MARK LESSON 31
We will begin this lesson in Mark 14:32.
Mark 14:32 "And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane:
and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray."
The word "Gethsemane" means oil press. When we were in the Holy
land a few years ago, I saw a stone hewn out and another round stone
inside which rolled over the olives to mash them and make olive oil.
The guide told me that this was a Gethsemane. We already know that
olive oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. We know this garden, then, was
filled with the Holy Spirit. We see, here, the need for everyone to
pray. If the Lord of the whole world needs to pray, you can see how
important it is for us to pray.
Mark 14:33 "And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and
began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;"
This heaviness was of His heart. Notice He took the three He
always took with Him. The three He felt that He was the closest to.
Surely Peter, James, and John would stick by Him. We know that God the
Son dwelt in a body of flesh while He was here on this earth. This
body would feel pain as any man.
Mark 14:34 "And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful
unto death: tarry ye here, and watch."
Jesus was telling the disciples that He was not looking forward to
the pain of the flesh on the cross. Jesus left the three disciples
about half way between where He was to pray and where He had left the
other eight disciples.
Mark 14:35 "And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground,
and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him."
The flesh of Jesus was crying out. It was bad enough to be nailed
to the cross and have all the pain associated with it, but the agony
of dread was terrible. I really believe that Jesus praying for this to
pass, and then submitting to the will of God is a lesson for us. Many
times in the flesh the work that God has called us to do is not
pleasing, but we must learn a lesson from Jesus here. We must learn
to say with Jesus, "I may not like the work, but I will submit to your
will, O Lord." Our flesh many times is weak, but we must allow the
spirit to rule over the flesh.
Mark 14:36 "And he said, Abba, Father, all things [are] possible
unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will,
but what thou wilt."
This was the only place in the Bible where Jesus called the Father,
"Abba". There are two other mentions of the name, one in Romans 8:15
and one in Galatians 4:6. In Romans and Galatians, it is the
Christian calling the Father, "Abba". They call Him , "Abba", because
they have received the spirit of adoption. All things -are- possible
to God. If the cup were to pass, all of humanity would be lost. As I
said in the previous paragraph, Jesus was teaching here that if He is
to be our Lord, we must get to the point that we can say, "Not my
will, but Thine be done." In Jesus, the will of the flesh submitted
to the will of the Spirit.
Mark 14:37 "And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith
unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?"
We see, quickly, here, that Peter's bragging that he would stand
by Jesus to the end would not even pass this very first test. These
three disciples who loved Jesus so dearly had succumbed to the
weariness of the flesh.
Mark 14:38 "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The
spirit truly [is] ready, but the flesh [is] weak."
These words spoken to the disciples were teaching how to avoid
temptation. It is just as current now as it was then. Their
temptation would be to deny that Jesus was Messiah, because of their
fear of crucifixion. Our temptation is to follow the ways of the
flesh and avoid being sacrificed, as well. The flesh and the spirit
have always fought for the soul of man. Jesus Christ the Lord was
willing, but the flesh that He dwelled in was weak. The disciples'
flesh was weak. Our flesh is weak, as well. The only way to overcome
temptation then and now is to listen to the spirit, and not the flesh.
We are told over and over by Jesus to take up our cross and follow
Him.
Mark 14:39 "And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the
same words."
This, also, is a lesson for us. God will not be angry with us, if
we pray three times for the same thing. The Lord will allow us a
space of time to get our flesh under subjection to our spirit. In
Jesus' case, very shortly the flesh yielded to the will of the Father.
Mark 14:40 "And when he returned, he found them asleep again,
(for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him."
We see here that Peter, James, and John did not desire not to
wait, but were overcome by the sorrow of what they were hearing. They
succumbed to the flesh and slept.
Mark 14:41 "And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them,
Sleep on now, and take [your] rest: it is enough, the hour is come;
behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
Perhaps, here, there was an interval of time before Judas came,
and Jesus told them to take their rest before he got there. At any
rate, there was no more need to watch, because He was through praying.
