Mark 14:32-36 "And they came to a place
which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I
shall pray. (33) And he taketh with him Peter and James and John,
and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; (34) And saith
unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
(35) And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and
prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
(36) 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."
"And they came to a place." Jesus and the eleven disciples came to this place together, but eight of them could go no farther. Jesus said to them, "Sit here, while I pray." Then He took Peter, James, and John a little farther, but that is as far as they could go. "Tarry here, and watch." They were given a little more insight, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death." I do not even pretend to know why Jesus allowed these three to be shown this portion of His suffering. They had been on the Mount of Transfiguration with Him. There were other times when it seems they had been allowed a closeness to Jesus that maybe the others had not experienced. On this night, they were shown the heaviness of the Lord. But from this point, only Jesus would go. He would occupy a place that had been reserved only for Him.
The very name, Gethsemane, means oil press. This was the place where the oil was pressed out of the olive. This is the place where the heaviness of the work ahead of Jesus would be pressing on Him. "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." None of us can even begin to imagine the weight that was placed upon Jesus at this point. We are often called upon to suffer, but our suffering could never begin to compare with the "pressing" that Jesus was enduring at this moment. According to my search, this is the first time God, the Father, is referred to as Abba. Abba being that very close, personal, and intimate relationship name given to the Father.
Jesus endured this suffering alone. Yes, the eleven were in the area. Three of them were within a stone's throw distance. And all of them had gone to sleep. But Jesus was alone at this moment. Remember the words spoken by our Lord in the upper room? "Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." (John 16:32) The others all went to sleep. But Jesus is now lifting His eyes to the same One to Whom David had lifted his eyes. Jesus was looking to the very same One Who neither slumbers nor sleeps. Jesus was not alone because the Father was with Him.
I want to leave us with this thought this morning. In our suffering, in our pain, in our loneliness, when we feel the whole world is against us, we are never left alone. We can lift our eyes unto the hills and beyond them to where our help comes from. Our help comes from the LORD. Let us always remember that and trust His presence and grace to be with us all the way. He is also our ABBA Father.
"And they came to a place." Jesus and the eleven disciples came to this place together, but eight of them could go no farther. Jesus said to them, "Sit here, while I pray." Then He took Peter, James, and John a little farther, but that is as far as they could go. "Tarry here, and watch." They were given a little more insight, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death." I do not even pretend to know why Jesus allowed these three to be shown this portion of His suffering. They had been on the Mount of Transfiguration with Him. There were other times when it seems they had been allowed a closeness to Jesus that maybe the others had not experienced. On this night, they were shown the heaviness of the Lord. But from this point, only Jesus would go. He would occupy a place that had been reserved only for Him.
The very name, Gethsemane, means oil press. This was the place where the oil was pressed out of the olive. This is the place where the heaviness of the work ahead of Jesus would be pressing on Him. "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." None of us can even begin to imagine the weight that was placed upon Jesus at this point. We are often called upon to suffer, but our suffering could never begin to compare with the "pressing" that Jesus was enduring at this moment. According to my search, this is the first time God, the Father, is referred to as Abba. Abba being that very close, personal, and intimate relationship name given to the Father.
Jesus endured this suffering alone. Yes, the eleven were in the area. Three of them were within a stone's throw distance. And all of them had gone to sleep. But Jesus was alone at this moment. Remember the words spoken by our Lord in the upper room? "Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." (John 16:32) The others all went to sleep. But Jesus is now lifting His eyes to the same One to Whom David had lifted his eyes. Jesus was looking to the very same One Who neither slumbers nor sleeps. Jesus was not alone because the Father was with Him.
I want to leave us with this thought this morning. In our suffering, in our pain, in our loneliness, when we feel the whole world is against us, we are never left alone. We can lift our eyes unto the hills and beyond them to where our help comes from. Our help comes from the LORD. Let us always remember that and trust His presence and grace to be with us all the way. He is also our ABBA Father.