Year of the Bible – Mark 14
Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. – Mark 14:36
Mark 14:32-52 (32-38)
Jesus knew and understood the meaning of death, but He knew and understood what would happen to us if He did not come into the flesh to save us. His humanity was fully human, for He felt and understood what death was, and for that reason He suffered so horribly in the Garden of Gethsamane. Jesus struggled with the will of God: Should He suffer? Was this God’s will? Would His Father deliver Him from this hour? Those questions do not often go answered, especially ahead of time. We don’t often know why God puts us in places and why we suffer when we do. But Jesus prayed the perfect prayer of the obedient son: Yet
not what I will, but what you will.
Soon thereafter Jesus was arrested. He had been betrayed with a kiss. Jesus did not take matters into His own hands; He did not rebel or kill to preserve His freedom. He committed His life to the will of God in the Scriptures. This was hard for His disciples to bear.
Questions – Mark 14
- Why did Jesus suffer?
- When we suffer, how should we pray?
- Does God always give us answers to our prayers?
- Explain what it means to “trust in God’s will.”
Year of the Bible – Epiphany Week Three | Friday | Mark 14 – © John W. Fiene