Agony in Gethsemane
Mark 14:32-41
Message #54
God became a Man (the Incarnation). But the reason God became a Man (in Jesus Christ) was to live a sinless life, then to pay the full penalty for your sin and mine on the Cross, and what that sacrifice cost Jesus – we will never, ever be able to even begin to understand. But our text today gives us the smallest glimpse of how deep that cost was for God.
Today, we get just a glimpse of Jesus experiencing the deepest agony the world has ever known, just in preparing to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the World, him preparing to meet death, and sin, and the grave face-to-face, head-to-head on the Cross.
Our focus today is on what it cost Jesus just to prepare to go to the Cross. But (knowing how Mark writes) it’s really interesting that Mark sandwiches the agonizing of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane between the denial and betrayal of the Disciples.
Before the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane is a prophecy of Peter’s denial, and after the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane is the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, and right in the middle – right in between man’s denial and man’s betrayal – Jesus is experiencing the immeasurable agony of preparing to freely offer us (deniers and betrayers) forgiveness and eternal life… if we would turn from our denial and betrayal and embrace the price he paid for our salvation.
So, right before the agony in Gethsemane, Jesus tells the eleven Disciples, “All of you will desert me.” (Verse 27). But – Jesus also told them they would return to him (verse 28) and they all did.
But although this was literally a “Thus sayeth the Lord” situation (the Lord saying it), Peter, in his typical fashion, tells the Lord Jesus that he’s wrong. (Verse 29).
Then, Jesus gets more specific, and Peter gets more emphatic that the Lord, God in the Flesh, is wrong and Peter, the prideful fisherman, is right. And it’s a great lesson on prideful presumption and self-confidence that we’ll pick up again in a few weeks.
So, that is just before the agony in Gethsemane, and then Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus to his death is just after the agony in Gethsemane.
And I think it’s a great picture of what we have done to Jesus and what Jesus has done for us (in spite of what we have done to him).
So, sandwiched between man’s denial and man’s betrayal, we come to the agony in Gethsemane (the previous conversation about Peter’s denial occurs on the way to Gethsemane).
Mark 14:32 (NLT)
32 They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.”
Gethsemane means “olive press” or “oil press” and it perfectly depicts what Jesus is about to go through. The ancient olive press that we see in Israel today is a huge beam with three sets of huge stones weighing up to five hundred pounds apiece. And the press is made to crush three times, and with each crushing – or pressing – another huge stone is added creating multiplied pressure that eventually presses every last drop of life out of an olive. And that is what Jesus is about to experience as he is going into the crushing press of preparing for the Cross.
And verse 32 says Jesus had the Disciples stay in place while he went in to pray. We also visit (when we can) a grotto, or cave, at the base of Gethsemane which would’ve been a likely place for Jesus to have the Disciples stay, possibly thinking they would spend the night there.
And then, Mark 14:33 says,
Mark 14:33 (NLT)
33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed.
These are the closest – inner three – that Jesus wanted to be with him as he entered this deeply troubling and distressing time.
These are the same three that were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration where they saw a glimpse of his deity. And these were the same three that were with Jesus when he raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead where they saw Jesus’ power of resurrection, and now they are with him in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus desires to share with them the fellowship of his deepest suffering.
Guys, Jesus was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man, which is why he was deeply troubled and distressed because first, Jesus knew he was about to go through the indescribable pain of the torture and crucifixion that awaited him. But even more so, Jesus was entering a time of unparalleled agony because he knew what he was about to bear – the full and complete penalty for the sin of the world.
Jesus knew that God’s righteous judgment for sin must fall upon him in order to make a way for it to not fall upon us. He is first and foremost holy and just and he must judge sin. And so, you and I cannot understand Jesus being eternally one with the Father (John Chapter 1 says they’re bosom to bosom, they are one, they’re one). And now, when the entire weight of the sin of the world is put on Christ, the Father must judge him, must judge that sin upon him, and the worst part of all of that is him being separated from the Father. And so, I believe the agony here is bad enough that the torture and crucifixion are coming and he understands it. But it’s way worse than at this moment he is going to be separated for the first time in all time, in eternity, since before time began, he would be separated from his Father as judgment for our sin.
Because, either the judgment for our sin has to either fall on Jesus, or on us. And before Jesus pays this price for us, there is no “or.” It must fall on us. And so, Jesus knows that he has to be in this place because he is the only one, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, who can pay this price. But, paying it is literally killing him.
