This incident contrasts Jesus' humility and dependence on the Father with Peter's self-confidence (vv. 27-31). It is a remarkable revelation of the humanity of Jesus.
"So far from sailing serenely through his trials like some superior being unconcerned with this world, he is almost dead with distress."346
This is Mark's third mention of Jesus' praying (cf. 1:35; 6:46). In each instance Jesus affirmed His commitment to the Father's will that Satan was constantly testing.
14:32-34 Jesus apparently took His inner circle of disciples with Him to teach them about suffering and to receive help from their intercession for Him (cf. Matt. 26:38). The other disciples were to pray as well (Luke 22:40). This was apparently a favorite place that Jesus and the disciples had visited previously (cf. Luke 22:39; John 18:2).
The words "distressed"(Gr. ekthambeisthai) and "troubled"(Gr. ademonein) together "describe an extremely acute emotion, a compound of bewilderment, fear, uncertainty and anxiety, nowhere else portrayed in such vivid terms as here."347The prospect of bearing God's wrath for the world's sins and experiencing separation from His Father grieved Jesus deeply (Gr. perilypos, cf. 6:26). This was much more than any mere martyr has ever had to endure.
14:35-36 The Jews did not address God with "Abba"(lit. Daddy) because they considered such intimacy disrespectful. Jesus used the word because He as the Son of God was on intimate terms with the Father (cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Jesus evidently prayed for the better part of an hour (v. 37) though Mark only recorded the essence of His request (cf. Heb. 5:7). Jesus' submission to His Father here recalls Genesis 22:7 where Isaac addressed his father Abraham in a very similar situation quite near this place.348
Jesus expressed faith in God with whom all things consistent with His nature are possible (cf. 9:23). The unclear issue to the God-man, who voluntarily limited His knowledge in the Incarnation, was not God's ability but God's will.
"It is this complete dependence on God for his own salvation which is the source of Jesus' courage to renounce himself, be least, and lose his life."349
Jesus referred to the Cross as the "hour"and the "cup."The first expression includes everything involved in the Cross (cf. John 7:30; 8:20; et al.). The "cup"figuratively particularized God's judgment in the Cross (cf. 10:38-39). Jesus' human will was distinct from the Father's will but never opposed to it.
14:37 Perhaps Jesus spoke specifically to Peter in verse 37 because Peter had boasted that he would never deny Jesus (vv. 29, 31). Jesus' use of the name "Simon,"Peter's original name, may imply his natural weakness. Peter was not living up to the meaning of his new name; he was not behaving as a rock.
14:38 Jesus then addressed all three disciples. He commanded them to be watchful (Gr. gregoreite, cf. 13:34, 35, 37) and to pray (Gr. proseuchesthe, the general word for prayer). These activities are necessary to overcome temptation. This use of "flesh"is probably literal (i.e., the body) rather than metaphorical (i.e., the sinful human nature) since it contrasts with the human spirit (i.e., man's volitional powers).
"In the passion account, the disciples are ironic figures: Because of their incomprehension, they badly misconstrue the true nature of things. Thinking themselves to be astute, courageous, and loyal, they are in reality imperceptive, cowardly, and faithless. Entering upon the passion, the disciples yet follow Jesus in commitment to him. As events unfold, however, they will renounce their commitment through word or deed and apostatize."350
14:39-40 Jesus returned from the disciples who gave Him no support to the Father who sustained Him. The disciples probably did not have anything to say to Jesus because they felt ashamed. They had boasted great spiritual strength, but they were demonstrating great spiritual weakness. There seems to be an inverse relationship between how self-confident we feel and how much we pray.
14:41-42 Mark alone recorded that Jesus made three separate forays into the depths of the garden to pray.
"The Temptation of the Garden divides itself, like that of the Wilderness, into three acts, following close one on another."351
Jesus' perseverance in prayer demonstrated the extent of His dependence on the Father. Jesus' question convicted the disciples again. He probably intended His words as an ironic command rather than as a question or simply to express surprise (cf. Matt. 26:45).
Less clear is the meaning of, "It is enough."352He could have meant that Judas had received the betrayal money from the chief priests since the Greek word apecheican mean "he has received it."Another possibility is that He meant that He now understood that the Cross was inevitable. Perhaps Jesus meant the disciples had had enough sleep and it was time to wake up. Fourth, He may have meant that He had finished His praying. I prefer the third and fourth views because they are the simplest explanations and because they make good sense.
The hour that had come was the time of Jesus' arrest and death (cf. v. 35). The sinners in view were Satan's agents who would slay Jesus. Jesus' short sentences reflect the tension and urgency of the moment.353
Mark described Jesus' movements in a somewhat chiastic form. Jesus came to the garden with His disciples, left most of them evidently at the entrance, took three of them farther, and proceeded even farther into its depths alone. Then He withdrew. At the center Jesus communed with His Father. The center of the garden and the center of the pericope correspond to the center of His spiritual conflict. This description helps the reader identify Jesus' praying as at the very heart of His preparation for the Cross. It accounts for the remarkable poise with which Jesus handled Himself throughout the turmoil that followed.
"Perhaps the most commonly recognized pattern of narration in Mark is the threefold repetition of similar actions and events. . . . Some series are obvious because they occur in direct sequence: at Gethsemane, Jesus returns from prayer three times to find the disciples sleeping; Peter denies Jesus three times; Pilate asks the crowd three leading questions, each of which is rejected; and the narrator recounts events of the crucifixion at three, three-hour intervals (nine o'clock, noon, and three o'clock."354
Here, "This threefold pattern of narration underscores the definitive failure of the disciples."355
