And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground

 

 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.  Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  

And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."  And He touched his ear and healed him.  Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

 

- Luke 22:39-53 

 

On Saturday, Jesus was speaking to the disciples at the Last Supper, after they ate the Passover.   The Lord said, "Simon, Simon!  Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."  Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."  And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?"  So they said, "Nothing."  Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.  For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me:  'And He was numbered with the transgressors.'  For the things concerning Me have an end."  So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords."  And He said to them, "It is enough."

 

 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.  Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."    My study Bible says that Christ's agony was the product of His human nature.  In asking that the cup be taken away, He reveals His human will.  By submitting His human will to the Father, Christ reveals His divine will to be one with the Father's.  Moreover, this shows that each person must submit one's own will to God's will (Luke 11:2).  My study Bible adds that Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, and thereby conquers weakness.  It quotes St. Gregory the Great:  "The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened."

And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."  And He touched his ear and healed him.  Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  The healing of the ear of the servant of the high priest is recorded only by St. Luke the physician, my study Bible notes.  It says that this indicates the manner in which we are to treat our enemies.  The patristic commentaries indicate a spiritual meaning here in that it is Christ who gives people the ability to hear the truth, and thereby come to salvation (see Luke 8:8; 14:35).  Regarding the power of darkness, see John 3:19-21; 13:30.

 

Verse 44 describes Jesus' tremendous pain, His agony:  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  In a recent video made while visiting the garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, Jonathan Pageau views these elements as reminders of Christ's Crucifixion, that His blood will be spilled as is described here.  According to John's Gospel, when a sword pierces His side, blood and water will come out  (John 19:34).  But of course, Christ's very human side is responding to what He knows is coming.  It is interesting that before that, Christ prays that God's will be done:  "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  We are allowed to witness the wrestling going on within Himself, between His human and divine wills.  And then we're told, after this prayer, that then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. So as Luke invites us in to witness this extremely personal moment, we are experiencing what Christ experienced, and as He experienced it.  Note the tussle and the tug of war.  Before the prayer, Jesus told His disciples, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  So Christ's experience in the garden, begins with His warning to the disciples, an admonition that they must pray that they may not enter into temptation.  Then He Himself withdraws in order to pray, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."    Then, after He has made this plea, this commitment that despite His human desire that the cup be taken away, He commits voluntarily to God's will -- and then an angel appears in order to strengthen Him.    At that point, this struggle then draws Him into agony, and He prays even more fervently.  All of this is a model for us, so that we understand what prayer is and what spiritual battle is.  For this is an agony of battle for Jesus, and it is an agony of the deepest part of temptation.  He is struggling against every human instinct we have for self-preservation, and no doubt against fears of what will become of His disciples and the legacy of His ministry.  One might simply imagine all of the million and one doubts that would assail any normal human being.  But Christ models for us what our own struggles are going to be about.  Step by step, we're given to understand that we need to pray in order to battle temptation, that we need to withdraw so that we focus and concentrate on prayer when we can, giving it our all.  Note also that He asks the disciples, His friends, to pray as well.  But this struggle is visceral, real, it is not easy nor simple.  And it is indeed a struggle.  Even after Jesus has made the decision, prayed "not My will, but Yours, be done," even after an angel has responded to strengthen Him, then His agony comes.  But, as He has said, the ruler of this world has nothing in Him (John 16:33).  Let us note that we also may experience the same strengthening from spiritual forces that aid us in response to our choices, even when we are in the middle of a struggle -- and that we may still experience further pain and temptation to turn back from our choice to find God's will despite our choice to face the hardships that may come in so doing.  This is the struggle.  This agony in the garden is the description of a deep spiritual struggle, and the formula and model we're given for prayer and spiritual assistance.  We may not all be the One who is destined to lead this mission of Christ, who liberates all through the means of the Cross, but nonetheless on some levels we may also experience the same struggles, and so we should take the same cautions, guidance, and knowledge with us that we're given here in this glimpse of Him that is so personal.  We pray so as not to enter into temptation.  In prayer we make the choice and commitment for what God is asking of us, and while we are strengthened, we may yet fully feel the visceral and very human experience of that struggle, an agony that is as real as anything else with which we might struggle in life.  Let us go forward in understanding that Christ was not spared the struggle, and neither are we when we choose to commit to our faith.  Jesus teaches us what it is to face and experience this hour, and the power of darkness.  But nonetheless, despite the struggle, we will come to enter into His peace and His joy in so doing -- for there is where we reap the harvest of faith.  In this case, it is the eternal sign of Christ that saves and liberates and sets us free from from the slavery of the one who would bring us pain in all its forms.  He has overcome the world -- for us.

