Watch, and Pray

 

Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  --1 Peter 5:8

Imagine if you had been alive during Jesus' day.  Imagine that He had called you to be one of His select followers.  Think about what it would have been like to know that the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God, was walking in your midst, and that He had called you to learn from Him, to go where He goes and to do what He does.  Your mind can't fully grasp what He tells you, but you are amazed at His words and at His deeds.  For three years you follow Him, and you think you might be getting to know Him pretty well.

Then He starts talking about death, His death.  You don't want Him to die, so you say you'll defend him.  You'll die for Him, die with Him if necessary.  He calls you out by name, and says that you specifically will deny Him 3 times in the next 24 hours.  Those words are like a punch in the gut.  You can't believe He'd call you out like this.

Jesus says He wants to go and pray, and you know something is weighing heavy on His mind.  He tells the whole group to follow Him to a garden, then He tells you and two others to follow Him on into the garden a little further.  He tells you to keep watch.  He takes few steps and falls on His face, calling out to God.  You don't really understand what He's going through, but you feel bad for Him.  You start to think about what He told you at dinner, about the rooster crowing three times, and your mind wanders. 

Roosters...chickens...eggs...colorful feathers....colorful eggs. Suddenly He calls your name again, and you realize you have dozed off.  "Could't you watch with me one hour?" He asks.  You try to shake the cobwebs out of your head, but it's so late, and you're so tired.  "Watch, and pray, that you might not enter into temptation," Jesus tells you.  "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

As  you have probably guessed by now, this was Peter's perspective in the 14th chapter of Mark's gospel.  Let's take it up at verse 32.

And they went to a place called Gethsemane.  And He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.  And He said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.  Remain here and watch."  And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Remove this cup from Me.  Yet not what I will, but what You will.  And He came and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words.  And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer Him.  And He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?  It is enough; the hour has come.  The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."  --Mark 14:32-42

There are some truths here I would like us to explore further.

Being fully pressed, and poured out

The place they had come from was a Passover meal involving bread and wine.  Jesus had made a metaphor of this, saying that His body was the bread, and his blood was the wine.  In order to make bread, grain must be crushed and milled into fine flour.  In order to make wine, grapes must be crushed in a press.

The place they went to was called Gethsemane, which literally means "olive press."  This area just outside of Jerusalem was known for its olive groves, and the production of olive oil.  I think this is significant here, because before this the Gospels had said He and his disciples went to the Mount of Olives, but this is the first mention of Gethsemane.

Jesus was about to pour out His heart to the Father.  He was facing execution by the Romans, yes, but it was more than that.  He was facing the fact that the Father was going to place the weight of sin on Him--the sin of the whole world, and the just punishment for them.  Isaiah 53:6 says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

There is a phrase in verse 33 that says, "He began to be greatly distressed and troubled."  The King James Version says He "began to be sore amazed."  The Greek term literally means to throw into terror or amazement; to alarm thoroughly, to terrify.  Yes, Jesus had left heaven and come to earth in human form.  Yes, He had seen sinful men in their natural habitat.  What made this different, I think, was that for the first time He caught a glimpse of the full measure of sin--the unholiness, the ugliness, the stench of it all.  Isaiah 53:5 says, "But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed."

Pierced, crushed, wounded.  The process started here, in the garden because it was here in Gethsemane, the place of an olive press, where He foresaw the cross, where He would physically be pierced, spiritually crushed, and mortally wounded.

But if not, He is still good

My wife and I have a plaque hanging on the wall in our dining room that says, "But if not, He is still good."  It brings to mind the story of Job, whose riches were stolen, whose family was killed, and whose health was taken away.  Job cursed the day he was born, but He did not curse God.  It also brings to mind the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow down to the image of Nebuchadnezzar.  They were threatened with death, and the means of death was a fiery furnace.  Daniel 3:17-18 records their answer: "If this be so, our God who we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

Verse 36 shows the agonizing prayer of Jesus.  "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.  Remove this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will."  I don't think that the word "Abba" as a reference to God the Father had been used in Scripture before this.  Every Hebrew child called their father Abba and their mother Imma; those were some of the first words a baby would learn to speak.  It was a term of familiarity denoting an intimate relationship.  It shows the kind of relationship Jesus had with the Father.

Jesus confessed the power of God over all things.  He asked that God would spare Him from this experience.  It was unfathomable but unavoidable; intolerable yet imminent.  Jesus humbled Himself, subjecting Himself to the will of the Father.  Philippians 2:8 says, "And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."  

Jesus asked the Father to spare His life, but He knew that God's will was more important that His desire.

