Watch and Pray:
“The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is
Weak”
Mark 14:32-42
Introduction: There was a report that during the early days of
computerized language translation that someone tried to use a famous verse from
this passage to test the new program, translating from English to Russian the
phrase, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The result missed the
mark just a bit: “The whiskey is good, but the meat has gone bad!” Oh well, hopefully
we can do better as we seek to understand what God has for us in this passage,
Mark’s account of Jesus praying in Gethsemane. Last week we took a first look
at this scene and focused on what this passage shows us about who Jesus is, and
what He came to do. As the first Adam, through his disobedience brought death
and the curse, the last Adam, Jesus, the God-Man, took the curse for us so that
we could receive blessing and life. This week we return to this scene, focusing
on the disciples… As we consider their failure, we should be reminded not to
think more highly of ourselves than we ought, to see our need to stay watchful
and prayerful.
Remember
that Mark seems to be writing to believers in Rome that are suffering for their
faith. The positive example is Jesus Himself. One thing that must come from this
scene in the Garden and the passion that follows is that Jesus understands
their suffering, we have a High Priest who can sympathize with us in our
weakness, He was tested in all points like as we are, yet without sin. We also
see Jesus, in His humanity, seeking support from His friends, those closest to
Him, but ultimately relying on God His Father to help Him in His time of
greatest need.
The Maine* Idea: As we pass through crises in life, we have the support
of the church, and through prayer, because of Jesus, we have access to God who
will always work for our good and His glory.
I. Bear one
another’s burdens: The encouragement
of the brethren is important to survival in stress filled times (32-34).
32 And they went
to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here
while I pray." 33 And he
took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and
troubled. 34 And he said to
them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and
watch."
Jesus was
under unimaginable pressure… He says essentially, “The sorrow is more than I
can bear, it is killing me!” Remember the location: at the base of the Mount of
Olives, the Garden called Gethsemane, “the oil press.” Jesus fell on His face
and prayed to His Father, Abba, [Papa]
take this cup from me… Remember, He is not just talking about His impending
torture and death, but…
…the “cup” that He prayed might be removed was not the
physical pain He would endure on the cross. Indeed many Christian martyrs have
gone to their death with… no evidence whatsoever that they wished to avoid the
hour of their martyrdom. No, the cup that so distressed and troubled Him was
the spiritual suffering He would endure as He would bear the sins of the world
and drink to the last drop the fierce wrath of God as our substitute (Daniel Akin, Exalting Christ in Mark).
Jesus felt the weight of the sins of the world crushing
Him, and with that the horror of the cup of wrath, judgement for sins—not His
own, He was holy and sinless, but He bore our sins in His body on the
Cross. He took the curse for us. James Edwards wrote that
“Nothing in all the Bible compares to Jesus’
agony and anguish in Gethsemane—neither the laments of the Psalms, not the
broken heart of Abraham as he prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen 22:5),
nor David’s grief at the death of his son Absalom (2 Sam 18:33)” (Edwards, Mark, 432).
And so, he asks the disciples to sit while He prays,
and He takes Peter, James, and John a little further. He was preparing them to
be His witnesses, they would be able to testify to the others about Gethsemane,
and He was also teaching them, even though they would fail here, and fall asleep,
they would fail when He was arrested and tortured and put to death, later,
after the resurrection and after Pentecost, they would learn what it really
means to take up their cross and follow him. And they would be His witnesses.
Remember the exchange back in Mark 10. After Jesus told the disciples, for the
third time, about His coming death and resurrection, James and John came up to
Him and asked if they could be the ones to sit at side in the Kingdom. We read
Jesus’ response in 10:38-41…
38 Jesus said to
them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the
cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am
baptized?" 39 And they
said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup
that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized,
you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left
is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been
prepared." 41 And when
the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
Remember that the indignation of the others was probably
not that they were offended at their colleagues’ request, but that they had
gone to Jesus first, they had jumped ahead in the line! But I want to point out the reference to the
coming “cup” that Jesus would drink. He said, “The cup that I drink you will drink…” Besides references to a
physical cup, like giving a cup of water in his name or sharing a cup of wine
at the Passover table, He only uses the word “cup” in Mark in this exchange
with the disciples and again in the Garden. The disciples had no idea what was
coming, but Jesus did. He would drink the cup of God’s wrath against sin for
them and for us. But there is a sense in which believers share in the
suffering of Christ as we live and carry out His mission in this fallen world.
