“There in the garden of
tears,
My heavy load he chose to
bear;
His heart with sorrow was torn,
‘Yet not my will but yours’,
he said.”
(Graham Kendrick)
Jesus had a heart to serve
God and serve humanity.
Earlier in Mark’s Gospel
(10:45) we read: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many”. This is both a service to God, who
desires relationship with all people, and a service to us, because we need
redeeming. We might imagine providing a ransom when one family member is
kidnapped, but what about paying a ransom for the entirety of humankind … now
that is weighty!
The context of this statement
was the request of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and key disciples, to
be granted the honour of sitting at the right and left hand of Jesus in his
Kingdom. This was revealed to be a completely self-centred and misplaced
request. Totally opposite to this was the attitude and life-orientation of
their leader – “[I] came not to be served but to serve”. And serve is what
Jesus always did.
James and John had said to
Jesus, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you”. Imagine
saying that to Jesus! But, sometimes we might have that attitude too, and when
it doesn’t work out that way, we put distance between ourselves and God like a
disappointed or petulant child. James and John, at the time, were confident
that they could follow Jesus into anything, but alas, we find them here, in the
garden … asleep. So, why did they fall short?? What were they thinking about –
themselves, or serving God and others!?
In the Gospel of Mark, we see
Jesus’ first disciples in a constant struggle to learn what it means to follow
Jesus. Serving God, and serving others!! It’s not about me! Even the person,
who is at the centre of the universe, Jesus, says, ‘It’s not about me’ … “For
the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many”.
Now, Jesus never claimed that
this was easy. We hear Jesus say in Matthew’s Gospel (7:14), “… the gate is
narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it”.
James and John themselves are asked whether they can “drink the cup” that Jesus
will drink (Mark 10:38) i.e. the “cup” of sacrifice. It’s not easy! And we best
understand that by looking at the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane (14:32-42),
and the utter emotional turmoil happening there.
Sometimes I think we
underestimate the personal turmoil and agony that the cross was for Jesus.
Maybe not in our words, but in a sort of easy attitude to it – as if this was just a
powerful invincible God, with very thick skin, up there on the cross; with
grace coming pretty easily. Mel Gibson thought that we took the cross too
casually, and brought out a film to confront us with the truth.
Jesus was just as human as
we are.
Imagine ourselves under that
treatment! This is why the book of Hebrews can tell us … that there is no
suffering that Jesus hasn’t experienced before us. Now that’s the sort of God
I’m interested in! And for many, more so than the all-powerful God of miracles
… the ‘Suffering Servant’ is the God they need to know. Of course, we know that
God is One – this is the same God, but there are so many dimensions to this God
that can be appreciated.
Paul, when he wrote to the
Philippians, quoted what was probably an early creed or song (2:6-8), speaking
of Christ Jesus, “… though he was in the form of God, [he] did not regard
equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the
form of a slave, being born in human likeness; and being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a
cross”. We see this humility, obedience and service played out in the Garden
(14:32-42) … in tears! It wasn’t as if Jesus didn’t know what crucifixion meant
– every person living under Roman rule knew about crucifixion – one of the
cruellest methods of capital-punishment ever invented.
Any human would want to avoid
that. That this pressing threat was taking a tremendous toll on Jesus, is seen
as we read what he was feeling as he came to pray at Gethsemane: distress,
agitation and deep grief (v 33-4), leading to a real desire that he might be
spared the pain and torture ahead. Jesus, understandably, don’t you think,
prayed that if it was at all possible, this eventuality might pass by him (v
35). Jesus had thrown himself to the ground, and now appealed to his “Abba
Father” (v 36a), as a little child might intimately appeal to the ‘Daddy’ that
they trust completely. [Yet, it is this same level of trust, that allows for
the remarkable statement that follows (v 36b)!]
Temptation.
It seems that Jesus, as a
human being, was given full capacity, as we are, to make his own decisions.