Jesus was about to experience what 2 Corinthians 5:21 says,
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
That’s the only way we can be made right with God through Christ. How many people have said to me, “Well, I’m a pretty good person, I think God will let me in.”? You’ve got to be kidding. God doesn’t grade on the curve. You’re not school kids where God says, “Well, you’re not as bad as your Uncle Joe, so I’m going to go ahead and let you in.” He just doesn’t work like that. Zero sin in the presence of God. Zero. So, you either show up in your own perfect righteousness, having never sinned, or you show up in the righteousness of Christ. Don’t go with your own, you’re not going to “make it.”
God made Christ who knew no sin to be the offering for your sin so that you could take on the righteousness of Christ before God so that you can be in the presence of God for eternity. That’s what the Bible says.
Jesus was about to experience what Galatians 3:13 says,
Galatians 3:13 (NLT)
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing . . .
Curse (not like an incantation-like curse), but wrath. Punishment. He took it in our place, and he knows it’s hours away in the Garden, and the pressure is killing him.
And Jesus knew in a few short hours, after a night of humiliation and torture, that he would cry out on the Cross what we read in Mark 15:34.
Mark 15:34 (ESV)
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
That’s it right there. That’s the moment that Jesus reached his lowest level, his deepest agony. God, why have you forsaken me? And Jesus knew the answer.
God’s answer was… for Dave… and for you… and for all those who would put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Jesus knew why. But he also knew he would have to experience every bit of the penalty for our sin, and every bit of the horror of being separated from God so that we would never have to be.
We cannot grasp the depth of the horror and the agony that Jesus was experiencing here when we read in Mark 14:34,
Mark 14:34 (NLT)
34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me
That is what the olive press does. It crushes out every last drop of life, and Jesus was in Gat-Semane – the olive press, and the horror that he was facing for you and me was crushing him to the point of death.
We have to put ourselves there. Our culture has made salvation a little bit flippant. It’s easy, right? Salvation is by faith alone. You don’t have to earn it, you can’t earn it. You can’t deserve it, you can’t achieve it. All that stuff is man. But we have to at least say, “God, what did it take to save a wretch like me? What did it take? What did it feel like?”
Well, it felt like the God of the Universe becoming a man, and then being crushed to point of death with grief just to move into the end of the trials and the torture on the way to the Cross.
So, in verse 34, Jesus tells the inner three Stay here and keep watch with me.
And then, Mark 14:35-36.
Mark 14:35-36 (NLT)
35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by.
36 “Abba, Father,” (Daddy, Papa, it’s the CRY of a son who has always been ONE with his Father) he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please (Abba, if possible) take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Jesus is praying – in the most personal, intimate, relationship terms – ABBA FATHER, if there is any other way
This is the cry of the humanity of Jesus. But it is also the cry of the deity of Jesus. Because as God, Jesus knew both the agony it would mean for him and the reward it would mean for us.
Jesus knew there was no other way to give us the opportunity to spend eternity in God’s presence. But he was also experiencing the greatest agony mankind would ever know – preparing for it.
Jesus is in the crushing press of preparing to die for the sins of the world and it seems to me that Jesus wanted his closest Disciples to carry this unimaginable weight with him in prayer.
And so, we read in Mark 14:37,
Mark 14:37 (NLT)
37 Then he returned and found the disciples asleep (including Prideful and Presumptuous, Peter). He said to Peter, “Simon (that’s Peter), are YOU asleep? Couldn’t YOU watch with me even one hour?
Peter, in your pride you just arrogantly announced you would die with me, but the truth is you can’t even stay awake to pray with me.
The word “watch” means “to be alert,” “be on guard,” “to be praying with purpose.” But instead of watching and praying, the Disciples were asleep because they didn’t understand the sacrifice of Jesus.
And maybe, when it comes to Jesus, maybe we are asleep for the same reason.
Maybe we are asleep to the truths of Jesus and the Cross because we don’t understand the depth of the sacrifice that God has made to give us the opportunity to live in his presence for eternity – through faith in Christ.
So now, Jesus is training his Disciples in his own greatest hour of need.
Mark 14:38 (NLT)
38 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Jesus is pleading with them because he knows their own hour of suffering is coming and he truly needs their help right now.
And so, Mark 14:39,
Mark 14:39 (NLT)
39 Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before.