After all, if the world hates Him, it will hate those who will follow Him. That
is why Jesus warned back in chapter 8 that those who would be His disciples
must be willing to take up their cross and follow Him. As we bring the Gospel
to the world, we are engaging in spiritual warfare. Jesus is engaged in a
battle in Gethsemane. I think the enemy is there, just as he was in the wilderness
earlier in the gospel, wanting to tempt Him to take a different, easier path.
As He prayed, He had asked the disciples to watch and to wait…
It seems
to me that the disciples were invited purposefully, to give support… they were
His friends and followers after all, at that time, closer to Him than his
(half) brothers. But also they were there to learn, Jesus, the Master, was
still teaching and preparing them… They would be His witnesses. Peter would
write two letters, part of our New Testament. Sinclair Ferguson refers to one
of them…
Jesus remained faithful when his heart was breaking,
when the cup was bitter and when his companions were weak. In the light of this
Peter’s words are all the more challenging - when we remember that he was
there, with Jesus in Gethsemane: “Christ suffered for you, leaving an example,
that you should follow in His steps” (I Pet 2:21).
Jesus taught by word and by example. He was teaching
the disciples, and us. As we pass through crises in life, (even though the
disciples failed Him) we have the support of the church, and through prayer, because
of Jesus, we have access to God who will always work for our good and His
glory.
II. Cry out
to our Great High Priest: Prayer is
the key to survival in stress filled times as we express our dependence on God
and submit to His will (35-40).
35 And going a
little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the
hour might pass from him. 36
And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this
cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 37 And he came and found them
sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not
watch one hour? 38 Watch and
pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak." 39
And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found
them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to
answer him.
No one else
could understand what was coming… The disciples didn’t even understand what he
had told Him about his death, much less his resurrection. As Jesus anticipated
the spiritual separation, the substitutionary atonement that was about to happen,
He went apart, taking the “inner circle” of three part of the way, and He himself
went further and cried out to the Father, honestly expressing His revulsion of
what lay before Him. Even so, He prayed, submitting Himself to the Father’s
will, “Not my will, but your will be done.”
Why did God inspire Mark to include this in His gospel? Was it to show us how
to pray? Even in the face of suffering, even when it seems more than we can
bear, we can know that God is good and He does good, and so we can trust Him
and pray, “…your will be done…” It is
an expression of faith, as the ladies are learning in their Bible study, not
only believing God is, but trusting Him, taking Him at His word.
Jesus
bore our griefs and carried our sorrows… That is what the prophet Isaiah
said in chapter 53. Let’s read verses 3-6 again,
3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. 4
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed
him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed
for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed. 6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all…
Prayer is a resource to keep us from
stumbling… Watch and pray that you not
fall into temptation… That reminds us of another garden, and an enemy that
is still crouching at the door… We are called to bear each other’s burdens, and
so fulfill the Law of Christ. But guess what, sooner or later, people will let
you down, they won’t be there when they should have been. That is not the way
it should be, but because “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak,” sooner
or later, it will happen. But even at those moments when things seem darkest
and you feel most alone, God is there, and He invites us to pray.
The
gospels don’t give us any information about the spiritual battle that may be
happening here. It is interesting that in the accounts of the temptations of
Christ we are told that God sent angels to minister to Him (Mark 1:13, Mt 4:11).
Only Luke tells us that here in this context of agonizing prayer, an
angel came and strengthened Jesus in Gethsemane (Luke 22:43). Wait a minute, does
the Son of God, God incarnate, need to be strengthened? In His humanity, even in
His sinless humanity, He apparently did! Think about what that means. He
understands our weakness.
We truly
have a High Priest who understands. No one else might fully understand what you
are facing, but He “…has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows…” And think about this: the day will come when God
himself will wipe away the tears from our eyes. Our High Priest was tested and
tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin! As we pass through crises in life, we have
the support of the church, and through prayer, because of Jesus, we have access
to God, who is always good, and who will always work for our good and His
glory.
III. Trust in
the will of God: Through prayer we discover
the power to bear up under the trials of life and move ahead in God’s will (41-42).
