Mark 14:37-42

Passage

After praying, Jesus returns and finds His inner three (and probably the rest) sleeping.  Jesus wakes Peter and asks Peter if sleeping is really the best thing that he could be doing in the final hours they are with Jesus.  Jesus chastises Peter and tells Him to pray that he might not fall into temptation.  Again Jesus goes away.  Again the disciples fall asleep.  This happens a third time.  On this third time, Jesus tells them to not worry about it anymore.  The time has come for Jesus to be handed over into the hands of sinners.  The one who is to hand Jesus over has come among them.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The disciples are sleeping.  Already we can see the fragile humanity of the disciples cracking under pressure.  How many minutes prior to this event had they just swore to Jesus that they would not abandon Him?  Yet in His greatest hour of anguish, what are they doing?  They are sleeping!  Human beings – even the most spiritual of Jesus’ own disciples – can be so weak, fragile, and self-centered at time.  Myself included.

Why do you think the disciples slept?  Do you think the disciples really understood what was at stake here?  If you were in their shoes living the story instead of hearing about it, do you think you would have been asleep as well?

Second Thought:

The hour had come.  The time was at hand.  It was the moment for freedom to end and for the process of salvation to come.  The moment that Jesus was born to achieve was now.

What do you think about when you ponder that Jesus was born to die?  How does this realization change the stories we hear throughout the year – especially Christmas?  How does this realization impact how you live your life?

Third Thought:

We must note how this passage ends.  When the mob arrives to arrest Jesus, He does not run.  Why does He not run?  He doesn’t run because God has strengthened His resolve through His prayer.  Think ahead about what happens to Peter and the rest of His disciples.  They run.  They flee.  They scatter.  What does this passage clearly say that they did not do?  Pray.  They weren’t prepared for what the world was going to do to them.  So they ran.

How does this passage help you think about the meaning of prayer?  Are you guilty of not being prepared in your life?  How can prayer help you in that context?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 14: 43-50