An Intimate look at Failure
| Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. "Abba, Father," He said, "everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will." Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Once more He went away and prayed the same thing. When He came back, He again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to Him. Returning the third time, He said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? 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!" Just as He was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard." Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!" and kissed Him. The men seized Jesus and arrested Him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. "Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture Me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." Then everyone deserted Him and fled. A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. (Mark14:35-51) |
The details of this encounter are incredibly intimate:
- The levels of Jesus' distress
- The fact that Jesus switched to the Aramaic term "Abba" ("Daddy" or "Pappa") in His prayer.
- The failure of the disciples to stay awake is described very candidly
- Jesus disappointment at their sleepiness
- The "signal" Judas arranges...
There's a very interesting explanation we could offer for this...
The passage tells us about a young man in a linen garment (very much like pajamas) who sneaked out and followed Jesus and the disciples to Gethsemane and watched it all unfold.
Here are the bread-crumb clues:
- In Acts 12 there's a "Mary of Jerusalem" who owned an Upper Room where the disciples prayed when Peter was arrested.
- This was probably the same room where they had the Last Supper, met "behind locked doors" on Resurrection Sunday, and gathered on the day of Pentecost
- Mary had a son John-Mark who had an uncle named Barnabas
- Barnabas brought John Mark on a missions trip with Paul, but John Mark ran away, causing a rift between Paul and Barnabas.
- Eventually John Mark matured and reconciled with Paul and attended to Peter.
- Legend suggests that he recorded Peter's sermons and turned them into the gospel of Mark and he, with a little bit of irony and humility, anonymously acknowledges his "cameo" in Gethsemane.
The disciples fail. Judas fails. The chief priests, teachers and elders fail. John Mark fails.
In the midst of it is Jesus - saddened and daunted, but resolute.
A young boy snuck out at bedtime in search of adventure.
He got to witness multiple failures but in the midst of it, a Saviour who loved us in spite of our failures.
