COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 155
Mark 14:37 “And He cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 39 And again He went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. 40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer Him. 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”
(Mark 14:37-41; Matt 26:41-46; Luke 22:43-46)
THE GREATEST TRIAL OF ALL, #2
INTRODUCTION
Our text reveals some of the involvements of Jesus laying down His life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:28). The giving of His life culminated at the cross, but it commenced in the garden of Gethsemane. The preparation for this hour was throughout His life, including the time when, at twelve years of age, He said He had to be about His “Father’s business” (Lk 2:49). He focused more particularly on this mission immediately following the casting of a demon out of the child of a distraught father (Lk 9:42). Right after this, a little over one year before the time of our text, it is written that Jesus “steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,” journeying from the eastern side of Jordan, passing through Jericho, and heading for Bethany, and ultimately Jerusalem. During this trip Jesus appointed seventy, whom He sent “two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come” (Luke 10:1). Thus, the moral preparation of Jesus began with the time when He had advanced in wisdom and stature, intensified when He entered into His ministry following His baptism, and became more focused when He set out for His final trip to Jerusalem. Now, in our text, our Lord is going to take hold of the commandment delivered to Him with both hands, preparing Himself to carry out His commission to the finest and most exacting detail. We will see that the closer the hour is, the more fierce is the struggle, requiring all of His energies.
JESUS FINDS THEM SLEEPING
“ Mark 14:37 And He cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
Jesus returns from his first session in prayer – one in which He had said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from Me: nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (v 36). Now, as though seeking some element of encouragement from His disciples, He returns to Peter, James, and John.
JESUS FINDS THEM SLEEPING. I do not doubt that Jesus had spent considerable time during this first session of prayer. We only have a brief summation of His prayer. This is confirmed by the fact that Jesus finds the disciples asleep. It had been a long day, filled with all manner of focused instruction, promises, and prophecies of what was to come. All of this was followed by the marvelous intercessory prayer recorded in John seventeen (John 13-17). The disciples were not sleeping out of boredom or a lack of interest, as will be confirmed.
HE SPEAKS TO PETER. During this first return to the three disciples, Jesus now speaks to Peter. He was the leading figure among the three. Wherever these three men are mentioned together, Peter is always first in the listing (Matt 10:2; 17:1; Mk 5:37; 9:2; 13:3; 14:33; Lk 6:14; 8:51; 9:28; Acts 1:13). When Peter and John are mentioned together, Peter is also referred to first (Acts 3:1,3,4,11; 4:13,19; 8:14). Jesus told Peter He was going to give the keys of the Kingdom to him (Matt 16:18-19), and with privilege comes responsibility. More is expected from those who receive more. As it is written, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48). Therefore, the Lord addresses Peter, not as though he was the only one to whom he was speaking, but because he was the leading one among the three. Those who are leaders are not to be compared with others, for more is expected of them.
WATCHING FOR ONE HOUR. “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?” NKJV Matthew’s account reads, “What, could ye not watch with Me one hour?”(Matt 26:40).Notice how Jesus calls Peter by his first name – “Simon,” not the new name that He had given to him (John 1:42). There is something to be seen here concerning the difference between the old and the new. Here the apostle was more like the name “Simon” than “Peter.”
Jesus had told all of the disciples, “Sit ye here while I pray,” and had then said to Peter, James, and John, “tarry ye here, and watch” (Mk 14:32,34). Luke tells us that the Lord said, “Pray that ye enter not into temptation,” saying this before He withdrew from them about a stone’s cast (Lk 22:40-41). Jesus did not expect them to wait for twenty-five years, like Abraham did for Isaac. This was not the kind of waiting in which they would engage for ten days while they waited for the Spirit to come upon them on Pentecost. This was watching for “one hour” – one critical hour! It was a watching of fellowship – “with Me.”
About the time we begin to think Jesus is more tolerant than He really is, texts like this loom before us. We must not allow ourselves to confuse longsuffering and mercy with toleration and indifference. How would you answer a question like this? – “Are you sleeping?” Does it not confirm to your heart that when the Lord blesses you with an unusual amount of grace that He expects you to excel above those who are not so blessed?
We are beholding the heart of the Lord here. He is living out something of what is meant by grieving the Holy Spirit of God. It is the same sort of response that is revealed in the following sayings: “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” (Matt 8:26). “O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves?” (Matt 16:8). “How is it that ye do not understand?” (Matt 16:11; Mk 8:21). “How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?” (Matt 17:17). There is a kind of holy disappointment when the people of God come short of what they could be – when they are overcome by the weakness of the flesh, or live in a posture of compromise.
