SUFFERING KING: THE BOOK OF MARK:
QUIT BEING LAZY: Mark 14:32-42
Pastor John Weathersby
Sunday May 16, 2021
Today, we’re going to get Jesus private framework for surviving the world, unscathed by sin. Is that interesting to you?
What if I told you that you could have this secret plan of Christ, but that you won’t because you are tired. If that was a YouTube video, with a $1,000 class that was on sale for $29 just this week, it would sell. Are you interested? Because it is laid out for everyone to see in Mark 14:32-42 the master’s plan for effective life.
If you want to be prepared for the battle of Christian life, don’t be too tired. Don’t give yourself the excuse.
Today, I have to ignore my-own laziness, my own laziness is not to deliver you this message. Because I know LOTS of people are going to think I’m pointing this at them, and I’m not. This isn’t be pointing anything at you, this is me, reading the text and seeing Jesus making a theater out of this warning to not be lazy. If Jesus takes time to make a lasting recorded scene of a warning for all believers that follow – and one that plays into the failure of one of his disciples, we have to, or lets strengthen that statement, we MUST sit up and pay attention.
If this hits you square between the eyes this morning, fix it – QUIT BEING LAZY, God’s glory in you hangs in the balance. I’ll say that again, God’s glory in you hangs in the balance. You can go on complaining about being tired to anyone who’ll listen and have the spiritual life of a sluggard, bathing yourself in misery and telling anyone who’ll listen how hard you work doing idle things, behaving as someone who is a grumpy tired toddler, or you can stop it. God will be glorified, but maybe without you.
Is that the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
Mark 14:32–42 (ESV)
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”
My soul is sorrowful, even to death.
I don’t think Jesus was being dramatic here – I don’t think he was being like a soccer player who someone highly touched. God would allow the enemies of His son, to have their full way with Him. Torture, mocking, maybe even the disciples, those who He wanted near when he was so low, saying “sit here while I pray”:
35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
“Remove this cup from me”,
Jeremiah 25:15–17 (ESV)
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
15 Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it:
Psalm 11:5–7 (ESV)
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
This concept of the cup, is measured justice that is what Jesus was facing, the ultimate justice-event of all time.
Going only a little further from the disciples Jesus prays. He falls on the ground, this is depth of emotion you can feel. Mark doesn’t mention something key, but turn to Luke 22:
Luke 22:43 (ESV)
43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
Jesus asks, “remove this cup from me”, remember this very moment when you wonder if when entering the battle against your flesh for particular sin; the cost of forgiveness was wrought with Jesus own suffering. The gravity of sin, required blood – God, by His grace used this crime against deity to satisfy His own wrath through the sinless Son, Jesus. There was no removal of the cup, but God by His grace sends an angle to strengthen Jesus.
That is mind blowing.
Hebrews 5:7 (ESV)
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
Jesus reverence, His desire to satisfy the will of the Father was heard by God who sent an angle to comfort Him.
Is there reference offered up with your prayers and supplications?
This is the ultimate temptation, the flesh. We desire comfort over almost everything. Mark captures Jesus’ deeply personal heartfelt nature of the prayer in showing his use of, ‘Abba’ which is used in an endearing deeply personal way of calling to God, Jesus’ prayer was impassioned. What was coming with the events that follow included deep prolonged physical pain, but also bearing the full weigh of God’s measured wrath against the sin of the elect, at the same time estrangement from His father God with whom He was in perfect fellowship from eternity past –
Mark 15:34 (ESV)
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Here in Jesus last moments Jesus says this drawing on Psalm 22, giving us a glimpse into His experience and where His head was, what He was thinking about just before He gave up His spirit:
Psalm 22:1–31 (ESV)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
This is a prophetical Psalm of praise and worship of God who has a saving plan for all the nations in a circumstance that seems impossible but which God (verse 24 of Psalm 2, makes that hard turn).
This is all that is on Jesus’ mind the pressure of what is to come, the future salvation of all man-kind, the fear of physical anguish, the despisement and rejection of His father God as He Judges sin through the willing actions of men. He cries out in an impassioned prayer – so completely distraught and needful that an angle visits and what are the carved out 3, who came into the garden with Him doing…
37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?
38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
What makes the flesh week? It gets tiered, and annoyed, it groans with creation – also it feels pain in some abstract way that connects with the physical. Jesus was facing gruesome pain. He finds the 3 sleeping, he said to Peter …
Is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
Simon why are you sleeping? We’ll see this happen another time, and another time. Simon was to be preparing for something – do you know what that was? That little girl will approach him and accuse him as being with Jesus. Maybe he was tempted to protect his flesh and deny that association, maybe he was too lazy to have been prepared in prayer – he chose sleep, God wasn’t glorified in him in this moment.
