Purposeful Prayer: Mark 14:37-42

Jesus will die on the cross, saving the world as He does.  This message is repeated so often some worry it might become trite, but I don’t subscribe to that view.  The more often I am reminded I know peace, love, and joy because Jesus was willing to go to the cross for my sake, the happier I am.

Jesus returns from His time communing with the Father to find the disciples asleep.  The hour was late.  It may have been a warm night.  They had just walked from the upper room to the Mount of Olives.  They were tired; they fell asleep.

Hadn’t the disciples promised to do whatever it took to remain beside Jesus?  Hadn’t Peter just said he would choose death rather than abandoning Jesus?  This shows the fragility of the human condition.  As Jesus says, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We want to do the right thing, focus on the right things, and be there when God needs us.  Unfortunately, we’re human.  We get tired.  We get distracted.  We lose focus or even passion.

There is more to this passage, though.  Mark shows us the significance of communing with God.  Jesus returns after communing with the Father and is prepared to go forward with God’s plan.  The disciples sleep.  They could have prayed on their own.  They could have worshipped with one another.  They could have encouraged each other in the spirit and strengthened each other while they waited.  Instead, they took a nap.  Jesus is ready because He spent time with the Father; the disciples are ill-prepared because they didn’t.

Jesus tells the disciples the time is at hand.  There is nothing else to do.  The scene is as set as it is going to be.  The disciples are as prepared as they are going to be.  The religious elite are as threatened as they are going to be.  The crowd is as ready to be stirred up as they are going to be.  The time is at hand indeed.

We know Jesus struggled coming to this moment because of the difficulty the trial would bring and the pain the crucifixion would cause.  He prayed for this moment to pass, but it has come because it is the will of the Father.  When the confrontation begins, there will be no turning back or finding another way.

Jesus doesn’t run.  Jesus doesn’t hide.  Jesus might not be looking favorably towards the next several hours, but He is willing to walk the path these hours will make Him walk.  His time communing with the Father has allowed Him to be ready.  His love – not only for those who follow God’s ways but rather for the whole world, honestly – will carry Him through.  Jesus’ face is set to accomplish what nobody else could do.  Jesus will die on the cross, saving the world as He does.