WATCH AND PRAY. “Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation.” Both Matthew and Mark refer to this saying (Matt 26:41; Mk 14:38). The word “lest” means “in order that [denoting the purpose or result].” STRONG’S This confirms that during times of Satanic attack, or when “the power of darkness” is given leave to work more extensively, temptation becomes stronger, requiring a greater degree of vigilance and more intense prayer. Thus Jesus taught us to pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt 6:13). A failure to “watch and pray” during such times will inevitably lead to the love of many waxing cold (Matt 24:12).
THE CONTRARIETY OF THE FLESH TO THE SPIRIT. “The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew also cites this saying (Matt 26:41). The word “ready” means “willing,” NKJV or predisposed. Prior to Christ’s enthronement, the flesh would prove dominate. Their intentions were noble, but their strength was small. Here, the word “spirit” appears to accent their minds, and is not as full a word as it will become when their spirits will be buttressed by the witness of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:16). “Weak” here is dominating.
HE PRAYED, SPEAKING THE SAME WORDS
“ 39 And again He went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.”
AGAIN HE WENT AWAY, AND PRAYED. Matthew says “He went away again the second time” (Matt 26:42). He was returning to a labor of travail as He stood on the border of the fulfillment of the commission given to Him, to lay down His life (John 10:17-18). There will be no easy victory this night. Satan will not be dismissed with a mere word, and Jesus will have strive for the mastery. He will employ the weapon of “all prayer,” and do so with determination and perseverance. Luke does not record this second visit to His disciples, but simply records Jesus praying until He returns to awaken the disciples and confront Judas and the soldiers from the high priest who accompanied him.
AND SPAKE THE SAME WORDS. Mark makes a point of the fact that Jesus “prayed, saying the same words.” NASB Matthew records the words themselves: “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done” (Matt 26:39,42). This is the Master praying, and we can learn much from the occasion.
The Christian community has been told by some that prayers that are repeated are a sign of unbelief. This certainly was not the case in our text, for that would have made Jesus a sinner, because unbelief is sin, being evidence of a departure from God (Heb 3:12). Who would dare to charge the Son of God with such folly? Repeated prayers are not sinful prayers, nor do they necessarily fall into the class of the kind of prayers where men think they will be heard “for their much speaking” (Matt 6:7).
Jesus taught us to persevere in prayer, and not to faint. He was referring to lifting the same petition over and over until we receive some response (Luke 18:1-8). There are some matters that cannot be successfully addressed with a single petition. Believers are to exercise themselves to distinguish when to continue praying, and when to cease – as Paul did when he prayed concerning the thorn in the flesh that was given to him (2 Cor 12:1-10). Neither, indeed, should we give ear to those who speak without understanding.
AN ANGEL IS DISPATCHED TO STRENGTHEN HIM. Luke records, “And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him” (Luke 22:43). Although the time during which this angel appeared is not specified, it appears reasonable that it was during the second or third time Jesus prayed – when His strength began to dissipate. We are nor told how this angel strengthened Jesus, but I do not doubt that it was with words. “Angels” had ministered to Jesus when He endured a special temptation at the threshold of His ministry (Matt 4:11; Mk 1:13). Now, a special angel comes to strengthen the Savior as He grappled with temptation. Perhaps this kind of ministration is included in the statement that Jesus was “seen of angels” (1 Tim 3:16).
Angels have been known to speak words of comfort to the saints. Included in such holy visitations are Jacob (Gen 31:17), Zechariah the prophet (Zech 4:4), Zechariah the father of John the Baptist (Lk 1:13), Mary the mother of the Lord (Lk 1:30), the shepherds at the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:10), and Peter when he was in prison (Acts 12:8). But never was there a more important angelic ministry than at this time, when the salvation of men was in the balance, and the battle was set in array.
BEING IN AN AGONY. Luke records, “And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). The intensity of Christ’s prayers apparently affected His entire constitution – spirit, soul, and body. He was in anguish, as only the laying down of His life loomed before Him. On the cross, He would be mindful of “the joy set before Him” (Heb 12:2). However, that is not His experience in the Garden. Of this occasion it is written, “Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared” (Heb 5:7). No such prayers were offered during His ministry, for He was in charge of the affairs. But this night, He must resign Himself to be “smitten of God and afflicted” (Isa 53:4), and to yield Himself to the stroke of the sword of God Almighty (Zech 13:7).
