“THE JOURNEY OF TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH #1-SUFFERING AND SUBMISSION IN GETHSEMANE”
MARK 14:32-42
INTRO: The last few hours of our Savior upon this earth were not only
intense but also instructive. The agony Jesus faced in the darkness
of the Garden of Gethsemane was only a prelude to the suffering He
would endure for us on the cross. Those last few tragic days of our
precious Lord and Savior provided for us a victory from which we
shall never know defeat! He began this final journey as He walked
in the awful darkness of which He did not deserve, but He arose
in the sunlight of triumph after three days and three nights in the
garden tomb. Jesus said in Luke 9:22—“The Son of man must suffer
many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. " As Jesus spoke
these words His mind was on the journey He must make to the Cross!
That journey which was truly “The Journey of Tragedy and Triumph”!
Luke 9:51 tells us, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that
he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to
Jerusalem.” This marked the beginning of His journey that would
lead Him through the darkness to the dawn.
In Mark 14:32 we read, “And they came to a place which was named
Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall
pray.” The intense agony Jesus faced in the darkness of Gethsemane
was just the beginning of the suffering that found its climax at the
cross. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “Christ kept himself from suffering
till his hour had come, but when it did come he met it as a free man,
seized it, and mastered it.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Christian History, no.
32). On that night two thousand years ago the precious Lord Jesus
walked into the awful darkness which lead Him to the Cross for YOU
and for ME! The word Gethsemane comes from a Hebrew word which
means “oil press.” John Gill wrote that Gethsemane was “At the foot
of the Mount of Olives, where the olives, which grew in great plenty on
the mount, were pressed: and where our Lord began to be bruised, for
our sins” (John Gill’s Exposition of The Entire Bible). Scholars believe
Jesus and His disciples must have arrived at Gethsemane sometime
between midnight and one o’clock in the morning. Jesus asked them
to sit while He prayed, but He took Peter, James and John, the ones
closest to Him, and went further into the garden to pray while He left
the three back a little distance (Mark 14:33-35).
Let us journey back to that night and see more clearly what our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, endured for us at Gethsemane. At
Gethsemane we see…
(1) THE HUMANITY OF JESUS
MARK 14:33-34—“ And he taketh with him Peter and James and John,
and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.”
A. THE GRIEF HE BORE. Look at the painful grief of our Savior in
these verses: “And he…began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death...” (vv.
33a-34). The Greek words that are translated “sore amazed” mean “to
astonish utterly, affright.” Our Lord contemplating what He must
endure for us was “struck with terror.” The word “heavy” is
translated from a Greek word which means “to be in distress, to be
full of heaviness.” John Wesley wrote: “Sore amazed - The original
word imports the most shocking amazement, mingled with grief: and
that word in the next verse which we render sorrowful intimates, that
he was surrounded with sorrow on every side, breaking in upon him
with such violence, as was ready to separate his soul from his body.”
(John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes). In Luke’s account in Luke 22:44
we read, “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.”
Men of medicine tell us that the body can, at times of great stress, so
break down that the blood can actually ooze through the skin. A
careful reading reveals that Dr. Luke does not say that the Savior
actually bled. He says that His sweat “became as great drops of
blood.” But whatever it was, No one can overestimate the depth of
agony that our Lord experienced in Gethsemane (Charles Swindoll, The
Darkness and The Dawn. p. 30). 700 years earlier the prophet Isaiah
prophesied that the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, would be “a man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Nowhere in the
gospels can we enter as fully into the humanity of Jesus as in
Gethsemane. The writer of Hebrews describes the suffering of our
Lord this way: “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;
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he
suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him.” (Hebrews 5:7-9). Here—alone
and in agony—the Savior experienced the most crushing of
experiences. Words fail us when we attempt to describe His terrible
anguish in that garden.
ILLUS: When some would question how the Son of God could be truly
human, let them look at this scene in Gethsemane, where the
oil of His anguish was pressed out like the oil from the olives.
Here, in the darkness of the garden, His humanity gushes out.
I’m so grateful that this dark scene has been preserved.
Otherwise I fear we would look upon Jesus as some kind of
divine robot, who went through the motions of redemption
without the deepest feelings involved—just another divine
appointment. But it was not like that at all. Jesus was not
only undiminished deity, He was also, in every way, true
humanity, subject to the identical feelings we have, whether it
be joy or sorrow, fear of confidence, exhilarating ecstasy or
sheer agony. At this moment, the totally innocent, sinless
Son of God faces and accepts the torture and death that
shortly awaits Him (Charles Swindoll, The Darkness and The
Dawn. p. 34).
B. THE GRIEF HE SHARED. Mark 14:34 says, “And saith unto them,
My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.”
