Mark 14:35-37 35And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, in order that, if possible, the hour might pass from him. 36And he was saying, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup from me. But not what I want, but what you want.” 37And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Are you not strong to watch for one hour?
The second theme of this passage is seen in Jesus’ prayers. As verse 34 indicates, Jesus was greatly stressed and sorrowful about what was about to happen. He faced many challenges at that point. One is that he had his disciples were still struggling to understand his purpose and message. Another was what lay before him in the coming hours. He knew his destiny and what would happen. He had given his disciples at least three recorded references to his impending death on the cross (8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34).
The challenge of what lay ahead is symbolized in Jesus falling down on the ground in prayer. The typical way Jews prayed was by standing and looking up to heaven. Falling down was a sign of honor, respect, and worship. He knew the source of the answer and came with the burden on his shoulder to lay it before the Father. Mark records Jesus’ address to God in both Aramaic (Abba) and Greek (Father, patēr). The Aramaic term shows intimacy and relationship within a family and was how Jesus taught his disciples to address God. His use of this term was unique in ancient Judaism and showed the type of relationship we can have with God by being adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).
The clue to the cause of the stress is found in the words hour and cup. Hour does not mean a specific 60 minutes but a period time and refers to the events that would take place in the next twelve to eighteen hours. Cup is used metaphorically for the suffering he would experience. Jesus’ request is very simple: take this cup from me. The imperfect tense of the verb was saying suggests that he was praying this over and over gain, not simply a short ten-second prayer. This was the deep plea of his heart. The temptation was to find an easier way to redeem the world.
Jesus came to the point of full surrender: “not my will by yours be done.” He had taught his disciples how to pray for God’s will to be done (Matthew 6:10), and now he modeled it at the point of his deepest concern. It is possible that he wanted his disciples to see him pray through to the point of full consecration to the Father. He provided the perfect model to them of what and how to pray. Yet they slept through it all and missed this opportunity to see their Lord pray in a way they needed to learn. The key to answered prayer is to come to an agreement with God’s will.
Verse 37 has an implied comparison with how the three disciples had fallen asleep while Jesus was praying. They would face their own hour and cup in the next few hours but were not preparing for the trial like Jesus. As Jesus points out to Peter, they were not strong enough on their own power and ability to face what was coming. They could not even stay away to watch and pray with him. They had not yet come to the point of full surrender like him. Surrendering prayer is the one way we can face our trials and tribulations.
For older posts, click here.