It is enough

When I was a kid our family would watch The Doris Day Show on television.  The theme song, sung by Doris Day herself, was titled Que Sera Sera, meaning "What will be will be."  A form of this phrase, "It is what it is", has come into common vernacular since then.

I'm not a Greek scholar by any means, but my Strong's Concordance says that verse 34 is the only time in the New Testament that the word apechei is used in this form.  Other forms of the same word are found in other verses; in some contexts it is use as a form of the verb to be; in other contexts it is used for having received in full.  When Jesus came to the disciples the third time, he said something that is translated "it is enough" or "enough of that."  In today's vernacular we might say "it is what it is."  The time had arrived that no amount of prayer would change the outcome.

Sometimes you can't change God's mind no matter how much you beg.  When the answer to your prayers is "no", you must accept the answer as God's will.  We would do well to remember that even Jesus, God's only Son, got a "no" to His prayer.

In conclusion, when we are asked to intercede for someone, we must take that request seriously.  Even Jesus asked His disciples to watch and pray while He pleaded for His life with His Father.  The reason He gave was so that temptation would not overcome them.  Perhaps Peter remembered that when he wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "Be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."  When praying with someone, we should encourage them to submit to the will of the Father, because no matter the outcome it is God's will alone that is primary.  Every prayer we pray is for His glory.  We must also remember that when God's will is evident, and it is apparent that the answer to our prayer is no, then we should say it is enough and go with it. 

I am forever grateful that Jesus is our example and our teacher in the area of prayer.  I am also overwhelmed when I think of the sacrifice He made for me, in taking my sin upon Himself and becoming the sacrifice for me.

These are my people

 

They will call upon my name, and I will answer them.  I will say, "They are my people", and they will say, "The Lord is my God."  --Zechariah 13:9b

 It always amazes me how patient a teacher Jesus is.

Have you ever been in a lecture hall or a church and the professor or pastor starts reciting a familiar passage?  When that happened, did you zone out, because you had heard it so many times before?  If a teacher or preacher starts reciting a familiar nursery rhyme, something like "Mary had a little lamb," I am prone to let my mind wander.  As a result, I often miss whatever point the speaker is trying to make.

I wonder if that's how the disciples reacted to Jesus when He would quote Old Testament scripture to them.  They had probably heard it so often that their minds would go into neutral, keeping them from hearing what He was trying to say.  That's got to be frustrating for any teacher.  Thank God Jesus is patient with us.

Let's look at our passage in Mark 14.  Jesus had just completed the Last Supper, where He had given new meaning to the Jewish Seder.  He identified His body with the bread that was broken and consumed, and He identified His blood with the wine, which was poured out and then drunk.  In hindsight, we now know that He was showing them (and us) a picture of His sacrificial death on the cross, where His body would be broken and his life-blood poured out.  We can further extrapolate the appropriate response to this metaphor--we must use the bread and wine as a memorial of Him every time we take it, but we must also incorporate Him into our lives in order to enjoy his blessing.  The hungry man will only be nourished if he eats; the thirsty will only be satisfied if he drinks.  It is possible for a man to starve to death in the presence of food if he does not eat, or to be dehydrated to the point of death if he refuses drink.

Now we see Jesus pointing to an Old Testament prophecy and applying it to Himself.  Unfortunately, the disciples don't immediately understand.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not."  And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he (Peter) said emphatically, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you."  And they all said the same.  --Mark 14:26-31

Now, with our post-resurrection eyes, we know that Jesus was prophesying about His death and resurrection.  He also prophesied that Peter would deny Him three times.  We all know the story.  What I want to focus on here is the passage Jesus referred to when He said, "It is written."  He was quoting Zechariah 13.  I want us to read a bit of that chapter to get some context.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, declares the Lord of hosts.  Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.  In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.  And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name, and I will answer them.  I will say, "they are my people"; and they will say, "The Lord is my God."  --Zechariah 13:7-9

 I want to make three points here about what Jesus was trying to teach them in light of the passage He quoted from Zechariah.

Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered

This is the line that Jesus quoted, and that Peter and the other disciples took literally.  While Peter and the other disciples all vehemently denied that they would ever fall away, Jesus knew God's word would not return void.  He knew that the entire passage pointed to Himself.

Awake, O sword

Jesus was not a victim of circumstances.  Yes, He had enemies:  The Romans controlled His people, the Jews, with a heavy hand, but they would not have crucified Him if it had not been God's plan all along.  The Jewish religious leaders hated Him because He called out their hypocrisy, and because His teaching did not always line up with their own; but they would not have arrested Jesus if it had not been God's will for them to do it.

When the time was right, God spoke.  He awakened the sword.  He set things in motion so that Jesus would be arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death--not for breaking the law, but to fulfill it.  The disciples did not understand this at the time, so they vowed to defend Jesus to the death.  Eventually, they would be called upon to die for Him, but not now.  It was God's will.  He called out the sword for His own Son, not for the eleven disciples who learned from Him.