Jesus did not hide His feelings of grief and agony from His three
closest friends. He confessed, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto
death…”. The Lord said, “he was surrounded with sorrow, and it
pressed him so hard, and close, on every side, that he was just ready
to die with it” (John Gill’s Exposition of The Entire Bible). “The weight of
woe was literally crushing out the Savior's life.” (B. W. Johnson, The
People’s New Testament). Our Lord desired his chosen disciples to be
with Him in His woe. Even as He faced distress, Jesus wanted His
disciples with Him and in prayer. Even as He faced His torturous
struggle, He modeled a realistic, authentic example of living truthfully.
Why? Why would He want them to be near Him when He was
enduring such anguish? Often the human inclination is to retreat
from others when overwhelmed—to hide such feelings. But Jesus
didn’t hide His anguish from His closest followers. He brought them
face to face with His every human emotion. By doing so, He freed
them from all temptation to deny such agonizing feelings in years to
come. (Charles Swindoll, The Darkness and The Dawn. p. 32).
At Gethsemane we see THE HUMANITY OF JESUS in THE GRIEF HE BORE and THE GRIEF HE SHARED, but also at Gethsemane we see…
(2) THE HUMILITY OF JESUS
MARK 14:35-36—“ And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground,
and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 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.”
*In this prayer of Jesus we see two things that show us Jesus’ humility:
A. THE STRUGGLE HE FACED. As Jesus prayed He face a torturous struggle. Mark 14:35 tells us, “And he…prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.” Matthew Henry wrote: “Christ, as Man, pleaded, that, if it were possible, his sufferings might pass from him.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary). Jesus did not kneel quietly in the garden praying. He was in intense agony. “Never was sorrow like unto his at this time. Now he was made a curse for us; the curses of the law were laid upon him as our Surety. He now tasted death, in all the bitterness of it. This was that fear of which the apostle speaks, the natural fear of pain and death, at which human nature startles.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary). He fell to the ground and prayed. He got up, walked a little farther and once again sank to the ground and prayed. He repeated this over and over. Jesus cried out, “Abba, Father…”. The word “Abba” is an Aramaic word, the language Jesus spoke. It is an intimate word which shows the close relationship between a parent and a child. The best equivalent in our language is the word “daddy.” In using that term Mark preserves the sense of intimacy, immediacy, and agony the Holy Spirit wanted preserved. “Oh Daddy!” Jesus is saying, “If it is at all possible, Father, oh, my Father, let this agony I am facing go by. Let there be another way. All things are possible for You.” (Charles Swindoll, The Darkness and The Dawn. p. 34). In Matthew’s account, we read “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. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.” (Matthew 26:42-44). Jesus prayed the same prayer three times. He continued to cry out, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”
B. THE SUBMISSION HE FOUND. Listen to Jesus’ words in v36— “nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” In this garden experience of our Lord Jesus His humanity is very evident. We have before us a dark scene. But Jesus was not a robot simply going through the motions, He was and is truly human, and yet truly God. He is the God-man. In this verse we see the sinless Son of God facing and accepting the torturous, cruel, savage suffering and death that is awaiting Him. Matthew Henry wrote: “Christ, as Man, pleaded, that, if it were possible, his sufferings might pass from him. As Mediator, he submitted to the will of God, saying, Nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt; I bid it welcome.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary).
Christ’s surrender to do God’s perfect will in the Garden of
Gethsemane was critical.
· It was through His surrender that He was made perfect and stood before God as the Ideal, Perfect Man.
· It was through His surrender to be the Ideal, Perfect Man that His righteousness was able to stand for every man.
· It was through His surrender to be the Ideal, Perfect Man that He was able to bear the cup of God’s wrath against sin for every man.
· It was through His surrender to be the Ideal, Perfect Man that His sacrifice and sufferings were able to stand for every man.
(The Preacher’s Outline And Sermon Bible. New
Testament, Volume 3. Mark Commentary).
ILLUS: "The wall." I don't know what you think of when I say that –
maybe it's the surface you're looking at across the room, or
maybe you think about the Berlin Wall that used to separate
East and West Berlin. If you're a marathon runner, I'm pretty
sure what you think of when you think about "the wall" is
that point in a grueling 26-mile run that you feel like you're
body is shutting down and you can't go another step. You've
used up most of what you body has to give, and everything in
you seems to be saying, "Quit now!" But the champions don't.
Champions hit the wall and they keep on running to the
finish line - no matter how much they want to give it up.
Finishing your race takes everything you've got and more.
Even if you're the Son of God. Especially if you're the Son of
God. For three years of public ministry, Jesus had poured
Himself out to meet the endless needs that were brought to
Him, often with amazing miracles. He lived a life that was so
perfect that even His enemies could not find anything wrong
with Him, even after watching Him day and night. And Jesus
had given Himself fully to teaching the truths of His kingdom
everywhere He went. He ran a perfect race. But He hit the
wall in the last lap, in a garden called Gethsemane - named
after the olive press that crushed olives until the last of their