Decisions, Decisions... (Mark 14)

What was the last decision you had to make?  Probably something fairly insignificant like what clothes to wear or what to have for dinner.  What about the last BIG decision, the kind of decision that changed the course of your life?.  I think about some of mine:  becoming a Christian, college, relationships, career moves, marriage, children, temptations...

Everyone has decisions to make, some that are important and others that aren't a big deal.  As we continue our study of Mark's gospel, we see in chapter 14 that the disciples faced with some pretty important decisions, but Jesus also had decisions to make, one of which changed the course of history.

Jesus observed the Passover meal with His disciples, fully knowing that his betrayer was sitting at the table with them.  At the appropriate time He told the twelve that someone sitting among them would hand Him over to the authorities.  I wonder about the conversation that followed Judas' getting up from the table and walking out of the room... Did any of them have an inkling that Judas was planning something?  Did they wonder if they would be in danger as well?  Would they be shocked to know that by this time tomorrow Jesus would be dead and they would be hiding??

Of course they had no clue what was coming, but Jesus knew.  He knew every word, every event, and every detail of the next 24 HORRIFIC hours of His life.  Not only would He be betrayed, but He would be abandoned by His friends, hustled through a series of sham trials, mocked, ridiculed, beaten to a bloody unrecognizable pulp and die the most humiliating death known to mankind.  He knew every iota, but there still was a decision that faced Him.

As He and the disciples left the Upper Room and walked through the Kidron Valley to the garden of Gethsemane, no doubt the words of the hymn they'd just sung rang in Jesus' ears: "The cords of death entangle Me, the anguish of the grave came upon Me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.  Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, save me!'" (Ps 116:3-4, NIV)  "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord." (Ps 116:13, NIV)

They reached the garden and Jesus instructed eight of the disciples to sit there while He prayed.  He took Peter, James and John deeper into the garden with Him and the farther they went, the more troubled Jesus became.  He even told them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."  (Mark 14:34 NIV, emphasis mine) So the grief of His situation ALONE was enough to kill Him but He continued on, telling them to stay nearby and keep watch.

Jesus went even farther into the garden and prayed so intensely that His sweat was like great drops of blood.  He cried out to His father, "Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will."  (Mark 14:36b, NIV) His grief was intense, like nothing we can imagine.  As I tried to imagine the Lord's cries I thought about the night following my niece's death.  Excruciating sorrow, unimaginable heartbreak, rivers of tears.  And that was just the beginning of the Lord Jesus' suffering.

The sound of His voice would have echoed through the gnarly old olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane.  In fact, the Rock of Agony where it's believed that Jesus wept would have been a stone's throw from where the three disciples were.  If they had managed to stay awake they would have easily heard His cries but because their bellies were full of roasted lamb and matzah, their fatigue was stronger than their fortitude.  They hadn't understood what Jesus told them about His death, so they couldn't recognize the depth of His grief and they didn't share in His suffering.

Jesus wasn't shocked when Judas sauntered up to Him and kissed Him on the cheek.  He didn't flinch when the armed guards seized Him.  He probably wasn't all that surprised when Peter pulled out his sword and sliced off the ear of Malchus.  But Jesus had to be disappointed when He saw the disciples scatter like rats, leaving Him alone with an angry mob that would soon escort Him to Golgatha.

Jesus KNEW what was ahead of Him as He agonized in the garden, and He understandably asked if there was ANY other way to accomplish His task.  In fact, He'd wrestled with it earlier in the week as we see recorded in John 12:27-28a (NIV, emphasis mine), "Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour?' No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!" Jesus' obedience fulfilled His purpose and not only changed the course of His life, but the course of history!

When God calls us to make a hard decision, it's understandable that we would ask for an easier way; but it may be that our obedience becomes a pivotal point that could change the course of our life and may be a part of fulfilling our purpose here on earth.  And in that same vein, our DISobedience would also become a pivotal point that could change the course of our life and would KEEP us from fulfilling our purpose.

Hard decisions are just that - HARD, but because of Jesus' sacrifice we know that we'll never have to face them alone.  He showed us exactly what to do:  draw your friends near, PRAY, sense God's direction, and then to borrow a phrase from Nike:  Just Do It.