In Luke 22:54–62 we see Peter’s future that was coming as Jesus faced the cross – he faced the denial for which he was un-prepared, he’d chosen to sleep instead and maybe he looked back at his napping during preparation. At the end of your next trial, Christian, what will you look back on?
Luke 22:54-62 (ESV)
Peter Denies Jesus
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”
57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
Maybe this is why Jesus hi-lighted His own preparation up-and against Peter’s. Jesus was prepared for the greatest spiritual battle, Peter was unprepared.
Is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.
40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him.
Their eyes were heavy.
41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
How did they feel, after being woken up for the 3rd time – rise lets go. Did they feel well prepared, or were they like shoot – OK. Dang I wish I’d not been sleeping.
Maybe when confronted by the servant girl and the two subsequent men later asking “we’re you with Jesus” maybe he thought for a moment – I wish I’d stayed more vigilant in prayer. Maybe you’d felt that, too. Or maybe you’re so accustomed to being a martyr to your laziness, that you excuse away your sin because you’re tired.
Peter, James, and John went on to be much of the horse power from which the church would grow. Jesus allowed them to see His preparation and maybe, by His grace, allowed them to feel how laziness could hinder their mission.
How spiritual apathy and satisfying the flesh would stand in the way of their ministry. Church Is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
Maybe you’re thinking – this is me. That’s great, I’m going to give you a 1 step plan to changing that, stop it.
What is it that causes you to be so selfish and so lazy and so apathetic to the things of God?
Why are you so busy?
Why are you so tired?
Stop it.
I mean it completely. Is your job so overwhelming that you’re too tired to be a Christian, get a new job.
Matthew 5:29 (ESV)
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
This isn’t me, this is the picture Jesus left behind just before he went to the cross, is it hitting home, maybe it should.
Today, we’re going to get Jesus private framework for surviving the world, unscathed by sin. Is that interesting to you?
What if I told you that you could have this secret plan of Christ, but that you won’t because you are tired. If that was a YouTube video, with a $1,000 class that was on sale for $29 just this week, it would sell. Are you interested? Because it is laid out for everyone to see in Mark 14:32-42 the master’s plan for effective life.
If you want to be prepared for the battle of Christian life, don’t be too tired. Don’t give yourself the excuse.
Today, I have to ignore my-own laziness, my own laziness is not to deliver you this message. Because I know LOTS of people are going to think I’m pointing this at them, and I’m not. This isn’t be pointing anything at you, this is me, reading the text and seeing Jesus making a theater out of this warning to not be lazy. If Jesus takes time to make a lasting recorded scene of a warning for all believers that follow – and one that plays into the failure of one of his disciples, we have to, or lets strengthen that statement, we MUST sit up and pay attention.
If this hits you square between the eyes this morning, fix it – QUIT BEING LAZY, God’s glory in you hangs in the balance. I’ll say that again, God’s glory in you hangs in the balance. You can go on complaining about being tired to anyone who’ll listen and have the spiritual life of a sluggard, bathing yourself in misery and telling anyone who’ll listen how hard you work doing idle things, behaving as someone who is a grumpy tired toddler, or you can stop it. God will be glorified, but maybe without you.
Is that the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
Mark 14:32–42 (ESV)
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”
My soul is sorrowful, even to death.
I don’t think Jesus was being dramatic here – I don’t think he was being like a soccer player who someone highly touched. God would allow the enemies of His son, to have their full way with Him. Torture, mocking, maybe even the disciples, those who He wanted near when he was so low, saying “sit here while I pray”:
35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
“Remove this cup from me”,
Jeremiah 25:15–17 (ESV)
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
15 Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it:
Psalm 11:5–7 (ESV)
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
This concept of the cup, is measured justice that is what Jesus was facing, the ultimate justice-event of all time.
Going only a little further from the disciples Jesus prays. He falls on the ground, this is depth of emotion you can feel. Mark doesn’t mention something key, but turn to Luke 22:
Luke 22:43 (ESV)
43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
Jesus asks, “remove this cup from me”, remember this very moment when you wonder if when entering the battle against your flesh for particular sin; the cost of forgiveness was wrought with Jesus own suffering. The gravity of sin, required blood – God, by His grace used this crime against deity to satisfy His own wrath through the sinless Son, Jesus. There was no removal of the cup, but God by His grace sends an angle to strengthen Jesus.
That is mind blowing.
Hebrews 5:7 (ESV)
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
Jesus reverence, His desire to satisfy the will of the Father was heard by God who sent an angle to comfort Him.
Is there reference offered up with your prayers and supplications?
