, I don’t think His prayers were quiet---I think He was crying out to God----scripture tells us, over and over again, that Jesus cried out to God----I think He was loud, in His prayers (It reminds me of being in my grandparents house, when I was growing up----and somebody would come, in the middle of the night asking for prayer----and my preacher granddaddy, would get everybody in the house up, call us to the family room and we would pray----it would start out quiet, at first, with just one voice, and then, as the Holy Spirit, would fill the room, the other people’s voices would join my grandfather’s, in a cacophony of sound, that was earnest, often tear-filled and always worshipful----and to my young ears----- loud!!!! I would never have been able to sleep through it…) so I think Satan was prowling that night…..
The truth is, Jesus, actually was pretty clear in His admonition to Peter, to be alert as they prayed, to keep their spiritual eyes open, because the enemy was near, just looking for an opportunity to tempt them into disobedience…
Jesus was so gentle with His 3 friends, even though their sleeping, during His dark hour, was disappointing to Him-----and the lesson for us is, that He didn’t let His disappointment in them, turn into annoyance or frustration-----He didn’t keep his mouth shut, He wasn’t passive-aggressive, pretending that everything was ok on the outside, while He was secretly fuming or crying, on the inside---And He didn’t yell at them----He spoke directly to them about His disappointment…people don’t automatically know what’s going on inside of us----we need to tell them----for some reason, we think, that if they really loved us, they would be able to read our minds----but that’s silly, because we can’t read each other’s minds, so we need to talk , directly, about what’s on our hearts----Jesus was the great communicator----He showed us by example, how we’re supposed to go straight to a person, and be honest with them…Don’t be silent----- if you are disappointed , for some reason, in a friend---- don’t let the friendship be damaged---don’t be silent, don’t give up---just keep talking to them….
That night, in the Garden, Jesus kept pursuing them, even though, they failed Him, 3 times---we tend to give up on people, especially when we really need them, and they aren’t there for us---but Jesus kept giving them the opportunity to comfort Him----remember, that everybody, has their own issues to deal with, and we can’t judge each other for that------so we need to be persistent, loving, kind, open, and honest, in our commitment to each other, so that we don’t lose our unity, with the Lord and with each other.
II “The Time Has Come…” 14: 41-53
(“Howard Flynn has written, “Come with me in your imagination to the Battlefield of Saratoga, in New York, where in 1777, 2 battles of the revolutionary War, took place. You will notice on that battlefield, a pillar standing as a monument to what happened there. At the base are 4 different deep niches for the bronze figures of the generals who fought there so heroically. The first niche contains the figure of Horatio Gates, the next one houses the figure of Philip Schuyler. In the 3rd niche, we can see the figure of Daniel Morgan, but when we come to the 4th niche, we see something unusual----
The 4th niche is empty. This one was for a general whose performance during battle merited honor. But later he committed an act of treason which wiped all of his heroism away-----and he has gone down in the pages of history as a traitor. The base of the empty niche where his figure should have gone, still has his name engraved -----and that name, Benedict Arnold, and that empty niche will stand forever, as a monument to a person, who went from being a hero to being a traitor…
In heaven, there is also a great monument---a city, that is paved with streets of gold-----it consists of 12 foundations on each of which is the name of an apostle----but there is one name missing, that should have been there---the name of Judas Iscariot---oh the tragedy of abandoning noble purposes…”)
Just at the moment that Jesus was waking Peter, James and John up, for the 3rd time, Judas and the Temple Police and a huge contingent of Roman soldiers came to do the Sanhedrin’s dirty work and arrest Him-----if it weren’t so tragic, it would be funny, to think that the scribes and Pharisees thought, that it would take close to 1000 people, to bring Jesus to them….The fact that they brought such a large group of armed men, is evidence that neither Judas nor the religious leaders really understood Jesus---they had no clue who He was, or How He operated-----they must have thought that He would try to escape, or that He and His followers would put up a fight, or that He might perform some wonderful kind of miracle that would help Him evade them…what they didn’t understand was, that if Jesus Had wanted to escape, they could have had 100,000 armed soldiers there, and they wouldn’t have been able to stop Him----He had created the world with a word-----He had God’s legions, of angels, at His command, He and He , alone, was in control------no man, could make him to anything, that He didn’t choose to do, when He chose to do it. And the religious leaders had had numerous times to arrest Him, and they hadn’t, not because it wasn’t the right time, from their perspective, but because it wasn’t the right time from God’s perspective…
But with Judas’ kiss, of ultimate betrayal, the hour had come…..
