Text: Mark 14:32-52
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
Just a few weeks ago, right before the season of Lent, we celebrated the Transfiguration of our Lord. At that time, Jesus and the disciples Peter, James, and John were on a mountain. The three disciples had been fast asleep and when they woke up, the saw a wonderful surprise. Jesus was surrounded by Moses and Elijah. They were engaged in the holy conversation regarding the exodus from Jerusalem. Peter was so excited about seeing the prophets of old that he wanted to build tents so that they could all just live at that place and soak up the glory of God.
Tonight, things are different. Again, Jesus and the disciples Peter, James, and John were together; but, this time they were in a garden. It was not the broad daylight, but rather the darkness of night. On the mountain they saw the Glory of Christ beaming brightly. Now, in the garden they saw the suffering of Christ dimly. This time Jesus asked the three disciples to stay awake and pray with Him, but they repeatedly fell back asleep. Finally they awoke from their slumber. Again, they woke up to a surprise. Rather than Jesus being surrounded by the great saints of old who were discussing His exodus, He was now surrounded by a host of unbelievers who were contemplating His capture. This time it wasn’t Moses pointing to Jesus saying, “This is the One I told you about. Follow Him. No, this time it was Judas pointing to Jesus saying, “This is the One I told you about. Take Him away.”
What a contrast between the mountain of glory and the valley of despair. At the transfiguration everything seemed to be moving forward. Now in the garden, everything seemed to be coming to a screeching stop.
In our own lives, we will have “mountain top experiences.” And since we are all theologians of glory by nature that is where we want to dwell. As soon as suffering comes, we want the cup taken away from us. We place ourselves into hibernate mode.
Have you ever noticed that when you get stressed out, overwhelmed, and weighed down with extra burdens there is a tendency to get tired, worn out, and weak? A desire to just sleep overtakes you. It’s as if you can just sleep it off and fast forward past your troubles.
“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38 ESV).
The Lord tells us not to try and solve our problems by shutting down. Instead of falling head first onto our comfy pillows, we are to fall to our knees in prayer. We are to call upon Him in our day of trouble. We should look at the agonizing gardens in our lives as opportunities to trust in the Lord and to pray to Him. The believer prays with Jesus, “Not my will but Thy will be done.”
In this life, we will constantly struggle with this prayer. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38 ESV). By nature we want our own wills done. As long as God agrees with us we are satisfied.
Have you ever heard the song by country artist Lynn Anderson? You know, the one where she sings, “I beg your pardon, I didn’t promise you a rose garden” Well, because of our sinful nature, we demand rose gardens and get upset with the thorns.
Repent! Open your sleepy eyes and place them upon Jesus. Put to death the desires of the flesh in you that wants to flee and runway from Jesus and His suffering. Live in faith fleeing toward and running to Jesus for refuge. He suffered in the garden to be joined to your suffering on earth.
As believers, we live by the promises of God. The Father didn’t promise us a rose garden. Instead, He promised us something much better. He promised us that in the bitter suffering of His Son in the garden of Gethsemane, the cup was taken away from us and given to Him to drink.
Jesus came to fulfill the Scriptures, which includes both the fulfilling of the obligation of following the law perfectly and the punishment that the law demands for our transgressions of it. He has taken the cup of divine wrath so that we can drink from the waters of eternal life. The Good Shepherd who was taken from His sheep came back from the dead in order to take His sheep into paradise. Set your eyes on Jesus. Amen.
