Overwhelmed with Sorrow

Series: The Kingdom

March 29, 2009 | David Crosby
Passage: Mark 14:32

    The anticipation of pain is part of suffering, and it may be as difficult as the pain itself. Jesus was facing the cross. He chose to walk this way because he knew it was the Father's will for him, and he was looking forward to the joy on the other side.

    Jesus retreated to a garden called Gethsemane. The name itself is a powerful metaphor for the struggle of heart that humans experience when faced with the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus wrestled in the garden, not only with the specter of physical pain, but also with the spiritual darkness that would cover him like a blanket. He will descend into the grave as the sacrificial lamb bearing the sins of the world. He experiences a rending of heart as he contemplates his task, "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Mark 14:34). The depth of his distress and sorrow, I am sure, we cannot fathom.

    The greatest comfort in the time of testing is the Father's presence. Jesus spoke to his Father in that hour, addressing him with the familiar "Abba." Jesus prayed that "the hour might pass from him" (Mark 14:35). All of us have seen or will see such hours, such times in our lives, when we pray for a way out, for an end to the sorrow.

    The suffering was very personal and internal for Jesus. He compared it to drinking a cup. He would drink that cup to its bitter dregs, but he prayed that he would not have to do so. We, too, experience sorrow as a personal condition of soul. Sometimes we feel that no one knows the extent or depth of our pain.

    Jesus was willing to drink the cup his Father gave him even though it brought him agony of death. The Father's will was all he lived to do and longed to do. When we get in that place spiritually, we will know the strength that pushes through hardship and remains fiercely faithful to the Father.

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