This is the second crushing in the olive press. If the first weight was five hundred pounds, now it’s a thousand pounds. And again he cried out, ABBA, ABBA, Father. if there is any other way to save mankind
if there is any other way to Pay the penalty for THEIR SINS
BUT – I know there is NOT
SO I am surrendered to YOUR WILL
And then, dragging himself back to where he left the inner three to intercede for him,
Mark 14:40 (NLT)
40 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.
I love the NLT – they didn’t know what to say because they didn’t understand the depth of the agony Jesus was in or the depth of the suffering he was facing, and within hours, Jesus will be praying on the cross, Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.
No one in this text deserves the sacrifice Jesus is becoming for their salvation, and no one in this room, or online, deserves it either. You cannot deserve it. You cannot. You are a sinner by nature and choice. And Jesus Christ is doing this for you, in your place, not because you deserve it – but as a free gift That is why our salvation comes by faith alone.
And so, Jesus leaves the sleeping Disciples, and now, with all three stones of the crushing press on him – literally the weight of the world is crushing the very last drop of life out of him.
It is here that Dr. Luke writes in Luke 22:44,
Luke 22:44 (NLT)
44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
Jesus prayed in increasing agony three times, and three times he lovingly surrendered to the Father’s will – all to be able to freely offer us eternal life in his name.
And, in the end, Jesus faced the crushing agony of Gethsemane – alone. Though his agony was for us he faced it alone sandwiched between man’s denial and man’s betrayal.
Mark 14:41-42 (NLT)
41 When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”
The time had come
Prophesied since the Fall of Man in Genesis Chapter 3
Promised, Pictured, and Prophesied throughout the Old Testament
The hour of sacrifice – when Jesus would die for the sins of the world was here.
How do we respond to the agony in Gethsemane? Can we casually, religiously put ourselves in these verses – and not be moved?
With the miraculous, supernatural divine proof of the Bible, and these two-thousand-year-old words describing what God In The Flesh experienced on our behalf, how do we put ourselves in the Garden of Gethsemane with the Son of God and not be deeply moved?
God, became a man, to live a perfect life and to die on the Cross to pay the full penalty for your sin and mine, and what that cost Jesus, we will never, ever be able to begin to understand.
We have only one of two responses to the price that Jesus paid on our behalf. We either receive his free gift of forgiveness and eternal life OR we reject him and reject the free gift of eternal life he died to offer us.
Today, we get just a glimpse of Jesus experiencing the deepest agony the world has ever known, just in preparing to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the World, him preparing to meet death, and sin, and the grave face-to-face, head-to-head on the Cross.
Our focus today is on what it cost Jesus just to prepare to go to the Cross. But (knowing how Mark writes) it’s really interesting that Mark sandwiches the agonizing of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane between the denial and betrayal of the Disciples.
Before the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane is a prophecy of Peter’s denial, and after the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane is the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, and right in the middle – right in between man’s denial and man’s betrayal – Jesus is experiencing the immeasurable agony of preparing to freely offer us (deniers and betrayers) forgiveness and eternal life… if we would turn from our denial and betrayal and embrace the price he paid for our salvation.
So, right before the agony in Gethsemane, Jesus tells the eleven Disciples, “All of you will desert me.” (Verse 27). But – Jesus also told them they would return to him (verse 28) and they all did.
But although this was literally a “Thus sayeth the Lord” situation (the Lord saying it), Peter, in his typical fashion, tells the Lord Jesus that he’s wrong. (Verse 29).
Then, Jesus gets more specific, and Peter gets more emphatic that the Lord, God in the Flesh, is wrong and Peter, the prideful fisherman, is right. And it’s a great lesson on prideful presumption and self-confidence that we’ll pick up again in a few weeks.
So, that is just before the agony in Gethsemane, and then Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus to his death is just after the agony in Gethsemane.
And I think it’s a great picture of what we have done to Jesus and what Jesus has done for us (in spite of what we have done to him).
So, sandwiched between man’s denial and man’s betrayal, we come to the agony in Gethsemane (the previous conversation about Peter’s denial occurs on the way to Gethsemane).
Mark 14:32 (NLT)
32 They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.”
Gethsemane means “olive press” or “oil press” and it perfectly depicts what Jesus is about to go through. The ancient olive press that we see in Israel today is a huge beam with three sets of huge stones weighing up to five hundred pounds apiece. And the press is made to crush three times, and with each crushing – or pressing – another huge stone is added creating multiplied pressure that eventually presses every last drop of life out of an olive. And that is what Jesus is about to experience as he is going into the crushing press of preparing for the Cross.