This is the ultimate temptation, the flesh. We desire comfort over almost everything. Mark captures Jesus’ deeply personal heartfelt nature of the prayer in showing his use of, ‘Abba’ which is used in an endearing deeply personal way of calling to God, Jesus’ prayer was impassioned. What was coming with the events that follow included deep prolonged physical pain, but also bearing the full weigh of God’s measured wrath against the sin of the elect, at the same time estrangement from His father God with whom He was in perfect fellowship from eternity past –
Mark 15:34 (ESV)
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Here in Jesus last moments Jesus says this drawing on Psalm 22, giving us a glimpse into His experience and where His head was, what He was thinking about just before He gave up His spirit:
Psalm 22:1–31 (ESV)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
This is a prophetical Psalm of praise and worship of God who has a saving plan for all the nations in a circumstance that seems impossible but which God (verse 24 of Psalm 2, makes that hard turn).
This is all that is on Jesus’ mind the pressure of what is to come, the future salvation of all man-kind, the fear of physical anguish, the despisement and rejection of His father God as He Judges sin through the willing actions of men. He cries out in an impassioned prayer – so completely distraught and needful that an angle visits and what are the carved out 3, who came into the garden with Him doing…
37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?
38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
What makes the flesh week? It gets tiered, and annoyed, it groans with creation – also it feels pain in some abstract way that connects with the physical. Jesus was facing gruesome pain. He finds the 3 sleeping, he said to Peter …
Is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
Simon why are you sleeping? We’ll see this happen another time, and another time. Simon was to be preparing for something – do you know what that was? That little girl will approach him and accuse him as being with Jesus. Maybe he was tempted to protect his flesh and deny that association, maybe he was too lazy to have been prepared in prayer – he chose sleep, God wasn’t glorified in him in this moment.
In Luke 22:54–62 we see Peter’s future that was coming as Jesus faced the cross – he faced the denial for which he was un-prepared, he’d chosen to sleep instead and maybe he looked back at his napping during preparation. At the end of your next trial, Christian, what will you look back on?
Luke 22:54-62 (ESV)
Peter Denies Jesus
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”
57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
Maybe this is why Jesus hi-lighted His own preparation up-and against Peter’s. Jesus was prepared for the greatest spiritual battle, Peter was unprepared.
Is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.
40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him.
Their eyes were heavy.
41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
How did they feel, after being woken up for the 3rd time – rise lets go. Did they feel well prepared, or were they like shoot – OK. Dang I wish I’d not been sleeping.
Maybe when confronted by the servant girl and the two subsequent men later asking “we’re you with Jesus” maybe he thought for a moment – I wish I’d stayed more vigilant in prayer. Maybe you’d felt that, too. Or maybe you’re so accustomed to being a martyr to your laziness, that you excuse away your sin because you’re tired.
Peter, James, and John wen’t on to be much of the horse power from which the church would grow. Jesus allowed them to see His preparation and maybe, by His grace, allowed them to feel how laziness could hinder their mission.
How spiritual apathy and satisfying the flesh would stand in the way of their ministry. Church Is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
Maybe you’re thinking – this is me. That’s great, I’m going to give you a 1 step plan to changing that, stop it.
What is it that causes you to be so selfish and so lazy and so apathetic to the things of God?
Why are you so busy?
Why are you so tired?
Stop it.
I mean it completely. Is your job so overwhelming that you’re too tired to be a Christian, get a new job.
Matthew 5:29 (ESV)
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
This isn’t me, this is the picture Jesus left behind just before he went to the cross, is it hitting home, maybe it should.
As, yourself hard questions – what can you do to direct your life rather than drift around and come out ill effective and lazy.
Maybe if you see the signs if ill prepared laziness in your spiritual life but you can’t see where you’re “sleeping your time away” like Peter James and John – you need to ask your spouse (i bet they know) or if you’re not married, get a trusted friend and say – I need to hear some hard things will you be faithful to tell then to me, they know, where you’re lazy, maybe they’ll tell you then hold you accountable for the change.
Are you ready, or are you happy to just sleep: is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
I hope you’re willing to follow the master’s plan for effective life.
As, yourself hard questions – what can you do to direct your life rather than drift around and come out ill effective and lazy.
Maybe if you see the signs if ill prepared laziness in your spiritual life but you can’t see where you’re “sleeping your time away” like Peter James and John – you need to ask your spouse (i bet they know) or if you’re not married, get a trusted friend and say – I need to hear some hard things will you be faithful to tell then to me, they know, where you’re lazy, maybe they’ll tell you then hold you accountable for the change.
Are you ready, or are you happy to just sleep: is the sum of your Christian life, being left behind and barely making it? I hope not.
I hope you’re willing to follow the master’s plan for effective life.
Pray, Observe, Apply.
