The King Who Suffers Alone

The anguish and pain of the cross was not what concerned His soul. It was knowing that He would be abandoned by and separated from His Father as He answered “for every sin and crime and act of malice and injury and cowardice and evil in the world.” That is what brought Him to His knees and moved Him to make His poignant plea (Edwards, Mark, 433).

As Jesus struggles for the souls of men, His closest friends sleep soundly some distance away. The tone of our Lord’s chastening was, no doubt, mild and full of grace. He encourages them to be watchful and prayerful. Temptation is always lurking nearby, and redeemed spirits are still attached to sinful flesh. The flesh’s weakness actually acts with great power to take us where we do not want to go. Jesus knew they wanted to be strong for Him. He also knew they would fail.

Jesus has agonized over His passion, and He has done it alone. He wakens them: “Enough! The time has come.” The issue is settled! Jesus’ will and His Father’s are united! For the joy that is set before Him, He will endure the cross and all that it entails (Heb 12:2).

Gethsemane was “hell” for Jesus, but I am so thankful He went through it. You see, if there is no Gethsemane, there is no Calvary. It there is no Calvary, there can be no empty tomb. And if there is no empty tomb, there is only hell for us.

Mark 14:43-52

While Jesus is talking, Judas, “one of the Twelve,” comes with an armed crowd from the Sanhedrin—the “temple police,” though they may have been accompanied by Roman soldiers (cf. John 18:3, 12). By prearranged plan, Judas gives Jesus a greeting of respect and plants kisses of betrayal and death on His cheek, identifying clearly the One they came to arrest. The religious Gestapo springs into action: “Then they took hold of Him and arrested Him” (v. 46). No charges were made. Following legal protocol is not on their agenda this night!

The disciples may have been taken by surprise, but one of them “drew his sword, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his ear.” It was Peter who struck the man, whose name was Malchus, probably a servant of the high priest Caiaphas (John 18:10-14). Jesus healed Malchus (Luke 22:51).

Jesus rebukes the mob for their extreme methods (Mark 14:48-49). He is no robber or political revolutionary. Day after day He taught in the temple. They knew who He was. They could have arrested Him at any time. Arresting Him late at night in a quiet, secluded location showed their cowardice. It was shameful. It was also a fulfillment of Scripture, for the prophet Isaiah had prophesied of the Suffering Servant, “He was despised and rejected by men” (53:3); “He was taken away because of oppression and judgment” (53:8); He “was counted among the rebels” (53:12).

Mark 14:50-52 records the sad defection of the disciples—all of them! Those who had a short time earlier boasted that they would die for Him now are nowhere to be found. An anonymous “young man” was nearly captured but was able to escape. However, his “linen cloth” was captured and so he “ran away naked.” Church tradition says the young man was Mark, the author of our second Gospel. So again, as it was in the garden of Eden, our nakedness is exposed as we desert the God who loves us and has graced us so abundantly with His kindness and good gifts.

And Jesus? He is arrested, and He is forsaken. He is all alone to face the wrath of men and the wrath of God. He will receive all that we deserve, that we might receive all that He deserves. The “Great Exchange” has begun.

Gethsemane is the prelude to Calvary. Before He could surrender His body to be beaten and crucified on the cross, He must first surrender His will to His heavenly Father in the garden. In the first garden, the garden of Eden, Adam said to the Father, “Not Your will but mine be done,” and336 all of creation was plunged into sin. In this second garden, the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, the second Adam, says, “Not My will but Yours be done,” and the redemption and salvation of all creation begins! Eden brought death. Gethsemane begins new life.

Stuart Townend and Keith Getty penned a hymn titled “Gethsemane Hymn.” The words beautifully capture what this King who suffered alone did on our behalf: