Jesus’ Prayer in the Garden – How to Overcome Grief

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

As shown through Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, grief and agony is not something that you have to dwell in. There is a way out!

Introduction

  In this week’s Sunday School commentary, we are going to be taking a look at Jesus’ prayer in the garden before being arrested.  In Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, we will see His human side pour out in the form of grief and agony.  Jesus knew that His time had come to fulfill the Lord’s will, but He was overcome with great emotion.  How does one overcome the grief and agony of this journey?  This week’s Sunday School commentary will cover scripture from Mark 14:32-52.

The Tribulation of Fulfilling God’s Will

If there is anyone out there who thinks that the journey of faith is an easy task, I would tell them to take into consideration Christ.  By the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke to His closest disciples about the tribulation He faced.  

In John 15:18-25, Jesus spoke about how He was hated and despised by the world because He rebuked the world of its sin.  Not only was Jesus despised by the world, but Jesus faced temptation (Matt. 4:1-11), was constantly antagonized by the religious leaders, betrayed, and then had to suffer the cross.

Grief in the Garden

But before He suffered the cross, Jesus shared in the Passover Feast one last time with His closest disciples, and the betrayer sat with Him momentarily before he left (Matt. 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-23; John 13:1-30).

In the scripture of our lesson, we’ll see that after the Passover Feast, Jesus made His way to Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives (Mark 14:32; also ref. Matt. 26:30; Luke 22:39).  This is a location that Jesus and His closest disciples often visited while He was in Jerusalem, as it was a great place for Him to be alone and meditate.

Sorrow in completing the Father’s will

Let’s point to Mark 14:33-34, where scripture makes it clear that Jesus was troubled, deeply distressed, and exceedingly sorrowful, even to death!  What was He in such distress about?  As He began to pray, we’ll see in Mark 14:35-36 that Jesus prayed to the Father about a cup, asking that it be taken away from Him.

The cup that Jesus prayed to the Father about was the cup of God’s will for Him to do.  In John 6:38-40, Jesus made it clear what the will of the Father was for Him to do.  Jesus tells us in that scripture that the Father sent His only begotten Son for two reasons.

First reason:  To not lose anything of what the Father had given Him, but to raise it at the last day.  The second reason:  So that everyone who sees (or receives) the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and be raised with Him at the last day.”

To complete the Father’s will, Jesus preached and ministered, teaching the way of God and calling on all people to repent.  Jesus also performed miracle after miracle to glorify the Lord.  However, more needed to be done, in that Jesus was to be offered up as the propitiation (that atonement offering) of our sin.

The first part of the mission, Jesus completed with very little struggle.  However, I will point out that there were moments, for example, when Jesus lamented Lazarus’ death (John 11:32-34).  Another moment when we see this side of Jesus was when He lamented over Jerusalem before He entered it the last time (Luke 19:41-44).

Seeing the side of my Savior brings tears to my eyes.  The reason why I say this is because I can see how Christ empathizes with our hurt and grief.  Such sorrow in moments like that shows us the great love and compassion that Christ has for us.

The second part of the mission, however, was a struggle for Christ as it troubled Him greatly.  Now, what troubled Him, I would say, was incredibly human.

When we think of the suffering of Christ, we often think of the physical suffering that He endured after His arrest.  You see, when He stood before the Sanhedrin, Jesus was mocked, judged, and even beaten.  Yes, Jesus was whipped and eventually made to carry His cross, and hang on it for hours until He gave up His spirit.  

However, we must not overlook that Jesus’ suffering was also mental and emotional.  The Roman crucifixion was meant to be the ultimate humiliation of those who failed in testing Rome’s authority.  People would gather at the crucifixion and mercilessly mock those being crucified as the body was drained of energy until complete exhaustion.

Jesus actually hung the cross a great deal less than most people, as those responsible for His crucifixion were surprised at how quick His death was.  However, John 19 shows us that He was mocked while He hung on the cross, and Mary, His mother, was there watching all of it unfold.  If you don’t think Jesus suffered mentally and emotionally during all of this, you should certainly think again.

While all of those things were taking place, we also must not forget that Jesus was bearing the sins of the world, becoming sin, and suffering spiritually.  By the end, Jesus had become what God rejects, and He suffered the wrath of God for it.  While He hung on the cross, Christ cried out, asking, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken (abandoned) Me (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34)?”

All of this suffering was in the cup that Jesus prayed to the Father to take away from Him.  The human part of Christ didn’t want to take on such pain and grief.  The human part of Christ didn’t want to leave His disciples behind.  Could you imagine yourself being in the position of suffering for the sins of strangers you don’t know?

