Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray… The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Today our study brings us into that portion of the Lord Jesus’ life that I would call His holy of holies prayer unto His Father. Words are not capable of describing the depth of this time of prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Scripture tells us that Jesus was known to go there. As Son of Man, Jesus was a man of prayer. He was a man Who lived in communion with His Father. Although God Incarnate, this Word made flesh Who dwelt amongst us (John 1:14) is indeed the great mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16).
Once again we find our precious Savior in this hour of prayer being our Master Teacher. Jesus prays with great agony, breaking blood vessels as He submits Himself into His Father’s hands with these words: “…nevertheless, not My will, but Thy will be done.” (Mark 14:36) In other words, if there is any other way to redeem lost, sinful man apart from Me dying on the cross, let that happen. But there is no other way for lost man to be saved and brought into a right relationship with God apart from faith in The Lord Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for sin.
But lest we miss more of what The Lord is teaching us, we must also see that Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. Like the disciples, we can make great claims of loyalty to Jesus yet fail miserably. We can be given the opportunity to spend time in prayer with Him, only to find ourselves sleeping. Thus Jesus said to His disciples these words that we must hear today: “Watch ye and pray… The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38)
The word Gethsemane means “oil press” or “crushed”. At this crushing moment in Jesus’ life, He went to His Father in that hour of prayer and He fully submitted to His will. Beloved, life at times is pressing. We often times find ourselves crushed by betrayals and the ill will of others. It is in our Gethsemanes that we find sweet communion with The Father and the strength that we need to say, ‘not my will, but Thine be done.’ To watch and pray is a necessary lifestyle of communion with God, not a religious duty. Selah
