Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. Praise the Lord for all the days the Lord gives us to live, to love, to worship, and to serve. Praise the Lord for the seasons. Jesus is the Lord in every season and he is the Lord of all seasons. He is the Lord of history. Indeed history is His story. As we study the Scriptures, we discover that the Lord of creation is the Lord of Redemption. He orchestrated the plan and the passages of redemption. The birth, the ministry, the mission, the passion, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus were all prophesied 700 years before the Christ Event.
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the LORD Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
So Zechariah predicted of Jesus and his disciples in the book of Zechariah 13:7 . And in Mark Chapter 14 we see these predicted events playing out. This is the calm before the storm, a brief time of respite before the passion of Jesus Christ explodes with an act of breathtaking betrayal. Jesus is the shepherd, the disciples the sheep. Jesus will be stricken, the disciples will fall away; as Jesus says, all will fall away. They will be scattered violently.
We see Jesus, who is fully aware of the events at hand, in command of the situation and we see the disciples who, though they are in the midst of the events, and though they are fully conscious, are in a stupor. They experience the events, but they cannot comprehend their meaning. They see it happening right before their eyes, yet they are oblivious to the deeper meaning of the occasion. It is almost as if they are groggy and need a double shot latte’ to stay alert.
We have all experienced this. We experience an event in our lives that only later, upon reflection, do we understand the full impact it has had on our lives. What I am saying is that in the moment that such an event happens in our lives, we are aware of the material and psychological impact – but we are unaware of the spiritual impact.
Here, in this passage, we see the disciples going through this kind of thing. They experience what is happening in the garden, but are not fully able to process it until later. Only later do they see the spiritual significance of the events that night in the garden of Gethsemane.
As we look at this passage I want us to keep in mind two things. First, Jesus is not only fully aware of the unfolding of the events, but He is the one who is in control of the events. Second, Jesus doesn’t expect his disciples to help him. In fact, astonishingly, even at the time of his greatest trial, Jesus is concerned for the welfare of his disciples. I want us to keep these two things in mind because in our own lives we need to know that in spite of any, and I mean any, circumstances that we find ourselves in, Jesus is not only there helping us through, but he is completely, and totally in control.
Mark 14:27 – 29 is one of the passages where, on the first read, it appears that Jesus is complaining about the disciples not being there for him, when in fact it is the flip opposite. Jesus isn’t complaining. Jesus doesn’t need help. He is God incarnate; He can handle what ever is thrown at Him. It is we who are human who need the help, and Jesus is there to provide help.
Have you noticed that every time Jesus speaks of his passion, a crisis erupts with the disciples. Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7 saying that each of the disciples will fall away, meaning they will fail to believe; that is bad news. But also notice that in verse 28 Jesus tells them good news, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Bad news – Good news.
The disciples don’t even hear the good news that Jesus will see them through this crisis. No, they only hear about the failure that will happen in their lives. Peter can’t stand it. Peter sees himself as being above failure. He is declares that he will not sin. Why does Peter say this? Why does Peter make this claim? Peter makes this claim because he is still under the illusion that he is in control of his life. Jesus tells him that he will fail and that he will fall away, but Peter believes in his mind that this will not happen, because he believes that he is in control, in the driver’s seat.
Peter vows to stick by Jesus no matter what because Peter believes he is in control. He believes it so strongly that he says, (31) “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” Jesus, however, tells Peter that he is so NOT in control, and to drive this fact home, Jesus outlines exactly how the events will unfold that very night. Peter will deny Jesus three times before the cock crows twice.
Understand that the third watch, of the four Roman night watches, was designated the cock crow. This is a reference to a changing of the Roman guard. A bugle would sound that would be heard throughout the city at the time of the changing of this watch. Here we see that a bird will crow to remind Peter of his lack of control, but it is also possible that in addition to the crow of the cock, a bugle sounded, something Peter would certainly not missed. Jesus ups the ante for Peter and heightens the fact that he will fail.
Then, notice in verse 31, the remarkable words, “And all the others said the same.” Not a single one of them could see the impact of the spiritual nature of the events they were experiencing, but they will fully understand upon reflection, and then they will be blown away.
Jesus takes them to a place that they had been to many times before. The disciples think it is a night like any other night, but it is not, and it is significant that Jesus takes them to the garden of Gethsemane. The garden was part of an estate at the foot of the mount of olives. Gethsemane means olive press. They have walked into an olive grove that also contains an onsite olive press. As the olives are pressed here in this garden so will our Lord Jesus be pressed.
Does Jesus tell the disciples to pray for him in verse 32? No. Take a look for yourself. Jesus says, “Sit here while I pray.” I believe the Lord is praying for the disciples. He is praying for us. The disciples sit, while Jesus prays alone. What he is asking is for them to be on watch; really He is saying He wants them to be spiritually alert. He is not asking for a lookout in case someone happens by, but He wants them to be aware of the spiritual nature of the occasion. Why? There will be very tough times ahead and Jesus wants them to be aware of more than the material and psychological aspects of the events at hand.
Jesus takes along with Him Peter, James and John. Peter has just emphatically vowed to stay by Jesus; James and John earlier had vowed to be able to drink the cup of Jesus. Jesus pulls them aside, for they will need special prayer. Their glib overconfidence places them in great peril at the hands of the enemy. Their failure to understand what it means to be identified with Jesus is why Jesus pulls them aside. They think that to be identified to Jesus evokes special status but, in reality, identity with Jesus requires suffering. It is not about special status at all.
If you have found yourself surprised by some serious difficult times in your life, if you have thought to yourself that someone, like you, who is a Christian, shouldn’t see such hard times, then you are in good company with Peter, James, and John.
A relationship with Jesus will bring you exactly what you are seeking deep down in your heart. It will bring you a freedom that good times, success, prosperity, and honor could never even start to match. When you find that freedom in Christ and when you lay a hold of it, then no difficult circumstance, and no horrible event, even the facing of your own death, (which, by the way, all of us without exception will have to face) will be able to prevail upon you. Jesus wants this for His disciples; He wants this for you and for me.
Jesus is concerned for us even in the worst trial anyone could ever experience. Romans 8:31-32 becomes powerful for us in our lives. Rom. 8:31, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Let us not be discouraged by the events at hand. Our life is not merely physical and psychological events piled on top of one another; the Spirit of God is working behind all that happens to us. In the same way that Jesus, in the garden with his disciples, experienced a spiritual event, in the midst of the circumstances surrounding us, the Lord is working. “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
In Him,
Brown
Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well.
J. S. Bach
All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub.
J. S. Bach
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