HE KNEW, AND HE STILL WENT
Mark 14:32-36 NKJV
32 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”
35 He went a little farther, 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 for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Christmas is such a pretty visual. It’s certainly not as gritty as Easter. The manger scene is much more peaceful than the cross. So with the beauty of Christmas, it’s easier to lose sight of the fact that Jesus came as a baby, but He came to die. And I am sure Mary and Joseph can attest that everything surrounding Jesus’ birth was not postcard perfect.
In our reading for today, we see the pressure that Jesus was under as He faced the horror of the cross. There is no way to sanitize His death. Jesus knew that He would not only be separated from His Father God but that He would also bear the sin of the world. He knew He would face rejection and scourging. The scourging was so awful that some men did not live through theexcruciating pain. He knew He would be nailed to a Roman cross. He also knew He would face the full pain of the cross, so He refused to receive the gall offered to Him. Gall would have taken some of the edge off the pain. He knew all these things, and yet He still went.
We know Jesus was the Son of God. But we must never forget He was also the son of man. When He was cut, he bled. When He was beaten, He felt all the pain. And we don’t know the spiritual pain He suffered bearing our sins so that we might be made right with God. In the garden, Jesus did not approach the cross with no emotion and no struggle. He was deeply distressed and sorrowful, even to the point of death. I know we don’t typically see Jesus in this light, but facing the cross was extremely difficult for Him. And yet He still went.
Verse 35 says He went a little farther and fell on the ground. Jesus didn’t trip. He was in such a struggle that He fell on His face, praying that the cross might pass from Him. This is not a stoic approach; this is a man in the middle of an intense struggle. And in His next words we see the strength of Jesus. “Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
We are recipients of His strength. He knew what He would face and still went. His flesh recoiled at the physical pain, and His spirit had to have struggled with being separated from God. Now we can stand before God without the sense of shame and inferiority, all because of Jesus. I love Christmas, but it was only the beginning.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for facing the cross knowing full well what would transpire. And yet You still went.