May 29, 1949 ASSURANCE AND POWER THROUGH PRAYER Mark 14:32-42 Pointers on the Lesson
went forward a little and fell to the ground to pray to His Father. He asked if it were possible that the agony of the Cross might not be necessary, but He prayed that God’s will be done. His heart cried out, “Not what I will, but what thou wilt.” When the Saviour re turned to the disciples, He found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “ Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?” Again Jesus went away and prayed. When He returned He found them sleeping the second time. The third time that Jesus found the disciples sleep ing, He awakened them to go and meet those who were coming to take Him prisoner. While Jesus was speaking, Judas came with a multitude having swords and staves to take Him. Judas had told the crowd he would kiss Jesus so that they would know who He was. One of those standing by (Peter) took his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. The Lord at once healed the wounded man. The disciples all ran away from their Lord. Even in His loneliness, God’s Son was not afraid; He knew His Father was with Him to comfort and strengthen Him. God’s children may have that same com fort and strength in times of disap pointment and difficulty. They, too, will find that they are not alone, for their Father in Heaven is with them.
The Lord’s Disappointment in His Disciples (37, 40, 41) Just when it was most important that they should remain awake and on guard, the disciples slept. Let us not excuse them. They should have stayed awake. The Lord told them to; the conditions demanded it. We, too, need to be much awake. We need to “watch and pray” because we are on enemy’s ground. This is no time to relax. The Christian’s rest is yet to come. Memory Verse: “I am not alone, be cause the Father is with me” (John 16:32). After the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus and His disciples went out to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus said unto His disciples, “ Sit ye here, while I shall pray.” The Saviour took Peter, James, and John with Him. He became very sorrowful, and said to the three men, “ Tarry [wait] ye here, and watch.” He Helps for the Children Jesus Unafraid Mark 14:32-50
We are at the place of the oil-press for our lesson this week. Gethsemane means “ oil-press” or “ oilvat.” An en closed plot or garden lay beyond the Brook Kidron at the foot of the Mount of Olives. To this place Jesus had come many times with His disciples to rest and meditate. The name “ Gethsemane” seems altogether in harmony with the experience Jesus endured there the night before His crucifixion. As the olive oil was pressed from the press in the Garden, on that solemn night the sorrows of judgment and hell were pressed from the pure heart of the Son of God. The only reasonable explanation of the Lord’s feeling on this occasion was His sense of the enormous load of human guilt. He began to feel it press ing upon His heart. The mere fact that He was about to suffer physical death would not explain His actions or ut terances on this occasion. He was about to bear the unutterable weight of man’s guilt upon His holy soul. He was about to be made a “ curse for us.” He was entering into the incomparable experi ence of being “made sin for us who [Himself] knew no sin.” The spotless nature of Christ was already beginning to be amazed at the enormity of the sorrow which was to be His. A glimpse of Jesus in the Garden ought to help us see how sinful sin is. The Lord’s Dependence Upon Prayer (35, 36, 39) In His great sorrow in the Garden He prayed three times. Compare Mat thew 26:44. In trouble He turned His face toward heaven. In affliction He sought the Father’s face. Let us learn the practical lesson that in times of difficulty the best place to get help from is the Father’s throne. “ Is any afflicted? let him pray” (James 5:13). Jesus sets the perfect example for us in this regard. The Lord’s Example of Submission (36, 39) Christ’s human nature felt deeply the pressure of a world’s guilt. He could wish to be relieved of it. And yet, if suffering and pain were within the Father’s will, that was what He wanted. “ Not what I will, but what thou wilt.” All through His life upon earth He had followed perfectly the Father’s will. He would not contradict His previous ac tions and attitudes now. The more nearly the child of God is like Christ, the more nearly he will demonstrate a subserviency to God’s will in every experience of life. APRIL, 1949 The Lord’s Feeling of Sorrow (32-34)
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