Mark 14:32-42
Jesus
Prays and Agonizes in the Garden of
Gethsemane
( Easter
Story )
14:27
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus
said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."
33
He took Peter, James and John along with him, and
he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
34
"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of
death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep
watch."
35
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and
prayed that if possible the hour might pass from
him.
36
"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible
for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I
will, but what you will."
37
Then he returned to his disciples and found them
sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you
asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?
38
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is
weak."
39
Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.
40
When he came back, he again found them sleeping,
because their eyes were heavy. They did not know
what to say to him.
41
Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you
still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has
come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners.
42
Rise! Let us go! Here comes my
betrayer!"
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Christ Prays to God in
the Garden Of Gethsemane
This passage gives deep
insight into the fear and dread Jesus felt that
night in the garden. We don't often think of Jesus
as having fear but remember, He came to earth as a
human - with all human emotions and frailties so
being afraid of death and the torment which was to
come was natural to Christ.
He knew that He would have to
be separated from God to take on the sins of
mankind. And, Jesus knew of the terrible and
unimaginable torture and death that awaited
him. What would you do
(or I for that matter) if you were in this
situation?
Let God's Will be
Done
Jesus was strong enough to
say, "Yet not what I will, but what you
will." God's will was
first and foremost in Christ's life no matter what
the cost.
The Story of
Abdul
God doesn't ask everyone to
die for Him. But, I am reminded of Abdul Rahman a
while back in the news from Afghanistan who faced
the death penalty for converting from Islam to
Christianity. Even with
all the threats of torture and death, Abdul stood
his ground. All he had to do was renounce his
belief in Christ and he would go free.
Test of
Faith
I don't know how I would
respond in a situation such as this. I would hope
that my faith would be strong enough but I can't
say for sure. This would be a horrible decision to
make for any Christian, no matter how
strong. Our best hope in
any situation where we are tested and led into
temptation is to follow Jesus' example in the
garden by praying, finding support of friends and
loved ones, and focusing on God's purpose in our
lives.
What are we willing to
do for God? -- What did Jesus do for
us?
One addition: I have been
burdened in the past by some family situations and
found great strength by reading about David in the
third Psalm. If you have troubles follow the
example of how David prayed to God for
help.
-
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
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Easter story for are from Life Application Study
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