Peter, bless his heart, did a foolish thing when he lopped off the ear of Malchus, the High Priest’s servant. We can’t fight spiritual battles, with physical weapons---Peter used the wrong weapon, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason------Jesus had to go to the cross, and this was the way that it had to happen…..and plus, Jesus doesn’t need us to defend Him---He can defend Himself---we need Him to defend us----He doesn’t want us to get in verbal arguments or physical fights over Him----He wants us to show people His love, so that we can draw them to Him, not turn them away from Him---- in the end, when He comes again, He will take care of the wrath, then …
If Jesus hadn’t healed Malchus, Peter would have been arrested right along with Jesus, and there might have been 4 crosses on Calvary, instead of 3…How many times have we interfered with God’s work, on our behalf, because we think we have to “help…” We need to learn to seek the Lord’s will, before we speak or act to solve any kind of situation.
What an example of submission to the Father Jesus is for us-----
*He walked forward, with peace and resolve, one foot in front of the other, to meet His death…
*He depended on the Father, for His strength….through prayer…
*He received the terrible kiss of betrayal, and still responded to Judas,
lovingly…
*He refused to let anyone fight in His defense…
*He submitted Himself to the arrest of the soldiers…
*And in His humanity, He did it all alone….
As we look at His bravery and His resolve and His compassion, and His obedience, knowing, that the end result, was our salvation----we have to realize that there is only one acceptable response that we can give----and that is….total submission to the One, who walked down the road to Calvary, so that we would never have to…
(Mark Evans, pastor of Valleybrook Community Church, reflects on his daughter’s first attendance at a Passion play in a way that I think we can all relate to…
“She was 4 years old and was about to see her first Easter play. And like most little girls, she was all decked out in her new flowered dress, patent leather shoes, matching purse, white lace socks and gloves, and to top it all off----her beautiful Easter hat….
As the play started, she screamed with excitement…”there’s Jesus, there’s Jesus…” He was playing with the children on stage, and she wanted to know why she couldn’t go up and play with Jesus too.
My response to her was ‘Honey, this is only a play. He isn’t really Jesus. He’s only an actor. This isn’t real.’ ‘Okay’, she said, but will you pick me up so that Jesus can see my hat?’
During the scene of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, when the soldiers came barging in, yelling and screaming, my daughter became so frightened that she turned her face away, buried it into my chest and began to cry.
Again, I tried to rationalize with her, ’It’s ok, honey. This is only a play. They are only actors. It isn’t real.”
Then came the dreaded scene. Down the aisle of the church came Jesus, dragging His cross----people yelling and cursing Him. This was too much, she couldn’t bear to watch. I held her tightly and tried to comfort her, ‘It’s ok honey---it’s just a play, they are actors, it isn’t real.’
Next the soldiers grabbed Jesus, threw Him against the cross, picked up their hammers and started pounding. At the top of her lungs, my daughter screamed, ‘Noooooooo! They’re killing my Jesus!’
She cried so loud and so long that I had to rush her out of the auditorium. I took her outside where she could finish watching the play on the outside TV screen and told her that Jesus was going to come back to life if she would watch. But she would not be consoled until she could see Jesus alive again----and at the end of the play, she made me take her to Jesus so that He could hold her and assure that He was alive…
‘Many people were in that auditorium that day----and they like me, had gone to see a play with actors-----it wasn’t supposed to be real----but…. when we saw the Gospel come alive, through the eyes of a child----- all of a sudden, it became very real----the truth of just what Jesus had done-------and the blessing of Easter took on a new dimension….it became more real to me, than it ever had before…’)
The struggle in Gethsemane, the arrest, the trial, the walk to the cross, the physical pain, the betrayal, the loss of His friends and the anguish of separation from His Father, is the Lord’s most precious gift to us. And my prayer is, that this year, Easter will take on a whole new dimension for us, and we will be able to love him, with the same depth of love and devotion and unquestioning loyalty, that that little girl did…
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