THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
JESUS PRAYED AND AGONIZED BEFORE HIS ARREST
Mark 14:32-36 The First, Second, and Third Prayer
32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
Gethsemane was the garden on the western slopes of Mount Olive, where one could just press the oil right out of the olive.
33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Christ is praying for death.
34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
You too should be a watchman. It is your duty to watch.
35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
Christ separated himself from the apostles.
Many people think His praying for the hour to pass from Him means He was weak. No, He was not weak. He knew Psalms 22 where it predicted what was to happen.
Here He is talking about the Hour of Temptation, when the cup of wrath of Almighty God must be poured out on those that have been deceived and on those that will not believe. And who is it that is going to pour it out? He is. (Mark 13; Revelation 14)
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Father, Father, is there some other way we could get by without this cup. This is not Christ being a little weak at that moment by wanting the cup to pass from Him. He is in agreement with the Father, as the Father’s Will shall be done.
Isaiah 51:17-22 Stay Awake: Physically and Spiritually
17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
18 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.
There are people claiming to be preachers (false prophets) saying things that just are not true, and they will not be able to help the people when that cup of wrath comes. It will be too late.
19 These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?
Who will be sorry? Who is going to really worry about it? Those that fall short? Who will comfort you? There is only one answer, Christ.
20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.
Many never read the Bible or learn about God but are against God.
21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
They are drunk in a stupor with confusion and ignorance.
22 Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pled the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:
The ones who obey and believe in God do not have to worry about the cup of fury. After God’s cup is poured out, there will not be any more cups because the next thing will be the Lake of Fire at the end of the Millennium.
This is what Christ wanted to know if it was possible to avoid, but God’s Will is what He requested be done.
We too must want God’s Will to be done.
Back to Mark:
Mark 14:37-50
37 And he cometh, and found them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? could not thou watch one hour?
Peter means rock, and this is the rock Jesus intends to use to build the church, but He also called him Simon. Simon means hearing and he is not hearing, and he is not listening.
We are to understand from this scripture that we too are to be hearers and listeners of the Word. And keep watching.
38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Must be real careful. Let your faith be strong. As a watchman you are on duty to watch—watch the scriptures, watch current events, watch events of the world.
You live in the generation Christ warned us about, the generation of the fig tree. We are to learn the “story of the fig tree”. (Matthew 24:32-33) We are to watch.
39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spoke the same words.
Is there a different way to do the Hour of Temptation? Is there a way to correct the children without going to that extreme?
40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
The flesh eyes will do this to you. Again, He caught them asleep on their watch.
41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
It is going to happen. Christ knew it was time for Him to be betrayed. How did He know that? He is the Son of God. It was prearranged. However, with God on the Throne everything is prearranged.
All you have to do is plug into that truth, and you will not find the anti-Christ tempting. Seal it in your mind, and you will escape the Hour of Temptation.
Watch, watchman, watch.
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AMEN 🙏