Like us, though sinless, he needed to be baptised and be filled with the Holy
Spirit. Like us, he was subject to a wilderness experience and confronted with
temptations (to be self-focussed and go his own way). The devil was lurking
around him. Jesus clearly had the choice to just fit in with the strict boundaries
of the religious establishment. Through their lack of understanding, Jesus’
disciples sometimes sought to divert him toward easier paths. Jesus also had
the choice to fulfil the expectations of sections of the crowd and become a
political style ‘messiah’ – this surely must have been sorely tempting. Or …
Jesus could fulfil God’s expectations … being a servant aligned with God’s will
and purposes.
A willing servant.
A willing servant will put to
one side their own desires, agendas and goals … for a greater good … even when
factoring in the, sometimes significant, cost. And the greater good here? In
the case of Jesus? What was that??
How else will people
experience freedom from the destructive power of sin! How else will they move
past the guilt and sometimes shame that is attached to sin! How else will they
be able to move into the full potential of life originally intended for them!
Someone needed to pick up all this burden and deal with it completely.
What an incredible act of
glorious grace … that God decided to take this on. But at the same time, this
was a willing act by someone who would feel all the pain and misery of a Roman
cross … to achieve the desired end – Jesus – the ‘Suffering Servant’ … that had
been long spoken about through the prophet Isaiah.
And so we hear those glorious
words, “Not what I want, but what you want” – “Not what I will, but what you
will” (NIV). This was actually the confirmation of how Jesus had lived ever
since his ministry and mission had begun three years earlier. [In fact when he
was twelve years old, according to Luke (2:41-52), he had informed his parents
that he needed to be (serving) in his “Father’s house]. But this, here in the
Garden, under all the pressure of knowing what lay before him, was the
most severe test of his obedience and servanthood! And we hear the golden
words, “Not what I want, but what God wants”.
Opposite attitude.
At the same time we are
reminded of the opposite attitude. Peter, James and John were unable, or worse,
unwilling, to stay awake with Jesus while he wrestled with his fate. They could
NOT have been unknowing of his dilemma, as they had been given a ‘heads up’
often enough. Also Jesus had only moved slightly away from them there in the garden; and as was the
custom, he would likely have been praying out aloud. Here they were, at the
time of their friend’s greatest need, falling asleep.
Fancy falling asleep through
this … when these words were being spoken! And even when they were specially
requested (at least three times) to stay awake in human solidarity with Jesus.
Clearly these disciples did not know how to react to this turn of
events, but you would have thought that they would have cared enough to stay
awake (and joined Jesus as he continued to agonise in prayer). It seems that
early inspiration of theirs … was regressing toward self-preservation.
The fact that Jesus was
disappointed in his disciples is clear. Jesus refers to Peter as “Simon” (v
37), i.e. his old name … with the inference that Peter was no longer acting as
“the Rock”. Jesus was rightly concerned for these disciples, as their lack of
obedience and common sense, together with their human weakness (v 38), would
put them at great risk in the days ahead.
Yet, Jesus was still NOT
deterred nor diverted by this disappointment; perhaps Jesus became even more
understanding of the necessity of going forward (experiencing first hand this
level of weakness and need in humanity).
And, Jesus did not
judge these disciples too harshly; for in another act of servanthood, Jesus
seeks to re-gather these disciples, with the words, “Get up, let us be going”
(v 42) … “us” – as a collective unit. The hope that Jesus invested in these
followers was not going to be easily diminished! Jesus would still
commission these disciples to change the world; and in that, through the Holy
Spirit, they were hugely successful.
Conclusion.
It was a servant’s heart that
took the road of sacrifice, because this was the only road forward for humanity.
This was the only way God could redeem his beloved humanity, and Jesus knew it.
In unity with God, and in solidarity with each one of us, Jesus became the
‘Suffering Servant’ that went to the cross.
At the same time, it was a
servant’s heart, like Jesus had, that could cope with misunderstanding, denial,
and betrayal, and friends falling asleep all around him … but still invest in
them and keep trusting them; and ultimately call them to represent him in the
future. A servant gives his heart knowing that there will be hearts returning to him.
It is a servant’s heart that
gets results … in reconciling people towards God. Not big words, not complex
strategies … but a servant’s heart!
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