Mark 14:32
- “Gethsemane” means “oil press” and was a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives where Jesus often used to go together with his disciples (John 18:1-2).
- It is probably no coincidence that in this particular place Jesus experienced enormous “pressure”.
- Even today there are olive trees in this place that are said to be over 2000 years old.
Mark 14:33-34
- Just as in the garden of Gethsemane there were olive presses crushing olives, so there was such pressure on Jesus that it was crushing him.
- The pressure that Jesus experienced in Gethsemane was not only because he knew that he would soon die, but also because he knew that he would soon carry the sin of all mankind on his shoulders.
Mark 14:36
- “Abba” is an Aramaic word meaning “father” and is normally used by children when addressing their father.
- The “chalice” symbolizes what Jesus had to go through; the cross.
- Although Jesus is God, he fully shared our human condition when he became a man (Phil 2:6-8) and therefore depended on God the Father to give him everything he needed (John 5:30). When Jesus hung on the cross, he was alone without the Father, a fact that deeply troubled Jesus (Mark 15:34).
- Jesus sets a good example here when he chooses to do the Father’s will instead of his own, even though it means immense suffering (John 6:38).
- If there had been any other way for a person to come to God than through Jesus’ death on the cross, that possibility would now have been offered to Jesus (John 14:6).
Mark 14:37-38
- Jesus is all alone in his hour of need, not even his closest disciples support him.
- Jesus calls Peter by his old name “Simon”, implying that he is far from the “rock” that he is supposed to be (Matt 16:18).
- If you want to avoid temptation, the solution according to Jesus is to “watch and pray”. Those who watch and pray often are less likely to fall into temptation than those who never watch and pray.