Daily Bible Plan - Mark 14 (Pt. 2)

27. November 2025

Devotion by Deaconess Ruth Ahiabor

Theme: Unleashed for Kingdom Advancement - Mark 14: 32 - 72

Fortified City Church / Love City Church / Basel French Assembly / Luzern City Fellowship / ⁠PIWC Bern / ⁠Global prayer family

INTRODUCTION

The intensity of the weight of the crisis that Jesus is about to face is growing and after the last supper, He walks with his disciples to a place He had been many times before for prayer – the Garden of Gethsemane.

JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF CRUSHING Mark 14:32-52

Jesus arrives with his disciples at Gethsemane (the Mountain of Olives) which means “Olive press”. In Jesus’ day, olive oil was a very important commodity used for cooking, meal preparation and to fuel for stoves and lamps and Gethsemane was a place where olives were pressed and crushed to release their oil.

It is not surprising that Jesus picks such a symbolic site, with such an appropriate name - “Garden of Crushing” - to be the final place where He struggles in prayer before His Father on the night before He was betrayed and faced the cross. 

Verse 33b “and he began to be began to be deeply distressed and troubled”. 

Throughout scripture we don’t usually find words like this being used to describe Jesus. He is typically described as calm and composed, totally at peace. Even when the scribes and religious leaders sought to trap him with their antagonistic questions, he was never bothered or upset by their evil intent but now on this destiny defining night we see that Jesus displays unusual character.

Verse 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,”he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

There are few times in the bible where Jesus asks His disciples to do something for him but here in this critical hour when Jesus feels like He’s being pressed and crushed (just like the olives), He asks His disciples to watch with Him.

So, what was it that troubled Jesus so much?

Was it the thought of the incredibly torturous, slow and agonising death of a cross and the reason for His manifestation?

Far more than the thought of the physical pain and torture of the cross was the knowledge of what He would have to undergo spiritually.

He knew that His soul was going to be crushed and rejected by His Father.  This is what He meant when He spoke about the “cup”. 

Verse 36 “Abba,  Father, he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

The cup is a picture from the Old Testament. Several times the Old Testament prophets spoke of God’s judgement being delivered to man in a cup. As though God was saying, here is my judgement and wrath you deserve because of your sins and you have to drink it now.

In facing the cross, Jesus comes alongside each one of us and takes the bitter cup of judgement that should have been handed each of us and He offers to drink it on our behalf.

But on that night in Gethsemane, Jesus is facing the prospect of drinking of all the judgement, all the guilt, all the wrath of every human being who has ever walked upon the earth which has been distilled and concentrated into one cup! This surely would have been an ugly, bitter cup that was being handed to Him and it is no wonder that Jesus’ soul was overwhelmed and sorrowful.

Jesus was resigned to do the will of God but as He battled with the reality of what He was about to face, he was simply pouring His heart out to His Father and asking in verse 36, “Is there is any other way to accomplish the salvation of man without facing the ugly cup of judgement even though I am without sin? Is it possible? Is there any other way, Abba Father?”

And the answer from heaven was silence because there was no other way.

What Jeus did on the cross of Calvary began in the Garden of Gethsemane. What He accomplished by His struggle in the garden resulted in our redemption and salvation. 

The intense emotional struggle that Jesus faced was settled in prayer at Gethasemane. His success at Gethsemane made victory at Calvary possible.

The disciples also faced a crisis ahead of them which they were unaware of even though Jesus had hinted to them about it in verses 27 & 30.

Verse 37 - 38 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,”he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jesus was hinging to his disciples “You’re going to face a crisis tonight and unless you watch and pray you will not be prepared to face what is coming against you” but they did not understand.

By watching and praying Jesus succeeded and fulfilled the crisis He faced at the cross. The disciples on the other hand failed to watch in prayer and they failed in their crisis.

Their crisis was whether or not they would be willing to be identified with Jesus or whether they would desert and abandon Him as he had predicted.

This highlights one of the fundamental principles of spiritual warfare which is that the battle is won in prayer before the actual crisis comes (Mark 11:24). 

What would have happened if the disciples had been obedient and watched in prayer?

The third and final time that Jesus came back to find the disciples asleep he had by now  resolved his anguish and contemplation through prayer and so he tenderly told his disciples to sleep on. 

Jesus asks his disciples to watch and pray with him and they could not do that, instead Peter cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest, something Jesus never asked him to do. It’s as though Peter was saying, I won’t do what Jesus asks me to do but I will do something else seemingly more important which he hasn’t asked me to do.

Have you ever found yourself in this position? 

Jesus was utterly forsaken by his friends, deserted and alone because what he had to go through to accomplish our salvation was something only He could do. 

If you’ve ever felt betrayed or defeated, you can be sure that Jesus has felt that way before too and understands your pain and emotions very well so you can confidently pour out your soul to Him.

Reflection

Receive the understanding that the battle is won or lost in the place of prayer before the crisis comes. By spending time watching in prayer,  talking to God and seeking His face, you place yourself on a firm foundation to be able to succeed in the crisis you’ll face later -battles you don’t even know are coming. 

This is the reason why in the FCC family we take time out either at the end or beginning of the month to resolve some things in the place of prayer and fasting.  If you have not been engaging in these sacred times so far, I humbly invite you to learn from the example of Jesus and to take advantage of this final opportunity next week.

JESUS TRIED AND DENIED Mark 14:53-72

Verse 56-59 “Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands. Yet even then their testimony did not agree.” 

They testified falsely against Jesus by bringing subtle lies against Him but He was silent. His trust was in Abba, His Father.

Jesus could have called a long list of witnesses to testify on His behalf; from Zaccheus, Mary Magdalene, Lazarus to the 5000 who were fed but He remained silent and gave no answer.

Verse 61 Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

Verse 62 “I am,”said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Jesus confidently trusting in His heavenly Father continued to be silent, giving no answer to the accusations until He was cross examined about His identity.

Jesus underwent a lot of pain and humiliation for our sakes. He was blindfolded and hit, ridiculed and spat upon. 

There are people who will mock us because of our faith in God or belief in the bible but if Jesus faced such humiliation and pain when He had done no wrong, then it should not come as a surprise to us when we face diverse trials and temptations (1 Peter 4:13, James 1:2). We must bravely endure pain and humiliation for the sake of Jesus.

Actually, it should give us assurance and confidence that we are on track when we go through these kinds of sufferings. And this should compel us into deeper praise and worship.

Reflection

How is it with us? Do we always feel the irresistible need or urge to defend ourselves when people speak against us? Or do we remain quiet and confident in the one in whose name we have already entrusted our struggles?

Like Jesus, we also are on trial daily in our schools, homes and workplaces but also before our Lord God too. What is God saying about us? 

What kind of testimony are we giving about Jesus? How well are we testifying about the work of Jesus in our lives? Is the testimony of our lives helping to correct the misinformation that is out there about Jesus?

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, thank you for enduring the pain and the shame in exchange for my salvation.

Give me the grace to stand boldly for you wherever I find my faith on trial. May I never desert you. Thank you also for showing me the way for me to settle my crisis even before they become a reality. Please pour a fresh grace and anointing  for prayer upon me in Jesus name I pray.

Amen