Here, in the Garden, Jesus was offering a sacrifice for Himself first, as the high priest did of old (Heb 7:27). This was the sacrifice of His will, and it was done under great duress, and not during a time of peace and joy. Jesus was living out a word that He Himself spoke, “whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:24; 17:33). Jesus knew that He could not take back His life unless He first laid it down, submitting to the incontrovertible and irreversible will of God. This was the life laid down in the ultimate way, and at the ultimate time. It was a kind of pattern that precedes any and every involvement in the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. There can be no participation in the Divine will unless there is a corresponding forfeiture of self will.
IT IS ENOUGH!
“ 40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer Him. 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.”
HE FOUND THEM ASLEEP AGAIN. After going away the second time, Jesus returns the second time, and again finds them asleep. There is something of the Divine manner to be seen in this record God has given of His Son. While the Divine will be being worked out, Jesus visits His disciples, to see of their condition. He has chosen them to be “with Him” (Mk 3:14). The Lord, therefore, will check up on them, to see how they are doing in keeping His word to watch and pray, that they enter not into temptation.
This appears to be a little known facet of spiritual life. Even though the Lord has precisely told us about being accountable to Him, yet it is evident that professing Christians have not yet been convinced of this. Without guile or ambiguity, we have been told that everyone is appointed to be judged (Heb 9:27), and that we will all “give an account” of our stewardship (Lk 16:2). This will be intensely personal, as “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom 14:12). And right here, in this remarkable text, this principle is lived out as Jesus visits His disciples three times within a short period to see how they are doing. It is profitable to ponder how many times He has visited us, and the condition in which He has found us.
The Spirit is not only truthful, but very gracious at this point. The disciples were sleeping because “their eyes were heavy.” Matthew gives the same report (Matt 26:43). Their bodies had grown weary, and it was exceedingly difficult to control them. Luke says that Jesus found them “sleeping for sorrow,” or “exhausted from sorrow” NIV (Matt 26:45). It had been a difficult night for them! Jesus had told them He was going away (John 14:28). He had even said they would not be able to follow Him (John 16:36). He had divulged that one of them would betray Him (John 13:21). He had told Peter that hew would deny Him (Mk 14:30). He had told them that they would be sorrowful (John 16:20). He had even said they would all be offended because of Him (Matt 26:31). Sorrow does have a fatiguing effect upon the soul, as your own experience will attest. It surely did that effect on the disciples on that night.
THEY DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO ANSWER. The disciples sensed that they ought to have something to say, but could not think of anything: “they did not know what to answer Him.” NKJV They were, like others who were confounded by the presence of the Lord, “speechless” (Dan 10:17; Mk 9:6; Rev 1:17). Whenever a person is perceptive that he is in the presence of the Lord, there is a corresponding awareness of the need to say something – even if it is “Woe is me!” (Isa 6:5). Even the devil himself is required to speak when standing before the Lord (Job 1:7; 2:4). A question by the Lord can leave a person “speechless,” just as it did the man who appeared at the wedding feast without a wedding garment (Matt 22:12).
HE COMES THE THIRD TIME. Jesus prayed “the same words”the third time (Matt 26:44), and then returned to His disciples the third time. While they were not equal to the task He was facing, He had expected them to throw themselves into what he had asked them to do – watch and pray that they enter not into temptation. He has admonished them to avoid temptation by watching and praying. He has asked them why they could not watch with Him for one hour. He has even interpreted their experience, reminding them that the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Surely, after all of that, they will be alert!
TAKE YOUR REST. Alas, however, the third time He apparently finds them asleep again. Notwithstanding, while they have been sleeping, He has gotten the victory. He does not need them to watch with Him any longer. He has poured out His petition in fear, has borne up under the weight of sorrow, and has been strengthened by a holy angel. He is now ready to face the powers of darkness, and to lay down His life in an environment of animosity and hatred.
Now He tells them to take their rest, and yield to the desire to sleep. The hour has come for prayer to cease, and the work that has been appointed to be done. They have not done well in watching and praying, and therefore they will all forsake Him. Peter will deny Him, and even weep bitterly because he did. So He abruptly says, “It is enough!” or “Enough!” NIV Even though they were unprepared, they will now have to face the events to come as they are. It is only the keeping power of God that will keep them from altogether being crushed by the wicked one.
THE HOUR IS COME. The hour had come – the hour when He would humble Himself more than He ever had before. He would be more humble than when He entered the world as a Babe, for this would be “unto death,” whereas the first humbling was unto a birth. This “hour” is why He lived. It is why He ministered. It is why He had prayed. Now He is ready to fulfill His mission.
THE SON OF MAN IS BETRAYED. Now the treacherous act of betrayal will take place, coming from the hand of one of His own disciples, just as He had said (Mk 14:18). Now, though Jesus will face the betrayal with sorrow, He will face it with strength as well.