He was close to death not from external factors, but from the anguish of soul. He knew what was coming. He even asked the Father to not have to go through this. But he also said, “Not my will but yours be done.”

The cross would be the only way to satisfy the justice of God.

It wasn’t just the physical pain of the cross that he would have to face. It would be that he would have to take all the sin and sorrow of the world onto himself. All of it. The Scriptures say “he became sin.”

Awful.

He needed comfort. He needed the support of his friends. So he asked them to pray. Three times he asked them to pray. But each time they fell asleep. Exhausted.

”They did not know what to say to him” (v. 40).

In his darkest hour, his very vest of friends were sleeping. It was a tough pill to swallow. Only moments before they swore they would die for him. But in his darkest hour, they couldn’t even stay awake for him.

It was only the beginning.

• Peter couldn’t stay awake
• James and John couldn’t stay awak
• Judas was coming to betray him with a kiss
• In Peter’s bravado he would try to redeem himself by cutting off the ear of a soldier
• All he did was bring peace and yet the crowds turned on him at his arrest
• And then all the disciples would run away, even one of them naked

It was an utter fiasco. I’m sure Jesus felt the weight of being alone.

Yet Jesus moved forward.

”the Scriptures must be fulfilled” (v. 49).

What Scriptures was he talking about?

It’s talking about Isaiah 53 where he would be despised and rejected.

It’s talking about Zechariah 13:7 where when the shepherd was struck the sheep would scatter.

It was talking about Psalm 22 where he would have to face the cross.

On so many levels I think of the application.

1) We too are part of prophecy. And that prophecy is that the gospel of God will be preached to all people on earth. There is also the promise which we just saw in Mark 13 that we will be betrayed by family, hated by people, but also brought before kings and governors to testify to them. To proclaim the gospel to them.

We too are on mission. And we too will suffer.

2) We too fall asleep. How many times have we awakened in the morning, or fallen asleep at night trying to pray? Or neglected trying because we are busy and/or tired?

Like Peter, in good times we proclaim our allegiance. Then in the moments we fall asleep.

I was thinking of this even recently. We have seen major events unfold and there’s been a move of God in the spirit to call people to prayer. And yet what do I do? Jump into my day. Fall asleep too tired at night to invest much in praying.

3) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

This one has me stumped if I’m honest. Do we pray that we won’t fall into temptation? Like in the Sermon on the Mount “lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil” (Mt 6:13).

Or is it that when we are a praying people, by the very nature of our praying we are more shielded from temptation. Because our spirits are enriched in him.

In this context it’s probably the former. But maybe it’s both. When we pray, we carry Presence and stay connected to God in a way that repels temptation. But also it’s fitting that we pray “let us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”. It’s valid in every way.

This is Jesus’ darkest moment prior to the cross. He is betrayed, alone and anguished to the point of death. But he never said ‘no’ to God.

Obedience was greater than his own desires.

And even though the disciples failed now, they soon became the very forces of the gospel that would follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Living, preaching and dying.

This was redemption.

And Jesus was all about redeeming.