Gethsemane - Mark 14:32

Mark wrote how Jesus said to His disciples, “All of you shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with you, I will not deny you in any wise. Likewise also said they all”, and in chapter fourteen and verse thirty-two of his book, Mark shared how Jesus and His disciples, “came to a place which was named Gethsemane”, where we read:

And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane:

and he said to his disciples, Sit you here, while I shall pray.

The verse reads, “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane:” Mark began with the words, “And they came” which means “and Jesus and His disciples arose and appeared” “to a place” or “to a location” “which was named Gethsemane” which means “that was called and recognized as Gethsemane which means an oil press and was the name of a place at the foot of the Mount of Olives beyond the torrent Kidron”. Mark shared how Jesus and His disciples continued toward a garden place which means an oil press.

The verse goes on to say, “and he said to his disciples, Sit you here, while I shall pray.” Mark continued with the words, “and he said” which means “and Jesus uttered, declared and proclaimed” “to his disciples” or “to Jesus' students, pupils and attendants”, “Sit you here” which means “be seated and fixed in this place in the garden”, “while I shall pray” or “during the time when Jesus will make oration, supplication and worship toward God”. Mark shared how Jesus told His “disciples” to be seated in a certain place while He went a little further into the garden to “pray”.

When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we see the beginning of one of the most sacred times in the Bible. Jesus is going to pray before He is “betrayed” into the hands of the religious leaders, and because this would be such an intense time, He left some of His “disciples” to wait for Him in a certain location in the garden. God's plan for the salvation of man was imminent, and because this would be an intense time for His Son Jesus, the best things Jesus could do is “pray”. God the Father wants to have a relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and as they examine all He has done for them, may they know and understand how great is the love of God.

Next time Mark shares how Jesus, “took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy”, 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".