Mark 14: A Scent of Doom

The greatest mystery of our faith is that, when he walked the earth, Jesus Christ was 100% God and 100% human at the same time. We glimpse both his deity (healings, calming storms, multiplying food) and his humanity (he gets tired, hungry, thirsty) over and over again in the Gospels.

But here, in the Garden of Gethsemane, we do not just glimpse Jesus’ humanness; we see it close up and in high-definition. The picture that emerges here is not a ruggedly independent, pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps, I can handle this all on my own Messiah… but a man who is in deep distress, who knows he needs his friends around him and his God to strengthen him. Look again at what Jesus says and does.

He took Peter, James, and John along with him when he went to pray. They did not pray with him though – they simply waited for him. Why did he ask them to go with him? He was lonely and sad, and he wanted his friends around him. Can’t we all relate to what he was feeling?

He was ruthlessly honest about what he was experiencing. He, the Son of God, confesses to his friends that crushing feelings of sorrow and grief are overwhelming him. He did not pretend that he had everything under control; he was not worried about looking “unspiritual” or “needy.” If Jesus could be so honest with his friends about his needs, shouldn’t we do the same?

He prayed desperately. He prayed honestly; he expresses his true feelings, he holds nothing back. But he also reaffirms his desire to do what God wanted him to do – even if it was hard. Jesus was keenly aware that doing his Father’s will was going to cost him – and he was committed to doing that will regardless of the cost. Are we willing to pray this kind of prayer?

This section of Scripture is, at the same time, both heart-breaking and comforting. Heartbreaking in that we look on as our dear friend Jesus suffers. But comforting in that we know that went through all of this willingly, and he did it because he loved us. And because he did, we can have confidence that whatever we experience in this life – the good, the bad, or the ugly – he understands. And that is comforting indeed (Hebrews 4:15-16).


Ken Jackson