“My Soul is Overwhelmed with Sorrow” Mark 14:32-42

There are times in everyone’s life when we experience deep sorrow. The sorrow is usually in response to a deep loss in our lives—a parent, a spouse, even a dearly loved pet. The emptiness at that time can be overwhelming.

For those who are in Christ, there is comfort to be found, even in the time of deepest, overwhelming sorrow. It is at that time we most desperately turn to the Father, seeking His comfort and His presence. The fact that we know He is with us enables us to face the coming days, even as the sorrow remains with us for a time.

When we look at some of the things Jesus said leading up to and including His crucifixion, we are reminded that the Christ we worship, while fully God, was also fully human. It’s important for us to remember His humanity. You see, it’s easy to read about Jesus and put Him on a different plane than us. When we emphasize His divinity, then we tend to negate His humanity. But to do so is to ignore one of the most important things about Him—Jesus knew what it was to be like us because He was exactly like us, save for the fact that His walk with the Father enabled Jesus to resist temptation and be without sin.

Seeing the human side of Jesus allows us to realize how difficult His life was and how devoted He was to the Father. Jesus’ humility at His baptism speaks of His relationship to God. His willingness to retreat into the wilderness for 40 days and nights without food or drink lets us know that the divine Jesus was able to withstand the ordeal, but the human Jesus no doubt experienced great hunger and thirst toward the end of the journey.

We know that Jesus empathized with people, showing compassion to the lost masses, caring for the widow of Nain at the loss of her only son. Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb. Yes, He even got angry at the hard-heartedness of the Pharisees.

And in today’s passage, we learn that Jesus could be close to being overwhelmed with sadness. As we consider this passage, we need to keep in mind that –

Central Truth: Jesus’ humanity at His most distressing time shows us how to face turmoil in faith.

The episode at Gethsemane:

Reveals Jesus’ emotional state (32-34)

Jesus’ statement that He was experiencing such a sorrow that it was overwhelming His soul is startling in its nature. After all, Jesus’ faith in the Father was deep and strong. It was a faith based upon an eternity in fellowship as part of the Godhead. That faith led Jesus to only do and say exactly what the Father had told Him to do and say speaks volumes to Jesus’ faith. Reading the Gospels, it becomes clear that Jesus was never caught by surprise or encountered an unexpected event. Jesus’ devotion to prayer and discerning the Father’s will accompanied by Jesus’ divine nature allowed Him to anticipate and to know the hearts and thoughts of everyone He encountered.

So it is a startling statement for Jesus to say He had a sorrow that was overwhelming His soul. And yet, in light of what we know, it should come as no surprise that Jesus felt the way He.

For one thing, Jesus knew He was about to experience the horror of being crucified. There are times we are told we are going to have to go through things, sometimes things that are painful for us. Even though we may know that the pain we are about to experience is necessary and will result in good on the other side of the pain, few of us really look forward to the pain.

Add to the pain the uncertainty of something we may never have experienced before, and all sorts of doubts and concerns begin to crowd in around us and within us. It took surgery on Stephen when he was a little boy to realize that normal procedures stop being normal when it happens to someone we deeply love. These “routine procedures” stop being routine. As we prepared for Stephen’s surgery, I began to think of all the things that could go wrong. Unlikely things, perhaps, but not impossible things. Thankfully, Stephen came through it just fine and was back to being his normal self shortly after the surgery, but there was that unknown element that caused sorrow to well up inside me.

There was also the sorrow Jesus felt in knowing that the crucifixion was going to have a deep impact on those He loved. Jesus’ mother would have to witness His degradation at the hands of the Sanhedrin and the Romans. She would hurt as only a mother could hurt. His disciples would find themselves in deep fear and uncertainty. Others who had faith in Him would have that faith sorely tested in the hours and days to come. When Jesus looked at the coming crucifixion, He knew it would not only be painful for Him, but for those He cared about the most.

And Jesus knew the spiritual warfare He had experienced with Satan from the beginning would reach its culmination as He hung on that cross. Satan would marshal all his forces of evil and deceit to try to force Jesus to turn away from God’s will. To do so would result in Jesus’ sin and the absolute failure of God’s redeeming work. The battle Jesus was facing against Satan on that cross was so crucial, so vital, that Jesus had to know He would face the worst Satan had to throw at Him, and Jesus knew He could not—must not—fail.

It is a reminder to us that when life overwhelms us, we should follow Jesus’ example. Jesus didn’t tell all of His disciples that His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow—He only told Peter, James and John. What He did tell the others was that He needed to pray. To the three He explained the feeling that led Him to this intense moment of prayer. And so, when we are overwhelmed with sorrow, we must turn not just to God in prayer, but also to turn to our friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. They may not need to know the reason for our sorrow, but they can pray for us nonetheless. That was Jesus’ request, that was His concern, and that is His example for us today.

When we are overwhelmed with sorrow, go the Father in prayer.

Expresses Jesus’ human desire (35-36, 39-40)

Throughout the Gospels, we have seen Jesus consistently and faithfully follow the Father’s leadership. At no time do we see Jesus questioning God’s will or even raising the possibility of another way. Always, Jesus has committed Himself to yielding Himself to the Father’s will, and always did Jesus follow that will.

Until at this moment. It is here that we see Jesus’ most intimate moment with the Father. The prayer to let this cup pass is not a prayer of doubt or second-guessing, but it is a prayer for God to reveal another way, a less painful way, if at all possible.

We are making a mistake if we think at this moment that Jesus is suddenly considering yielding to temptation. Far from it. Jesus is simply speaking His heart to the Father. He wants God to know (though He already knows) that Jesus is open to alternate plans if they’re available.