 

  

I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled

 

 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."  As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.  And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.  But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  Then they all forsook Him and fled.

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

 

- Mark 14:43–52 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the disciples at the conclusion of the Last Supper, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise.  Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

  And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."  As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.  The phrase one of the twelve once again indicates (as in verse 20 of this chapter) the depth of betrayal involved here, that this was done by a friend and one of Christ's closest disciples.  The fact that a kiss is needed to signal the mob, my study Bible points out, is a commentary on those who comprised the mob!  The Jewish leaders and even the most common people would have recognized Jesus, as we have observed from the times of debate in the temple (see, for example, Mark 12:37).  It shows that these particular soldiers were mercenaries, dispatched by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, a group with included Roman soldiers according to John's Gospel (John 18:3).    My study Bible notes that Orthodox Christians pray at every Liturgy for the strength not to kiss Jesus in betrayal as did Judas, but to be like the thief who confessed at the Cross (Luke 23:42).

 

And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.  But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  Then they all forsook Him and fled.  In John 18:10, we learn that it is Peter who has used the sword.   In Matthew 26:52-54, Jesus rebukes him for using the sword, as he still does not understand that Christ is going to His death willingly.  But here Jesus affirms that salvation for mankind, as indicated in the Scriptures, will be fulfilled through the Cross, and He goes to His death willingly.  It is at this point that they must give up ideas of defending and protecting Him from arrest, and they all forsook Him and fled.  That His death was foretold in the Scriptures, my study Bible says, served to strengthen the disciples at their hour of greatest test.

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.  My study Bible explains that to flee naked is a great shame and humiliation (Ezekiel 16:39, Amos 2:16).  Some teach that this young man was James, the brother of the Lord (Galatians 1:19), while others say it is the apostle John, who was the youngest of the twelve.  But most others believe that this was Mark, the author of the Gospel, as it was a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Luke 24:13, John 21:24).  Also, my study Bible adds, the other evangelists do not report this incident.  They would not have been inclined to humiliate Mark, but Mark would have been more likely to relate such an event concerning himself.  To my mind, it is a testimony to the humility of the disciples, and of Mark in particular.

