Jesus Falling on the Ground and Praying - Mark 14:35

Mark wrote how Jesus and His disciples, “came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he said to his disciples, Sit you here, while I shall pray. And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy. And said unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry you here, and watch”, and in chapter fourteen and verse thirty-five of his book, Mark shared how Jesus, “went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed”, where we read:

And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that,

if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

The verse reads, “And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, ...” Mark began with the words, “And he went forward a little” which means “and Jesus advanced Himself a small space”, “and fell on the ground” or “and descended and was thrust down to the arable land or earth”, “and prayed” which means “and made oration and supplication that” the following would occur. Mark shared how Jesus went a little farther into the garden, “fell” toward the “ground” and began to “pray” saying the following words.

The verse continues, “... that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.” Mark added the words, “that if it were possible” which means “that whether it is excelling, capable and able”, “the hour might pass” or “the certain definite time, event or season fixed by natural law may be averted” “from him” which refers to “away and separate from Jesus”. Mark shared how Jesus prayed that if it was “able to happen” He would avoid having to go through the event He was destined to face.

When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus went ahead of His three disciples, fell upon the ground and began to ask whether there was any way He could avoid going through what He was about to endure. Jesus was going to the cross, and He was to be beaten, abused, tortured and mocked for the “salvation” of mankind. Jesus wanted to know if there was any way this could be averted, but because He loved people, He endured all these things. Those who are wise will understand how much God loves them, and know if there was any other way to be “saved” than for Jesus going through this torturous time, God would have revealed it to Him in His time of prayer. As the scripture says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (See Acts 4:12)

Next time Mark shares how Jesus says, “Abba, Father … take away this cup from me”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".