Lesson # 42 | Mark 14:32-42 | BATTLES BEFORE THE STORM OR HANDLING STRESS

I.   Greetings: 

 

II.  Introduction:   The early church read the Scriptures and proclaimed that Jesus was fully a human being and fully God.  How Jesus could be fully God (infinite) and fully human (finite) is impossible to understand, but this is a mystery we proclaim.  However, that our Lord is fully divine and fully human has huge benefits for us as believers on a practical level.  We may not fathom the depth of the theological and philosophical implications of Jesus' nature, but we profit tremendously from pondering what it can do to bless us.  Because Jesus is completely God we see in Him the nature of God as clearly as can be expressed for us human beings.  If wonder we what God is really like, and what He really thinks, we need to look at Jesus.  Since Jesus was completely human we can see in Him how we are to act as human beings.  If we wonder how to handle certain situations then we can look at Jesus.  Today we will watch Him handle stress, something we humans have to deal with everyday.

            Note:  Outline of Mark 14.

            The chapter contains three key times where Jesus is alone with His disciples:  His anointing by the woman (14:3-9) and discussion that ensues;  communion with the disciples (14:22-26);  and the Garden of Gethsemane (14:32-42).  These three times alone with the disciples can be seen to take place in each one of the three parts of the chapter.  (You can skip this outline, as far as presenting it in the study.  If you do it might help to prepare it before hand on a board or something. 

            PLOTS, PREDICTIONS, BETRAYALS

            I.  Plots to kill Him  1-11

                        A. Scribes plot to kill Him (1-2)

                             B. Interlude of Kindness by the Women (3-9)

                             C. Judas plots to betray Him  (10-11)

            II.  Predictions of Betrayal  12-31

                        A. Setting for Communion (12-16)

                        B. Prediction of Judas Betrayal (17-21)

                        C. Communion (22-26)

                        D. Prediction of Disciple's (Peter's) Betrayal (27-31)

            III. Betrayal and Trial Begins  32-66

                        A. Garden Scene (32-42)

                        B. Judas Betrayal/Arrest of Jesus (43-52)

                        C. Sanhedrin Trial (53-65)

                        D. Peter's Betrayal (66-72)

            Q  Do the plots of the religious leaders and Judas succeed?           

               An = Yes they do.

            Q Is Jesus caught off guard by the conspiracy against Him?

               An = No!  He anticipates their plot in 14:3-9 by pronouncing the woman's act of kindness as anointing for His death.  He also predicts both Judas' and Peter's betrayal.

            Jesus was not caught off guard.  They seemed to be succeeding against Him, and all the while He knew God was succeeding through Him.  They wanted to get their evil way, while He wanted to redeem the world.  I saw a good bumper sticker, it stated:  "I have seen the future, God wins!"

            Q  Given Jesus' awareness of such things, how depressed would you expect Him to be given the fact He knew they were going to kill, humiliate, and betray Him?

               An = It is natural to be deeply disturbed by what is taking place.  When people hurt, plot against, and betray us it will affect us emotionally in a profound way.  Christ understands what you are dealing with.

            Q  Does Jesus have a nervous breakdown?  Would it not be understandable if He did?

               An = Yes, but He does not.  He is being betrayed, will be murdered, and He knows it, but He remains steadfast.

            Q  What does He do?

               An = Jesus is creatively appreciative of the woman's impulsive anointing.  He sees her act through different lenses.  Strong people can face their own pain and see the needs of others (He protects her from verbal abuse of the disciples who strongly react in a negative way to her action.)  He sees the kindness of others.  We need to look beyond our own nose and verbalize our observations of other people's good deeds as He did.

            Note:  If you are going through stress this week, decide to verbalize someone's good actions as often as it can be legitimately done.

            Q  How does Jesus see His death in the communion service?

               An = As death for others.  >> Have someone read Mark 14:24.

 

III.  Dealing With Stress Through Prayer and Being With the Disciples:  Mark 14:32-34.

    A.  With Disciples:  

>>>> Have someone read Mark 14:32-34.

            Note:  He does not let His feelings surface until he is alone with the three of His closest disciples.  It is important to let a few into our deepest struggles. 

            Note:  His pain is intense.  Notice though that He does not break down in general but only lets His feeling surface when He chooses to.  He maintains control but also does not bottle things up.

            Q  Does Jesus ask for help from His friends?

               An = Yes He does.  He asks them to keep watch.  Jesus asks for help.  We need to be willing and open enough to ask for help from our closest friends.  Psychologists tell us this is healthy, but Jesus was modeling this for us a long time before modern psychology.

            Q  Who are they to pray for, themselves or Jesus?