And verse 32 says Jesus had the Disciples stay in place while he went in to pray. We also visit (when we can) a grotto, or cave, at the base of Gethsemane which would’ve been a likely place for Jesus to have the Disciples stay, possibly thinking they would spend the night there.
And then, Mark 14:33 says,
Mark 14:33 (NLT)
33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed.
These are the closest – inner three – that Jesus wanted to be with him as he entered this deeply troubling and distressing time.
These are the same three that were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration where they saw a glimpse of his deity. And these were the same three that were with Jesus when he raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead where they saw Jesus’ power of resurrection, and now they are with him in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus desires to share with them the fellowship of his deepest suffering.
Guys, Jesus was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man, which is why he was deeply troubled and distressed because first, Jesus knew he was about to go through the indescribable pain of the torture and crucifixion that awaited him. But even more so, Jesus was entering a time of unparalleled agony because he knew what he was about to bear – the full and complete penalty for the sin of the world.
Jesus knew that God’s righteous judgment for sin must fall upon him in order to make a way for it to not fall upon us. He is first and foremost holy and just and he must judge sin. And so, you and I cannot understand Jesus being eternally one with the Father (John Chapter 1 says they’re bosom to bosom, they are one, they’re one). And now, when the entire weight of the sin of the world is put on Christ, the Father must judge him, must judge that sin upon him, and the worst part of all of that is him being separated from the Father. And so, I believe the agony here is bad enough that the torture and crucifixion are coming and he understands it. But it’s way worse than at this moment he is going to be separated for the first time in all time, in eternity, since before time began, he would be separated from his Father as judgment for our sin.
Because, either the judgment for our sin has to either fall on Jesus, or on us. And before Jesus pays this price for us, there is no “or.” It must fall on us. And so, Jesus knows that he has to be in this place because he is the only one, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, who can pay this price. But, paying it is literally killing him.
Jesus was about to experience what 2 Corinthians 5:21 says,
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
That’s the only way we can be made right with God through Christ. How many people have said to me, “Well, I’m a pretty good person, I think God will let me in.”? You’ve got to be kidding. God doesn’t grade on the curve. You’re not school kids where God says, “Well, you’re not as bad as your Uncle Joe, so I’m going to go ahead and let you in.” He just doesn’t work like that. Zero sin in the presence of God. Zero. So, you either show up in your own perfect righteousness, having never sinned, or you show up in the righteousness of Christ. Don’t go with your own, you’re not going to “make it.”
God made Christ who knew no sin to be the offering for your sin so that you could take on the righteousness of Christ before God so that you can be in the presence of God for eternity. That’s what the Bible says.
Jesus was about to experience what Galatians 3:13 says,
Galatians 3:13 (NLT)
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing . . .
Curse (not like an incantation-like curse), but wrath. Punishment. He took it in our place, and he knows it’s hours away in the Garden, and the pressure is killing him.
And Jesus knew in a few short hours, after a night of humiliation and torture, that he would cry out on the Cross what we read in Mark 15:34.
Mark 15:34 (ESV)
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
That’s it right there. That’s the moment that Jesus reached his lowest level, his deepest agony. God, why have you forsaken me? And Jesus knew the answer.
God’s answer was… for Dave… and for you… and for all those who would put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Jesus knew why. But he also knew he would have to experience every bit of the penalty for our sin, and every bit of the horror of being separated from God so that we would never have to be.
We cannot grasp the depth of the horror and the agony that Jesus was experiencing here when we read in Mark 14:34,
Mark 14:34 (NLT)
34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me
That is what the olive press does. It crushes out every last drop of life, and Jesus was in Gat-Semane – the olive press, and the horror that he was facing for you and me was crushing him to the point of death.
We have to put ourselves there. Our culture has made salvation a little bit flippant. It’s easy, right? Salvation is by faith alone. You don’t have to earn it, you can’t earn it. You can’t deserve it, you can’t achieve it. All that stuff is man. But we have to at least say, “God, what did it take to save a wretch like me? What did it take? What did it feel like?”
Well, it felt like the God of the Universe becoming a man, and then being crushed to point of death with grief just to move into the end of the trials and the torture on the way to the Cross.