I believe He called Himself here "Son of man" to show that His flesh was
in the hands of the sinners to destroy His body. The time was at hand.
Jesus called the people who did this to Him sinners whether they were
Gentiles or Jews.
Mark 14:42 "Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at
hand."
Jesus would not hide from them. He went forth to meet them, in
fact. When He had decided to do this, He went forth to get it
done then. Of course, the Spirit within Him had known from the
beginning that this was the purpose of Him being on earth. This was no
surprise to Jesus.
Mark 14:43 "And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas,
one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and
staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders."
We see, here, that the religious people of the day were Jesus'
worst enemies. They came out to get Jesus with weapons like He was a
common criminal. My own opinion of these chief priests, scribes, and
elders is that they were afraid of losing the members of the synagogue
to Jesus. Jesus had a message of hope, and people with needs in their
lives had their needs met in Him. They had no power in their message
at all. Their jealousy caused them to do this to Jesus.
Mark 14:44 "And he that betrayed him had given them a token,
saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead
[him] away safely."
A kiss was the greeting believers used in those days. Many times
before, Jesus had vanished in the midst of them. This time He would
not, because He knew that it was time.
Mark 14:45 "And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to
him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him."
An enemy could not get this close, but this one who claimed to be
Jesus' friend betrayed Him with a kiss. He was not truly Judas'
Master.
Mark 14:46 "And they laid their hands on him, and took him."
The "they" here was the mob with Judas.
Mark 14:47 "And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote
a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear."
St. John tells us that the one with the sword was Peter. Peter
was ready to fight to the death for Jesus, if necessary. Malchus was
the name of the servant, and we read in St. Luke that Jesus healed the
ear. Just this miracle alone should have told them who He was. They
were blinded and could not see the Truth.
Mark 14:48 "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come
out, as against a thief, with swords and [with] staves to take me?"
St. John goes into greater detail in chapter 18 beginning with
verse 4. Jesus told them who He was and asked them to let the
disciples go. Read all of it.
Mark 14:49 "I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye
took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled."
Jesus was saying here, you have no power at all over me, just as
you did not when I was in the temple. This I allowed to happen to
fulfill the Scriptures.
Mark 14:50 "And they all forsook him, and fled."
The "all", here, means the eleven disciples. They all ran from
fear.
Notes
Mark 31 Questions
1. In verse 32, where did Jesus go?
2. What does the word mean?
3. Which three disciples did Jesus take part of the way with Him when
He went to pray?
4. What was sorrowful about Jesus when He told the three to wait and
watch with Him?
5. What did Jesus do when He left the three disciples?
6. What did He ask the Father to let pass?
7. What lesson did Jesus want us to learn by Him praying, but still
submitting to God's will?
8. In verse 36, Jesus calls the Father what?
9. What other two places in the Bible was this name used by believers?
10. If the cup were passed over, what would have happened to all of
humanity?
11. Who did Jesus scold for not being awake when He went to them?
12. Why did Jesus warn Peter, James, and John to watch and pray?
13. He said, "The spirit truly is willing but the ________________.
is weak".
14. What was the temptation of the disciples?
15. What two things have always fought for the soul of man?
16. What is the only way to avoid temptation?
17. How many times did Jesus pray to the Father to let the cup pass?
18. When Jesus went back to check on Peter, James and John, how did He
find them?
19. Who did Jesus say He was betrayed into the hands of?
20. Why does the author believe Jesus called Himself "Son of man" in
verse 41?
21. Who were classified as sinners in verse 41?
22. Who came with Judas to arrest Jesus?
23. What caused these religious people to do this to Jesus?
24. What name did Judas call Jesus that he did not mean?
25. How did Judas greet Jesus?
26. What did Peter do to the servant of the high priest?
27. What was the servants name?
28. "I was in the temple teaching daily", was what Jesus said to them.
Why did Jesus allow them to take Him then?
29. Which of the disciples left Him?
Notes
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