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They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."

Lesson Objective: At the end of this lesson, everyone in the class will have an understanding of Jesus in Gethsemane and what it meant for him. Each one will also have the "tools" to do the hard things that God sets before us.

Prayer Focus: Pray that each one in the group might come to see how Jesus surrendered his will to that of the Father. Pray that each one in the class will do that, too.

Background
The gospel of Mark exalts Jesus as the Christ. There is a subtle, but significant, shift in the focus of the book when Jesus set his mind to go to Jerusalem. He knows what will happen to him there, but he is determined. The last week of his life is difficult, yet purposeful. It is now Thursday evening. He and the disciples share the Last Supper together. They go out to the garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus engages in a spiritual struggle. He is called to do something that, in his human nature, he'd rather not do. How was he able to do that? Let's take a look.

Lesson
A Catholic girl was dating a young man from a Protestant Christian church. As the relationship grew more serious, the worried girl told her mother, "I can't marry him. He's not Catholic." "Then sell him on Catholicism, dear," her mother told her. "He'll never be in a better mood to buy." Some time later, the girl came home weeping. "What's the matter?" her mother asked her. "I oversold him," the girl answered. "Now he's going to be a priest."

"Be careful what you ask for," someone once said, "you just might get it." As we continue through Mark's gospel today, we find Jesus facing a task that he would rather not do. There are some valuable lessons for us as we watch him handle these things.

Pray
Jesus and his disciples are in Gethsemane. It is familiar, and one of Jesus' favorite places. Jesus knows what is about to come and he has gone out to do what? The text says it. He says, "Sit here while I pray." He then takes Peter, James, and John aside and further emphasizes to them the agonizing situation. He is now fervent in prayer.

Let's note a few things here. First, Jesus finds himself in a situation where what God has called him to do is far different than what he wants to do. In his humanity, Jesus wants nothing to do with the cross. Can you identify with how Jesus felt? Have there been things or situations in your life that God has allowed with which you would've rather not had to deal? That's what Gethsemane was to Jesus.

There are very few here today who have not been in that situation. The company has cut back and suddenly you are laid off or, even worse, terminated. That's your Gethsemane.

The test result is positive and the treatment must start right away. You, too, are in the garden.

You lose a dear friend and loneliness and emptiness become your companions. Jesus' agonized cry becomes yours, as well.

Sometimes the cup that God wants you to drink is indeed a bitter cup. What do you do? What did Jesus do? He prayed. He poured out his soul to God. He did so in an honest and genuine fashion. There was no concern for appearances or formalities. He cried out to his Father. Can we do any differently? When the task before you seems impossible, when the road seems impassable, when the obstacles seem insurmountable, pray.

Seek his will and not yours
When Jesus was faced with this incredible and difficult challenge, he sought his Father. What did he pray? Let's look in, shall we? Verse 35 notes, "Going a little further, he fell to ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him." Jesus said, "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." The substance of Jesus' prayer was, "Father, I don't want to go through with this crucifixion, but it isn't a matter of what I want, but what you want."

Jesus, in the middle of his excruciating ordeal, prayed for what he wanted, but made it clear that he wanted to follow, not his own will, but that of the Father. What do we do in those situations? What do we pray for?

I'd like to say that I always pray the same thing that Jesus prayed, wouldn't you? Sometimes, though, there is a temptation to want to force God to act in a certain way. We fall into the trap of saying, "God, if you're really God, then you'll do this." Funny, isn't that what Satan tempted Jesus to do in the desert after his baptism? "If you really are the Son of God...." As enticing as it may appear, don't let yourself get caught in the snare of demands and expectations. We must not confuse what we want and expect with what God may actually want.

I am a fan of the Beverly Hillbillies show. I get to watch it more now that I can get more channels on the television. I remember one episode when Jed, Ellie, and Jethro were talking about Granny. They were saying that she wasn't really particular, at all. All she really wanted in life was one thing: her own way.

Do me a favor, will you? If you are in a class, look at the person on your right and tell them, "He's talking about you." If we're honest, we all have that problem. We like having things our own way. The Burger King restaurants have capitalized on that with their slogan, "Have it your way," and that's great. I like that a lot, except for one thing, I don't always get my way. A mark of a maturing believer is that he/she will not have to have it their way. There are many situations in life where, in fact, it isn't our way at all. "Have it your way?" No thanks, I think I'll take it his way.

Accept what God decides and trust
Jesus continues to pray and seek God. He came back three times after praying intensely only to find his disciples sleeping. Finally, upon returning the third time, he tells them, "Enough, the hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

What happened here? Jesus has been praying to not go through with the cross and all that it meant. He pleaded with God if there be any other way ... but there wasn't. God's answer to his Son, was, "No." What does Jesus then do? In the space between verses 40 and 41 lies one of the most important lessons for believers. Jesus could've been angry. He could have resisted the will of his Father. He could have refused. He could have pouted. He could have chosen any of a myriad of responses that I might have chosen, but he didn't. He accepted God's decision and said, "It is time. My betrayer is here." In those few words, Jesus submits to the will of the Father. Jesus will trust God to see him through the upcoming ordeal.

What Jesus did here is what all of us need to do as well. When those situations arise that we would rather not see, we must accept what God decides and trust that he knows best.

I confess to you that it isn't always easy to do that. I don't always understand the will of God. There are many times where I find myself asking, "Why?" and am uncertain how all of this can work out. I, too, am at a loss to explain what is happening, much less why. That's when we have to follow the lead of Jesus. He didn't want to drink this bitter cup and the results of it would be terrible. Jesus knew, though, that ultimately his Father would be there for him.

One summer, I traveled a lot. While in St. Louis for one of the many trips I made there, I saw a family swimming in the hotel pool. It was a mother and father and two little girls. The youngest must've been about five years old. She was afraid of the water. Her older sister begged her to get in, but she refused. She only got in when her daddy got in and told her to come. She would get in only if her daddy was there.

That scene may describe you, today. Maybe God has called you to what seems to be a scary place. He's told you to jump and to trust. You don't want to, really. I want you to know something, though. If God has called you to jump, he'll be there to catch you. You can do it. You can trust your daddy's hands.

Conclusion
We are called to do things we don't want to do. When that happens, pray; seek his will, not yours, and trust that he will take care of you.

Suggested Songs And Hymns
"Have Thine Own Way, Lord"
"Step By Step"
"In The Garden"


Thought/Discussion Questions

1. What does the scene in Gethsemane tell us about how difficult the cross would be for Jesus? What does that tell us about the "wages of sin"?


2. Jesus went from pouring out his soul and saying, "Let this cup pass from me," to "My betrayer is here. Let us go." How would you describe that progression? How can we make that same journey?


3. Why is it so hard for us to trust the Lord? What can you do to increase your trust?