So, in verse 34, Jesus tells the inner three Stay here and keep watch with me.
And then, Mark 14:35-36.
Mark 14:35-36 (NLT)
35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by.
36 “Abba, Father,” (Daddy, Papa, it’s the CRY of a son who has always been ONE with his Father) he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please (Abba, if possible) take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Jesus is praying – in the most personal, intimate, relationship terms – ABBA FATHER, if there is any other way
This is the cry of the humanity of Jesus. But it is also the cry of the deity of Jesus. Because as God, Jesus knew both the agony it would mean for him and the reward it would mean for us.
Jesus knew there was no other way to give us the opportunity to spend eternity in God’s presence. But he was also experiencing the greatest agony mankind would ever know – preparing for it.
Jesus is in the crushing press of preparing to die for the sins of the world and it seems to me that Jesus wanted his closest Disciples to carry this unimaginable weight with him in prayer.
And so, we read in Mark 14:37,
Mark 14:37 (NLT)
37 Then he returned and found the disciples asleep (including Prideful and Presumptuous, Peter). He said to Peter, “Simon (that’s Peter), are YOU asleep? Couldn’t YOU watch with me even one hour?
Peter, in your pride you just arrogantly announced you would die with me, but the truth is you can’t even stay awake to pray with me.
The word “watch” means “to be alert,” “be on guard,” “to be praying with purpose.” But instead of watching and praying, the Disciples were asleep because they didn’t understand the sacrifice of Jesus.
And maybe, when it comes to Jesus, maybe we are asleep for the same reason.
Maybe we are asleep to the truths of Jesus and the Cross because we don’t understand the depth of the sacrifice that God has made to give us the opportunity to live in his presence for eternity – through faith in Christ.
So now, Jesus is training his Disciples in his own greatest hour of need.
Mark 14:38 (NLT)
38 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Jesus is pleading with them because he knows their own hour of suffering is coming and he truly needs their help right now.
And so, Mark 14:39,
Mark 14:39 (NLT)
39 Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before.
This is the second crushing in the olive press. If the first weight was five hundred pounds, now it’s a thousand pounds. And again he cried out, ABBA, ABBA, Father. if there is any other way to save mankind
if there is any other way to Pay the penalty for THEIR SINS
BUT – I know there is NOT
SO I am surrendered to YOUR WILL
And then, dragging himself back to where he left the inner three to intercede for him,
Mark 14:40 (NLT)
40 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.
I love the NLT – they didn’t know what to say because they didn’t understand the depth of the agony Jesus was in or the depth of the suffering he was facing, and within hours, Jesus will be praying on the cross, Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.
No one in this text deserves the sacrifice Jesus is becoming for their salvation, and no one in this room, or online, deserves it either. You cannot deserve it. You cannot. You are a sinner by nature and choice. And Jesus Christ is doing this for you, in your place, not because you deserve it – but as a free gift That is why our salvation comes by faith alone.
And so, Jesus leaves the sleeping Disciples, and now, with all three stones of the crushing press on him – literally the weight of the world is crushing the very last drop of life out of him.
It is here that Dr. Luke writes in Luke 22:44,
Luke 22:44 (NLT)
44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
Jesus prayed in increasing agony three times, and three times he lovingly surrendered to the Father’s will – all to be able to freely offer us eternal life in his name.
And, in the end, Jesus faced the crushing agony of Gethsemane – alone. Though his agony was for us he faced it alone sandwiched between man’s denial and man’s betrayal.
Mark 14:41-42 (NLT)
41 When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”
The time had come
Prophesied since the Fall of Man in Genesis Chapter 3
Promised, Pictured, and Prophesied throughout the Old Testament
The hour of sacrifice – when Jesus would die for the sins of the world was here.
How do we respond to the agony in Gethsemane? Can we casually, religiously put ourselves in these verses – and not be moved?
With the miraculous, supernatural divine proof of the Bible, and these two-thousand-year-old words describing what God In The Flesh experienced on our behalf, how do we put ourselves in the Garden of Gethsemane with the Son of God and not be deeply moved?
God, became a man, to live a perfect life and to die on the Cross to pay the full penalty for your sin and mine, and what that cost Jesus, we will never, ever be able to begin to understand.
We have only one of two responses to the price that Jesus paid on our behalf. We either receive his free gift of forgiveness and eternal life OR we reject him and reject the free gift of eternal life he died to offer us.