There is nothing wrong with telling God what our desire is, as long as we recognize that our desire is an option, but that our commitment is ultimately to doing as God leads. When I was praying about my mother’s health, I would regularly tell God that my desire would be for mom’s cure, but more importantly, I wanted His will done in that regard.

Let’s ask a question here. We know that God knows us better than we know ourselves, that He knows our thoughts and innermost feelings. Since this is the case, why do we need to tell Him our thoughts and feelings? I believe the answer is that we need to always be honest and open with God in part to be open and honest with ourselves.

Look at Jesus’ prayer. “Abba, Father, everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will” (v. 36). In just these few words, we see the intimacy of the relationship. “Abba” is Aramaic for the familiar form of father, so think of “dad” or “papa.” Jesus begins with the closeness of the relationship, then extends to His great abiding faith and confidence in the Father—“everything is possible for You.” Jesus is showing us that in our prayer, we should always find reason for praise and the expression of our faith in the Father.

And then Jesus expresses His desire in the context of the relationship and the confidence. Because it is possible for God to do all things, and because God is Abba, Jesus is telling God that Jesus is open to an alternative. And yet, having expressed His desire to the Father, Jesus places Himself in God’s hands. “Yet not what I will, but what You will.”

The honest, open dialogue between Jesus and God is a reflection of the relationship and the awareness that we can always speak our hearts to the Father. Doing so does not open us up to rebuke or reprisal, but it simply acknowledges that the relationship is there, it is strong, and it is one of faithful submission to the Father.

The other Gospel accounts show Jesus praying a second and third time, with both those prayers not a request for the cup to pass, but for God’s will to be done. Mark alone records that Jesus repeats His request, again showing us something about prayer.

There are those who interpret Jesus’ words about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7). In that context, Jesus is telling us that we should badger God with countless words over and over again. But Jesus also teaches that we are to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and that we should be persistent in our prayers to Him. There is a difference between badgering and simply expressing our heart to the Father.

Jesus was not afraid to speak His heart to the Father and let God know of His human desire for another way.

Shows His concern for others even in His most trying time (37-38)

Have you ever had a friend ask you for a favor that you agree to, but for one reason or another, you were unable to do the favor? It’s never a good feeling to remember (or, even worse, be told) you didn’t keep the promise. Even the little favor, like being asked to pick something up at the store since you’re going there, anyway. The feelings that wash over us are numerous, and none of them are good.

This is particularly true when the friend really needs the favor, when the favor is really important to the person.

Such is the fate of Peter, James and John as Jesus goes to pray by Himself. Prayer is not always easy, particularly when it’s known there is a genuine need to pray, to intercede on behalf of a friend. I imagine Jesus asking the disciples to pray for Him was particularly unusual, at least in the sense that Jesus raised the issue here. Hearing Jesus say He was overwhelmed with sadness must have got their attention.

And with the best of intentions, the three friends began their prayer vigil. Only to see it give way to their sleep.

There are a lot of excuses we can give to the three men. It was late at night after a busy day. They were tired. It’s easy to fall asleep when we’re praying because, sometimes, prayer really isn’t that exciting a thing to do. It’s very stationary, very quiet and it lends itself to falling asleep.

The bottom line is, the three friends failed to keep up their prayer vigil at a time when Jesus indicated He really needed their prayers. Clearly the friends were embarrassed; v. 39 says they didn’t know what to say to Him. They were sleepy, feeling guilty, and embarrassed. They knew they had let Jesus down.

Jesus understood. He may have been disappointed, but He knew their hearts were in the right place. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (v. 38b). He also understood that the three friends needed to pray at this time not just for Jesus, but for their own good. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (v. 38a).

This was going to be a long night and a longer day ahead, and it would be one of the most trying times for them as well as for Jesus. Their emotions were about to be rubbed raw and ragged, and they were going to go through a time of severe questioning and fear. They needed God’s presence with them more than they realized.

But Jesus knew. And Jesus cared. Even in the midst of His deep sorrow, Jesus knew the disciples needed to draw close to God and preparing for the coming events.

Leads us to see His ultimate devotion to the Father (41-42)

The last time Jesus speaks to His disciples, His words tell us that the time for prayer is past. The time to seek an alternate route is gone, and Jesus has committed Himself to yield to the Father’s will with faith and confidence. Jesus’ short phrases in v. 42 speak volumes. “Rise! Let us go! Here comes My betrayer!”

Jesus had entered the garden at Gethsemane struggling with the possibility of finding another way. I do not think for one moment that Jesus was considering disobeying the Father. But I do think He entered into prayer with a fervent hope that an easier way could be found.

Finding no easy way, Jesus accepted the Father’s will, and with the same resolution He had when He resolutely set out for Jerusalem, Jesus was now resolved to go to Calvary, to endure all that that entailed and to see it through to the end.

There would be no going back. Jesus knew the Father’s way was the best way, the only way, and He trusted the Father to bring Him through the ordeal.

Conclusion

Jesus’ human side never leaves Him. There are times we forget that, such as now, as Jesus has wrestled with the way to the cross and has resolved to see it through.

But never doubt the human side of Jesus in all of this. It is His humanity we see when He calls out for a way for the cup to pass Him. It is the humanity that admits that His soul is overwhelmed with sorrow. It is His humanity that calls upon the friends to stay awake and pray. And it is the humanity of Jesus that tells the sleepy disciples to rise, go and meet His betrayer.

All that Jesus has aimed for, all that God has sent Him to do is now at hand. Jesus has shown us that even in distressing times, we can always rely on God, and in that reliance, we can always go forward and face the turmoils ahead.

Turns your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wondrous face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”