What to do in Agony?

From Mark 14:34-42, Jesus shows us what we ought to do in those days when our hearts are troubled.  In this passage of scripture, Jesus prayed to the Father three times.

First prayer:  Jesus prayed for the hour to pass, and for the bitter cup to be taken away from Him.  When we cross-reference scripture in the synoptic gospels, we find that Jesus repeated the same prayer twice more, with each prayer being more earnest.  Noticeably, after His first and second prayers, Jesus stated, “Not My will, but Your will be done.”

Let me just say this:  If in agony, Christ prayed to the Father, shouldn’t we, who aren’t divine, do the same?  In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul told the Corinthians that he repeatedly prayed to the Lord about his thorn in the flesh.  The Lord responded to his prayer by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

After Jesus had prayed three times, you will note in Mark 14:42 that Jesus went to His sleeping disciples and to them to arise so that they may meet His betrayer.  The agony and the hesitance to move had been removed from Christ.  Jesus had the strength to step forward to meet Iscariot, to be betrayed, to be arrested, and then suffer for us.

There are some who can’t quite understand why Jesus, being God in the flesh, would need to pray to God.  I feel like this passage of scripture does a good job of answering the question, and I’ve done my best to provide the reason why.  Yes, while Christ was God in the flesh, holy and divine, He was in the flesh.  

Jesus often referred to Himself as the Son of Man because He was born into the world through the flesh.  So, Jesus experienced many of the same experiences that we face regularly.  Jesus faced distress and worry.  Jesus dealt with fear and anxiety.  Jesus went through times of hunger and thirst.  Because He was in the flesh, Jesus experienced weakness!

So, what should one do when they are weak?  Should they keep on pushing ahead or stop and cry out to the Father?  I will repeat to you that if Christ prayed to the Father in His moment of weakness, we ought to certainly do the same.

Keeping Watch for the Lord

Something else that must be pointed out is the sleeping of the disciples.  Jesus took His closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, with Him deeper into the garden and told them to keep watch, but they fell asleep (Mark 14:34,37).  I imagine Jesus kicking at and nudging those men to wake up, as He repeatedly asked them to keep watch.  After each prayer, Jesus found His closest three disciples asleep, unable to keep watch.

I reference these men being unable to keep watch because we, the believers of the church age, have been instructed by Christ to watch and wait.  In Mark 13:32-36, Jesus taught that one must be on watch for the day of the coming of the Son of Man, as He spoke of His second coming.

The significance of that teaching is that one does not want to miss the Second Coming.  Jesus often likened His Second Coming to being like a thief coming unannounced at night.  If one is not paying attention, they will have missed the thief or the Second Coming. 

Now, to be clear, Jesus was not telling anyone to literally stay away at all hours, but rather, was speaking spiritually.  The encouragement was for one to be disciplined in their faith.  You will notice in Mark 14:37-38 that Jesus points to the flesh being weak as the cause of why His disciples slept.

To keep from falling asleep, Jesus said that one must watch and pray, lest they enter into temptation, because the flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing.  Jesus knew the weakness of the flesh firsthand, which is why we should take this work of encouragement seriously.  At all times, we should be prayerful to the Lord so that He can lift us over temptation.

Suffering for the Glory of God

If you desire to fulfill the will of the Lord, Peter wrote, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy (1 Pet. 4:12-13).

The disciples were with Jesus in this moment of betrayal and arrest.  In fact, they were also there for the antagonizing Jesus faced from the scribes and Pharisees.  John and Peter did their best to follow Christ, as He was being taken from judge to judge.  However, Peter denied knowing Christ three times before fleeing.

Following the way of Christ is not an easy task, nor is it glamorous!  Iscariot turned away from Christ for thirty shekels of silver.  All of the disciples fled after Christ was arrested.  Peter ran after he tried to cut off Malchus’ ear.  Mark 14:51-52 speaks of John fleeing after the arrest.

Yet, they returned to the Lord.  John was at the cross with Mary as Jesus hung dying on it.  Jesus forgave Peter at the breakfast by the sea, which is recorded in John 21.  They would go on ministering the gospel, facing many hardships, but also helping many souls find their way to the light of Christ.

In the end, though one may suffer for the glory of God, just for ministering the gospel, there is a great reward.  The affliction of this present day is light, compared to the prize that awaits all of us who in the kingdom of God.  So, let us watch, wait, and prepare our spirit for the trials and tribulations of today, so that we may rejoice tomorrow.