Strike the Shepherd

Jesus is called the Good Shepherd, because He laid down His life for His sheep.  The prophecy of Zechariah was being fulfilled this very day, because God was calling out the sword.  People forget the nature of God: He is holy.  He requires a sacrifice for sin.  We are not holy.  We are in need of a sacrifice in order to call on Him and not have God turn His back on us.

Prevailing religious teaching today is that God is love.  This is a half-truth, and if it is our sole view of God, then it is heresy.  One cannot appreciate or love mercy if he does not first understand God's wrath or justice.  If we sugar-coat the gospel, then it is no gospel at all.

The sheep will be scattered

God knew before time began that the disciples would run like scared rabbits once Jesus was arrested and crucified.  He also knew that Jesus would be resurrected.  Jesus knew He would be raised up from the dead, and that's why He told the disciples to meet Him in Galilee.

Dispersion is a common theme throughout religious history.  When men decided to build a tower in Babylon that would reach the heavens, God confused their language and dispersed them throughout the world.  Both Jews and Christians have gone through a diaspora on several occasions, so that the message of the Gospel could be heard throughout the world.  We would do well to remember that it all plays into God's hand, so that His will and purpose can be fulfilled.

Two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive

There is a particular heresy that is being preached in the Church today, and that is that God will not allow anyone to go to hell.  This is derived from the whole "God is love" cult.  The teaching, even among evangelicals, goes something like this: if grace exists, then it exists for all.  Therefore God would not, could  not, allow any of His creation to experience something as bad as hell.  The conclusion is that even if those who reject God all their lives and never repent from their sins go through "judgement", eventually they will all end up in heaven anyway, because we are all God's children.

This cannot be further from the truth.  "Enter through the narrow gate," says Matthew 7:13-14.  "For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the way and narrow is the gate that leads to life, and only a few find it."  Zechariah mentions a mathematical formula--two thirds will go the way of destruction, and only one third will follow the truth.  I am not sure of the numbers, but it is clear that a majority of people will reject Christ and suffer judgment, and a minority of people will follow Christ and be shown grace and mercy.  Grace for all is not grace at all, because it does not take into account God's wrath from which we are saved.  Said a different way, our natural state is sinful, and justice demands that we receive punishment for our sins, or at least separation from a holy God; grace is God overlooking our sin and granting us mercy and pardon for our sins.  The Bible clearly teaches that the minority of people will receive grace and mercy.

And I will put this third into the fire

Grace does not mean we will be able to do as we please.  God will accomplish His purpose in us.

And refine them as one refines silver

If you go see a silversmith, you will see that the ore is melted, and when it turns into a liquid state, the craftsman will skim off the dross.  In other words, whatever is not pure will be scraped off the top and thrown away, until only pure silver is left.  Then, when it is still heated and in liquid form, the metalworker will pour the pure silver into a mold that was set up in his shop already.  The final product is shaped into eating utensils or ornate jewelry or whatever the silversmith had willed it to be beforehand.

This is how God uses us.  He will increase the heat until our very nature is changed and we are ready to be poured out, then He will pour us out into whatever shape He purposes for us according to His will.  Only after this process are we useful or beautiful or valuable.

(I will) test them as gold is tested

A goldsmith will scrape a tiny amount of the gold item on a touchstone, and put a drop of nitric acid onto it.  Gold is the only metal that is dissolved by this acid.  Nitric acid reacts when brushed onto real gold and you will see fizzing if the gold is genuine.

In 1 John 4 we are told, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God...by this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:1-3a, 6b).  When Paul preached to the Jews at Berea, we are told, "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." (Acts 17:11).

They will call upon my name and I will answer them

This, then, is our hope of glory.  When we see the wrath of God poured out we will seek Him with all of our hearts and minds and soul and strength.  We will be tried and tested, and if we are found faithful we will call on the name of the Lord and He will answer us.

This, too, is a recurring theme in Scripture.  The people of God are identified as His when they confess Him.  

For He said, "Surely they are my people, children who will no deal falsely."  And He became their Savior.  In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old." (Isaiah 63:8-9)

 Psalm 95:6-7 says, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.  For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.  Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."  In our passage in Mark, Peter hardened his heart and stiffened his neck at the Lord's words, but because he was called by Jesus he was forgiven and shown mercy.  Peter later used that grace to become a church father, an Apostle and preacher of the Gospel.  He was purified by fire and poured out into a vessel used by God for His glory.  Let us endure testing and show ourselves faithful, so that we can say He is our God, and He will say to us that we are His.