Mark 14:32-42 ‘The agony of the garden opens a window on to the greater agony of the cross’ (from 2010)

 

In his book ‘More Ready than You Realise’ the writer and speaker Brian McLaren describes an encounter with a person in his church called George.  George believes God exists but, by his own admission, is ‘still no closer to believing in Jesus Christ’ because Jesus doesn’t make sense to him, particularly his death on the cross.  George asks Brian McLaren, ‘Why did Jesus have to die?’  Brian asks George for two weeks to think about his question!

Brian McLaren wrestles with the question but finds no answer.  He shares his dilemma with his brother, Peter, saying, ‘. . . a couple of weeks ago I realised that I don’t know why Jesus had to die.’

His brother quickly replied, ‘Well, neither did Jesus.’  After citing the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as evidence, Peter said, ‘sounds to me like Jesus didn’t really understand why it had to be that way either.  But the point wasn’t understanding it; the point was doing what needed to be done.’

When it is time to meet George again, McLaren shares his brother’s answer to the question.  George is impressed with this non-answer and tells McLaren, ‘It kind of makes the question not really matter so much.’

If we were to meet George I would want us to say, ‘George the question of why Jesus had to die on the cross does matter.  While Brian McLaren may be a personable, intelligent and gifted man but his non-answer has done you a disservice.  Like a number of popular speakers and writers in the Christian scene today Brain McLaren has a problem with the doctrine of penal substitution.  Penal substitution is the Bible’s teaching that ‘states that God gave himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to a fallen humanity as the penalty of sin' (Jeffery, Ovey and Sach).  Jesus did indeed know why he had to die on the cross.  That’s one of the factors that make it so wonderful.  Let’s have a look at Gethsemane!’

Jesus submits perfectly to the Fathers will (32-36)

The shadow of the cross hangs over Mark’s entire gospel.  This book has been described as passion narrative with a long introduction.  Six of its sixteen chapters are concerned with the last week of Jesus’ life.  Jesus had already told his disciples he was going to die.  He knew the purpose of death teaching them, ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (10:45).  Aware of what was to take place Jesus had gone resolutely to Jerusalem (10:32).

Now it’s night before the cross.  Jesus leads his disciples out of the Upper Room, across the deserted streets of Jerusalem, down into the Kidron Valley and up the Mount of Olives.  Space was limited in the city so the well-off had gardens on that Mount.  Jesus had been given access to one of these, presumably by a wealthy friend.  This was one of Jesus’ favourite spots and it is there that he now goes to pray.

Mark only shows us three occasions of Jesus praying.  In each he is been tempted to abandon the path that has been set for him and to take a different route.  This is a time of genuine trial.  What Jesus faces is horrific and he needs strength.  He seeks that strength from spending time with his Father.

Having arrived at Gethsemane he says to the disciples “Sit here while I pray.”  Then he takes Peter, James, and John and goes deeper into the garden.  He begins to be deeply distressed and troubled.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them.  “Stay here and keep watch.”  

Here is a man who knows that he is going to die.  He is about to experience the sort of death that was reserved for the worst of criminals.  Yet I don’t think that it is the physical pain and shaming that cause Jesus to despair so deeply.  He knows that he is going to experience what it feels like to be utterly forsaken by his heavenly Father.  His sorrow anticipates the cry of dereliction that we will hear from the cross.  One commentator has written, ‘Jesus came to be with the Father for an interlude before his betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven opened before him, and he staggered.’

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  This reference to the hour reminds us that the cross is the moment that Jesus’ life has been moving towards.  If we want to understand the ministry of Jesus we need to grasp the significance of the hour towards which it was heading.  This hour is now at hand.  Facing the horror this hour will entail Jesus asks if there is any way that he can fulfil his mission without having to die this awful death.  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.” 

Those were words that Brian McLaren’s brother failed to see the significance of.  Jesus talks about this cup.  John Stott writes, ‘The Old Testament imagery will have been well known to Jesus.  He must have recognized the cup he was being offered as containing the wine of God’s wrath . . . God’s purpose of love was to save sinners, and even to save them righteously; but this would be impossible without the sin-bearing death of the Saviour.’

This cup teaches us that our God is holy, and that he sees our sin as for more serious thing than most people seem to realise.  This cup shows us that God is moved to righteous anger by our rebellion.  Jesus knows that he is going to experience God’s righteous condemnation.  Jesus knows that he is the only truly innocent person who has ever lived.  So Jesus must know that he is dying as a substitute for sinful humanity.  He is going to experience God’s wrath that we might know God’s mercy.  He is giving his life as a ransom for many.

Having asked for the Father to take the cup from him Jesus faithfully prays, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  Will we pray ‘not what I will but what you will’?   When we know that standing for our faith in our family/school/workplace is going to cause us to be laughed will we pray ‘not what I will but what you will’?  When we know that some sinful pleasure needs to be given up will we pray ‘not what I will but what you will’?  When it comes to how we use our cash or think about our ambitions will we pray ‘not what I will but what you will’?  Look at Jesus, he is called to face something far more drastic than anything we will ever face, and he prays ‘yet not what I will but what you will.’

The disciples who failed to pray (37-42)

Before we finish I want us to see one other lesson that I believe Mark wants us to learn from this passage.  That is the importance of watching and praying.  If we are to be faithful and not let Jesus down then we will need a strength that we do not have on our own.

After Jesus had prayed he returned to his disciples and he found them sleeping.  Simon Peter had declared his undying loyalty but now he couldn’t stay awake and keep watch for an hour.  What patience Jesus has with his disciples.  All through this gospel they have been weak and unbelieving.  Yet in his grace he loves them and persists with them.  What a comfort that is to failed people like us.  He then gives them some advice, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing but the body is weak.  They have passion, they have good intentions, but they need strength beyond themselves if they are going to remain faithful when the heat is on.

It is a lot harder tomorrow morning to stand for Jesus than it is to stand for him here gathered tonight.  Maybe there are people who will mock us for being Christians.  Maybe there are people who try to persuade us to do things that we know are wrong.  We don’t have the strength to remain faithful, but God can give us the strength!  Jesus commanded the disciples, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  Sadly they didn’t pray and they didn’t have courage when the pressure was on!  Let’s pray that we would be faithful in our situation.

Conclusion

‘The agony of the garden opens a window on to the greater agony of the cross’ (John Stott).

I want to finish by pointing out that Jesus would not have gone through the agony of the cross if there was any other way for God to reconcile people to himself.  The Father would not have let him and the Son would not have agreed to it.  There was no other way for sinful people to be accepted by our holy God!

That means that no matter how good we think we are our good deeds can’t put us right with God; that means that all other religions lead to a dead end because they don’t focus on the true God who rescues people through the cross of Christ; that means that we should reject any version of Christianity that does not highlight the fact that Jesus died as a substitute for sinful people like us; and that means that the cross should be at the centre of our songs, our prayers and our explanation of the gospel.