Again, in today's reading (as in yesterday's, above), Jesus shows His great strength.  He has a most difficult, almost impossible, mission to complete.  It is a mission solely for the Son, for the Christ, as He indicates when He says, "But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  It's important to understand the notion of prophecy and the fulfillment of the Scriptures, as my study Bible indicated in a note on a passage in Thursday's reading.  In Mark 14:20-21, Jesus prophesies to the disciples the one who will betray Him is "one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish."  He then adds, "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."  In a note on this passage regarding prophecy, my study Bible states that divine foreknowledge of the betrayal doesn't take away Judas' moral freedom, nor does it take away his accountability.  For God, all things are a present reality:  God foresees all human actions, but does not cause them.  So it applies also in today's passage, when Jesus speaks of the fulfillment of the Scriptures.  It is in this context that we can almost hear Jesus marveling that they did not manage to take Him as He openly taught daily in the temple.  He asks, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?"  And as my study bible notes, clearly the people they've brought with them are mercenaries, and include Romans as well, for even the temple police were unable to arrest Him as they listened to Him preach.  They came back empty-handed, telling the chief priests and the Pharisees, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:45-46).  The added statement, that the Scriptures must be fulfilled, is a testimony to the vision of God, that although this event seemed so unlikely given Jesus' ministry, openness, and popularity among the people, God's vision is supreme.   The prophecy is written in Scripture because a future event is revealed in a divine way by God -- the event does not happen because it is in Scripture.  When Jesus makes this remark, we can only conclude that He is affirming God's supremacy and omniscience regarding the life of the Christ, such as God revealed to Isaiah who wrote of the Messiah as the Suffering Servant.  It's in some sense an affirmation that no matter how things look to us as human beings, we can trust to God's vision and word.  Moreover, it is an affirmation to His disciples that this is so, and that He goes voluntarily to His death, even after having prayed for God to take the cup of death from Him in yesterday's reading:  "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."  In all ways, we can rest assured, Jesus does not go to His death as One who seeks death, nor who simply wishes to emulate something because it has been written.  There are several times that Jesus flees persecution in the Gospels, and evades those who wish to kill Him, or travels even to Gentile areas to avoid the scrutinizing and increasingly hostile eyes of the leadership, especially after an open conflict with them.  Right to the end, Jesus prays that, if possible, God can make another way for the salvation plan of the world to be fulfilled.  He is here, now, in this circumstance because it is absolutely certain that this is the way that God the Father allows to happen, and He will acquiesce to that will simply because He is assured that this is the hour and the way the Father allows and wishes for Jesus to accept.  It is impossible for us to know the mind of God; it is only by revelation that this can happen, and even then what a person such as a prophet or saint is given is just a glimpse of that reality.  It isn't until Christ goes to the Cross that anyone could know how the Scriptures would be fulfilled, or what the complete picture of the plan for salvation would unfold, or what the life of the Messiah would be like.  It isn't until the Passion that we can understand what the notion of the Kingdom means, or that the Scriptures would be fulfilled in a way that the faith of human beings becomes an essential part of its fulfillment and the ongoing plan of God after the time of the Messiah.  It isn't until these events unfold that the Scriptures regarding Christ's divinity could be manifested and understood.  The signs of the Incarnation may fill the prophetic writings in the Old Testament, but the fulfillment of such could only be fully understood after the life of Christ in this world.  And so it is in today's reading:  the Scriptures must be fulfilled, even if the leaders have gone so far as to hire mercenaries to bring Him in, including Roman soldiers (in other words, paid Gentiles), to do it.  It is, if we but take a closer look, a testimony to the shocking and surprising depth to which evil will go; but nonetheless despite the depravity -- which includes Judas, one of the Twelve, betraying Him with a kiss -- even this evil was foreseen by God and becomes part of a plan through which the salvation of the world will be achieved.  These are complex paradoxical concepts, but they are nevertheless testimony to the nature of God.  For human beings, paradox becomes the one way in which we can approach God whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts.  For despite the evil that continues in this world, we are assured that our faith in God is not misplaced, and that, as great saints of the Church have taught, with God infinitely more good can come of evil than the sum of the evil alone.  That, in a nutshell, characterizes the salvation of this world, and although seemingly paradoxical to our minds, we must understand that this is the way of God for us.  God does not come into the world as a "conquering hero" and fixes everything, eradicating all evil permanently so that we can live in a kind of perfect peace and prosperity and infinite health.  Instead, we human beings are invited to the Cross, to take up our own crosses, and to participate in this struggle with the Son, who is the suffering Messiah.  It is paradox that invites us into the ways of God, into faith and prayer, and to participation in the life of Christ who loves us and asks us to follow Him.  The risen Christ stands at the door and knocks and desires for us to invite Him into our hearts, where He will dwell to show us all things to do so (Revelation 3:20).