               An = Mark does not tell us.  It is unclear.  Perhaps, what is important is that people pray.

    B.  With God: 

>>>> Have someone read mark 14:35-36.

            Note:  Jesus' posture was to fall on the ground, normally they stood when they prayed in those days.

            Q  In Mark 14:35 what is emphasized?

               An = Jesus' desire not to suffer.  Jesus did not want to suffer, neither should we.  Scholars believe the "cup" is the same as the "hour".  Jesus did not want to go through this suffering (cup) or this event (hour).  It is the same thing.  Jesus knows what it is to experience dread like we do.

>> Read Mark 14:41 and 10:38.

            Q  There are three parts to the prayer, what are they?

               An = The three parts are:  Title of address, a request, an act of submission. 

            THE TITLE:  In the title of "Abba" Jesus calls or addresses God so we can see His attitude towards God.  Jesus sees God as "Father" or "Daddy" even though it is His Father's will that He suffer.  Jesus knew sorrow and pain (though they may come from the Father's hand) are not a sign that God does not love Him.  "The Father's hand will never cause His child a needless tear".  (Barclay, p. 362)  Jesus proved His faith and His trust in His Father by the very title He used.

            THE REQUEST:

            Q  What does Jesus request of God when He refers to the "cup"?

               An = Jesus is a healthy person.  He did not want to die or drink such judgment.  No healthy person would.

            Note:  Jesus spoke the truth about what He really desired.  We too can tell God what we really want, Jesus did.  We may not get what we want but we certainly allowed to tell Him the truth.

            >>>> Have someone read Isaiah 51:17.  It is the judgment of God.  Jesus was to bear the wrath of God on sin.  He who knew no sin was to bear sin's curse. 

           

            THE ACT OF SUBMISSION:

            Q  Is Jesus willing to let God's will be done even though He does not like it?

               An = Yes He is.  This is key.  When we let God have His way we are no longer god, but God is God.  If we refuse to let God have His way, we prove that we do not really trust God, but must stay in control of our lives because we do not believe God is competent to run it for us.

            Q  Is Jesus forced to submit or does He choose to submit?  Why is that so important?

               An = We must choose.  We must choose to obey God even though we fear or dread the consequences of obeying Him.  It must be our choice.  Emotions must not lead, clear knowledge of God's will must be what we choose, whether we feel like it or not.

    C.  With Disciples: 

>>>> Have someone read Mark 14:37-38.

            Q Do we need to fight the body at times to obey God?

               An = Yes, we must fight the body's desires at times if we want to be loyal to God and others (see 14:37). 

            Q  Does He confront the disciples?

               An = Yes, and we too need to be open when others fail us, and it is not wrong to verbalize such beliefs.

            Q  Who is Jesus concerned with in Mark 14:38?

               An = He is concerned with them.  We can tell others we are disappointed with them, but we can never stop caring about them.  Tell those who have let you down how you see their action but never stop loving them.  In other words, despite Jesus' pain and disappointment He is still other centered.

            Note:  He forgives the disciples who have disappointed Him before they even ask for such forgiveness.  This is so important!  With the "spirit is willing but the body is weak" statement, He verbally recognizes that they were not off selling drugs to children or hurting widows but merely gave into their bodies' need for sleep.  Jesus tried to see things from their perspective not just His own.  We too, must be other centered enough to forgive even when we are stressed.

    D.  Repeatedly Going To God:

>>>> Have someone read Mark 14:39-42.

            Q  How many times did Jesus have to pray?

               An = Three times, often we must battle repeatedly in prayer when we are truly stressed.  Jesus was the perfect human being, and He had to struggle three times.  We need not get discouraged if we repeatedly struggle to win in a tension filled predicament.

            Note:  Jesus does not run from difficulty.  He saw it (41) and arose to meet it (42).  This is the only way to face such things.

 

IV.  Summary of His Response to Stress:

            As fully human

            He modeled for us several things as a human being.

                        He is other centered.

                        He openly asked for help from His friends.

                        He confronted their failure but then forgave.

                        He went to God in Prayer: 

                                    With trust (to His Father),

                                    With honesty (asking to get out of it),

                                    With submission (knowing our will must be sublimated to God's). 

            He modeled true humanity for us. 

            As fully God

            If Jesus is God, we need to fall on our knees.  Jesus was willing to identify with our struggles, our weaknesses, our pains.  God was so humble, so unselfish, so willing to see our pain, that He came to earth and submitted to the horrors we so often face.  If this is God's attitude then this is good news!  If this can open our eyes to God to see how God really is, other centered, open to confront us in our faults and yet willing to forgive, and a God who can be addressed as Father, openly and honestly spoken to, yet submitted to, then we do indeed have a true picture of God.