BIBLE STUDY
We began a new unit of lessons this past Sunday, When You Have Difficult Decisions. Our passage of Scripture was taken from Mark 14:32-39. Preceding these verses, Jesus and the disciples had eaten the Passover meal. Jesus had given new covenant meaning to the bread and drink of the meal, thus instituting the Lord’s Supper and the significance of partaking of it, which holds true today. Jesus once again told the disciples what was about to happen to Him and assured them He would see them again after His resurrection. Again, they failed to grasp the reality and enormity of the coming event.
The group proceeded to the Garden of Gethsemane (meaning ‘oil press), located on the Mt. of Olives. This was a secluded garden where Jesus and the disciples often went to pray and rest. Jesus left the disciples and went further into the garden to pray concerning His Father’s will. Note that He ‘went further’ than the disciples. Robert used this to remind us that no matter what our difficult situation may be, Jesus is not only there, but beyond our circumstance, ready to lead and comfort. Though He was fully God, he was also fully man and has felt any and all emotion that we may have.
Jesus was very distressed, swallowed up in sorrow, for He knew what his fate was. We discussed and agreed that though the physical pain would be horrific, He was more distressed over the emotional pain that He would endure. He, who knew no sin, would feel the weight of all sin of all mankind, from the time of creation to the end of time. Not only that, He would become for the first time, separated from His Father, for God cannot associate with sin. His prayer was “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Notice that He addressed God as Abba, the Aramaic term of affection, translated to our English words for ‘papa’ or ‘daddy’. It was not typical for Jews to use this term in their prayers for fear of showing disrespect to God. The fact that Jesus used this word signifies His desire to please and carry out the Father’s will.
Jesus acknowledged that He knew that if God chose to devise another way to carry out His divine plan of a blood sacrifice of a perfect lamb for the remission of all sin, He could do so and spare His son from bearing the ‘cup’ of suffering. ‘Nevertheless’, He submitted to the will of the Father, whatever His will was. The ‘cup’ is symbolic of the wrath of God in the Old Testament and in the book of Revelation. Jesus would suffer physically, be separated from God, and receive the wrath of God. What a price for our sin!
When we face difficult decisions, we should use the example of Christ and pray: not my will, but yours be done. We pray best by not seeking to change His mind but by being willing to change ours. When Jesus found the disciples sleeping, He went away to repeat His prayer. His example teaches us to persevere in prayer until we know for sure that we are in line with God’s will.
Read Mark 14:41-44 and come prepared next class meeting to share thoughts, insights, ideas and questions on commitment to God’s will as we continue our study on what to do when we face difficult times.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Jean – Jim’s sister; follow up mammogram tests Tuesday
Kevin – Shaw’s grandson; going into National Guard
Reagen – newborn who had surgery Sat., diagnosis good; comfort & strength for parent
Connie – for employment
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