Mark 14:32-52
The Prayer in the Garden
32 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch."
35 He went a little farther, and 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. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."
37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. 40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.
41 Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."
Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane
43 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."
45 As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. 46 Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. 47 And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
48 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? 49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."
50 Then they all forsook Him and fled. 51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, 52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
Those like Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord and was ultimately left with nothing like the naked man who fled the scene. He later even returned the bloody money (Matthew 27:3-5) and gave up his own life when he realized what he had done. Jesus had first gone to the garden to pray because His life was coming to a most painful end on the cross. He as a man felt distressed and full of sorrow at the prospect set before Him (Hebrews 12:2) even though He willingly accepted what must be done on our behalf to pay the price for sin that we never would be able to pay, even with joy for the outcome. He asked the disciples to wait at a short distance away as He went to pray but they did not fully understand what was going to happen and fell asleep. They were warned to always keep watch because the enemy goes about looking to devour them as well as us all us with temptation (Luke 11:4, 1 Peter 5:8) to distract us from following our Lord and watching to that end in prayer. Jesus knew that the Father could keep Him from drinking of the suffering to come but God’s will had to go forward as planned from before the fall of man to restore His own to Himself (1 Peter 2:24-25) and heal our sinful souls by taking the stripes of punishment we all deserve for our inherited and ongoing sin. This is an example for us as well to always put God’s will before our comfort when faced with extreme or even trivial circumstances that we would rather not suffer through. Though all things are possible with God to remove us from the circumstances, we are usually better off enduring them as we go through and not around them. Not our will, but His be done should remind us in these times of the Lord’s example for us to follow as we take up our cross (Matthew 16:24-25, Mark 8:34-35) and die daily to what we would prefer over what is best for the glory of God and our own eternal good. Yes we must be constantly aware and watchful for temptation to avoid these things as we are aware of the weakness of our flesh in spite of our commitment to follow Him. After praying three times like this, Jesus told the dis that the betrayer had arrived to turn Him over to sinners who wanted to murder Him to avoid the truth and repent to be delivered from their own death. Judas’ kiss was the ultimate betrayal as he gave up the Lord for a pittance of money out of spite for not getting rich off the Lord of the universe as he followed along for three years by His side. Even now many put personal gain from the gospel above serving and following the Lord with a sincere heart of worship; may we avoid these same errors by continuing in prayer and in the word of God, brothers and sisters. Remember that betrayal leaves us with nothing.
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