41 And he came
the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your
rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners. 42 Rise,
let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."
He had
told the twelve that one of them would betray Him. He had told Peter that he
would three times deny Christ, that was still to come. He had told all the disciples that they would all
desert Him. That was about to happen. Now, for the third time, after asking
them to watch and pray, He returns and finds them sleeping. They did not seem to grasp that they were
watchmen, sleeping on the job, at one of the most pivotal moments in all of
redemptive history. Remember just a chapter back, perhaps at another spot but also
on the Mount of Olives, Jesus had called on the disciples to stay awake. Just the
last few verses of the chapter say,
33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know
when the time will come. 34
It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants
in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake-
for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or
at midnight, or when the cock crows, or in the morning- 36 lest he come suddenly and find
you asleep. 37 And what I say
to you I say to all: Stay awake…"
(Mark 13:33-37).
That generation
needed to be alert for the coming judgment of Jerusalem, and every generation
since has needed to live in recognition that the day is coming when Christ will
return and when God will judge the world in righteousness. Until that day we
are here to proclaim the message of the Gospel, and to use our gifts to build
each other up so that we can more effectively carry out God’s mission in the
world. We need to stay alert, recognizing we have an enemy who goes about as
a roaring lion. We are engaged in a spiritual battle, and I believe that we
need to be alert to our own weakness, living by faith, trusting Him in our
need.
“…it is enough, the hour has come…” — It
seems like a strange phrase in this context, does it not? Enough what? The word
“enough” can be used in the sense, “the bill is paid.” That would mean, perhaps, that the matter is settled. This time of
testing is over. Jesus has proved
faithful, standing fast and submitting Himself to the Father’s will. It’s time
for this story to move ahead, according to God’s plan.
“…rise, let us be going…” He is not
saying, “Let’s get out of here!” He is saying, let’s get to the business I came
to do. The word “rise” is sometimes used with a military connotation: Charge!
Move ahead! Engage the enemy! Jesus is not on the defensive. This made me think
of that scene in the Temple recorded by Luke, when Jesus is left behind in
Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph. They were panicked. He said, “Didn’t you know that
I would be about my Father’s business?” In Jerusalem again, He is in control, about
His Father’s business, guiding the story ahead to its necessary conclusion. For
this purpose He came into the world. So…
What is God
saying to me in this passage? As
we pass through crises in life, we have the support of the church, and through
prayer, because of Jesus, we have access to God who will always work for our good
and His glory.
What would
God have me to do in response to this passage? We tend to judge the disciples harshly when we see
their failures in the gospels. But consider that we have the full light of the
gospel, and we have the indwelling Holy Spirit with us and in us. There came a
point, after the resurrection, when Jesus opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures. On Pentecost they would be baptized, sealed, and filled with the
Spirit, and these same men became bold proclaimers of the gospel, and tradition
tells us, one-by-one, they were martyred for their faith. Have you ever fallen
asleep in church? Maybe not. But have you ever been in church, daydreaming, maybe
thinking about lunch plans? Have you ever gone through the motions, singing the
songs without considering the words? Have
you ever simply dozed off reading the Bible or praying? Enough! Let’s be going!
Jesus was
accomplishing the once for all redemption that He came to provide. Even so, He
was also giving the disciples, and us, and example. The Garden was a prelude and
preparation for Calvary. Ferguson said,
“We need to learn to ‘watch and pray’ in our current
situation, or we will never be able to do so when the ‘evil day’ comes…
Gethsemane was unique. We don’t go through our own Gethsemane. Jesus has done
that for us. But we must learn to place our feet in the footsteps of
faithfulness which he planted there, if we are to be his disciples.”
What does it mean to follow Him? Would you be His
disciple? That is the call. Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, came and satisfied
divine justice, He took your sin and my sin in His body on the tree… He was
made a curse for us. That is how much God loves us. The Son prayed, Papa, Abba,
take this cup from me… nevertheless not my will but your will be done. I
believe that it is because of the last part of that prayer, Jesus willingly
submitting himself to the eternal plan, choosing to take the punishment that we
deserved, that God spared not the Son,
but delivered Him up for us all… Do you believe He did that for you? How
then, must we live? Think about it, remember Gethsemane, and Golgotha, and if
you will, take up your cross, and follow Him. AMEN.
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