Mark 14:39-42 39And again after he went away he prayed, saying the same word. 40And again after he came, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough. The hour has come, look the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Rise, let us be going; look, my betrayer is approaching.”
Why did Jesus interrupt his praying three times and go back to check on his disciples? Three is a prominent number in Mark, especially in the closing chapters of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. These three prayer and sleeping episodes could be a prelude to the soon denial by Peter three times. Mark does not record any specific words for Jesus’ second prayer, only that it was the same words. Jesus prayed again for the cup of suffering to be removed.
If he continued this prayer, then the implied answer was that the Father’s will was for him to drink the cup. The old timers called this “praying through.” Before Jesus ever faced the human trial by the Jewish and Roman authorities, he faced the spiritual trial of confirmation. Since this scene is a glimpse of how Jesus prayed, an implication is that he did not always instantly know the Father’s will. For example, Luke 6:12 records how he spent all night praying and then chose his twelve apostles. He models to us how to pray without giving up until the answer is clear.
Peter, James, and John, and the assumption is the other eight apostles, had all fallen asleep, both physically and spiritually. The simple excuse was that their eyes were heavy; they just could not keep them open. It was nighttime, out in the cool olive orchard, with the sweet smell of blossoms–just the perfect situation for a good night’s sleep. It must have felt like a form of jet lag when it is almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open. But the issues were more than physical. Their greatest spiritual battle was about to begin. The question they would need to answer was, Who is Jesus to us? All the pieces of the puzzle were still all over the table in a jumble, but in only a few days, they would begin to see how things fit together.
Jesus prayed for the hour to pass, but it had come. It was time to face his betrayer and those who wanted to kill him. His description of his accusers as sinners is not flattering but accurate. They had rejected his clear and indisputable message and ignored his power and authority. Judas had carried through with his plan to lead the Jewish leaders to the quiet place of refuge Jesus and the disciples used. He is not named but only described as the betrayer, a sad label to be known by throughout history. At this point, Jesus stands alone, yet in the midst of all twelve of his disciples, but he was fully assured of the Father’s will because of his time in prayer.
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