Episode 23S20 Mark 14:32-52 (Part 35) Gethsemane
written by Dr. Kip Wehrman (06/27/2023)
Hello everyone. I’m Kip and I want to thank you for joining me today @ the PUNLA Coffee Table. Today we are continuing our study of the gospel according to Mark with Mark 14:32-52 (Part 35) Gethsemane.
When we left off last time. Jesus and His disciples had just finished the Passover feast or last supper. They had sung the Hallel and went back to the Mount of Olives for the night.
Let’s read it again from the New American Standard version (NAS).
Let’s read Mark 14:32-52 (NAS) 32They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” 33And He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. 36And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” 37And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him. 41And He came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!” 43And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard.” 45And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 46And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him. 47But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt? 49Every day I was with you within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.” 50And His disciples all left Him and fled. 51A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.
Let’s pray.
Now let’s look at these verse closer, Mark 14:32-34 (NAS) 32They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” 33And He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.”
Gethsemane or the garden Gethsemane is from the Hebrew word shemanim meaning “oil press” The disciples and Jesus and others are on the Mount of Olives, just like they have been every night for the last week. It is probably an Olive groove with an oil press in it used to make olive oil. This would be to the east of Jerusalem just across the Kidron Valley. Jesus is in anguish. Jesus knows what is just about to happen. This is a very hard moment for us to see our Lord, Jesus, so full of emotion.
Mark 14:35-36 (NAS) 35And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. 36And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”
Now we know Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer, of course He is God, so most of this is to show us how we should live. But in this moment the Human part of Jesus and the divine part of Jesus give us a glimpse into their world. Abba Father…All things are possible for you…..yet not as I will but as You will be done… This is a very powerful prayer. Ask God for your desires, But. There is almost always a but… But, Your will God be done, not mine. Or we should say. This is what I desire, but I trust you. Show me what is best for me and my life and especially for those around me.
Let’s continue with Mark 14:37-40 (NAS) . 37And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him.
I am sure this part of the story was hard for Peter, James and John to retell. Jesus asked them to watch and pray and they slept. I’m sure they were tired, full bellies and a little wine from the Passover meal. Physically, they are done. The flesh is weak.
Let’s continue with Mark 14:41-42 (NAS) 41And He came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”
Final, Jesus let’s them be. He knows there is no more time. But now it’s time. I’m sure they are startled by this, they are struggling to wake up and Jesus says, he’s here.
Let’s continue with Mark 14:43-44 (NAS) 43And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard.”
Judas comes with a crowd or armed men, to take an unarmed Jesus under the cover of darkness. Why did they need Judas? It was probably quite well known that this was where Jesus was staying. Why? I actually thought about this a while back. I was working outside at night with a flashlight. I noticed that I could actually see what I was doing quite well despite the darkness. Just then I heard, someone calling my name and running toward me. I heard them and I could see their image, But in that moment when I looked all I saw was black blobs coming toward me. Three of them exactly, my daughters, and even though I know them well, they are different heights. In the darkness, they were just black blobs. I could not distinguish one from the other until they were right next to me. Then it struck me, this is why they needed Judas in the garden that night. If you are carrying torches, so you can see, then everything around you is out of focus, black blobs. Judas would recognize Jesus easily because he had been traveling and living with Jesus for months, years. Then Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss.
Let’s continue with Mark 14:45-49 (NAS) 45And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 46And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him. 47But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt? 49Every day I was with you within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.”
He betrayed and they grab Jesus or try. And the other gospels tell us it’s the Peter, the sword welding fisherman who tries to cut a head off and gets only an ear. Jesus rebukes Peter and asks the obvious question. Why all the weapons and soldiers, I’ve been in the temple courts everyday teaching.
Let’s continue with Mark 14:50-52 (NAS) 50And His disciples all left Him and fled. 51A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.
Just as Jesus had warned just a few hours earlier during the last supper, all His closest friends fled. Abandoning Jesus to the authorities. But did you see the personal touch from March. Verses 51-52 are only found in Mark’s gospel. Young man is stripped naked and escapes naked into the night. Could this be John Mark? It is very likely that John Mark’s mother was with the group around Jesus. It is also very likely that John Mark would have been with his mother. Especially, since they were so close to their home. This was a holiday feast. So, yes I believe this account of the naked young man is probably John Mark the author, but we will have to wait until we get to paradise to find out for sure.
Let’s review a little today.
Why did Judas betray Jesus with a kiss? It was dark. This was the perfect time and place, but it was dark. Judas was able to lead them straight to Jesus and identify Jesus in a way the soldiers could not in the dark.
Peter, Peter. I love Peter. Peter is always coming out swing. Just like us, he does what make sense in human thoughts, but he is forgetting this is Jesus, Emanuel. God with us. I don’t think he needs us to defend Him.
Naked Kid. This is exactly one of the details in the gospels that makes them so hard to disprove. These apparent odd aspects are not what you find in made up stories. There is no reason to include them unless they are true.
Let’s Pray.
Let me leave you with this today. Gethsemane is a dark moment in human history. Judas betrays Jesus, the soldiers grab Jesus’ undercover of darkness. But what about the disciples. Sleeping despite Jesus asking them to keep watch with Him. First sign of danger, and the loyal friends and followers’ scatter. This is a low point. I get it, the trial, torture and crucifixion come next. But betrayed and abandoned came first. If we did not know the rest of the story, this would be a pretty bad place to leave you. Sneak preview, Jesus wins. But we will get to that next time. Thank you for joining me for our study of the gospel of Mark. Please email me comments or feedback. And if you liked the message, please share the link with your friends. Until next time @ the PUNLA Coffee Table
