The Victory Path of Prayer (Mark 14.26-42)

[Stephan Choe]

October 16, 2025

Leitvers 36: „and said: Abba, my father, everything is possible for you; take this cup from me; but not what I want, but what you want!“

The life of faith means asking about the will of God and acting on it.

In the Bible we find that Jesus prayed more often. His prayer just before his capture in the Garden of Gethsemane shows us how he overcame his fear and human desire and obeyed the will of God for our salvation.

We want to obey the will of God to please God and serve His saving work. That's why we need to get to know Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane well and pray.

May God make us a good praying person so that we can clearly recognize God's will and be used by him as a blessing for many.

1. The Announcement of Peter's Denial (27-31)

Verse 26 says: „And when they had sung the song of praise, they went out to the Mount of Olives.“

And Jesus said to his disciples, „You will all take offense; for it is written (Zechariah 13:7) <I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.>“ (27).

The word „take offense“ actually means „toast“ or „tumble“. Depending on the word, you can translate it as „(fall off)“, „get angry“ or „leave“. At this point you can best translate it as „leave“.

Jesus predicted that if he is captured, his disciples will abandon him. He bases his prediction on the Scripture from Zechariah 13.7.

Jesus further said: „But when I have risen, I will go before you to Galilee“ (28)

Galilee was home to all of Jesus' disciples. His disciples, when Jesus is captured and killed, will abandon him and return to their homeland of Galilee in despair.

But Jesus promised them that after his resurrection he would go before them to Galilee and gather them again, as a shepherd gathers his scattered sheep. Although his disciples will abandon him, he will never abandon them, but will gather and guide them again. Jesus is truly the good shepherd for his sheep. He is our eternal shepherd.

Peter responded to this and said to Jesus:

„If they all take offense, I won't!“ (29).

Peter had left his job and put his life into play to follow Jesus. He was firmly convinced of his willingness to sacrifice for Jesus and his willpower. That's why he said: „If they all leave you, I won't!“

What did Jesus say to him? Did he give him high praise for his sacrifice?

Jesus said to him: „Verily I say to you: Today, this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times“ (30).

Jesus knew Peter much better than Peter himself. With his prediction he wanted to help Peter realize his weakness, remain vigilant and pray for himself.

Did Peter take Jesus' word seriously?

Nay. He said to Jesus: „Even if I had to die with you, I will deny you!“ (31a). All other disciples said the same thing (31b).

Peter had a very difficult time losing his self-confidence. Confidence is not faith in Jesus.

Anyone who can give up their self-confidence and rely on Jesus has real faith in Jesus.

Das Wort „Gethsemane“ bedeutet „Ölkelter“ oder „Ölpresse“. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass es sich um einen Ölgarten (also Olivenölgarten) handelte. Im Garten Gethsemane befindet sich heute inmitten uralter Olivenbäume die „Kirche aller Nationen“. Jesus gebrauchte Gethsemane als seinen Geburtsort.

Verse 32-34 berichtet uns: „Und sie, d.h. Jesus und seine Jünger, kamen zu einem Garten mit Namen Gethsemane. Und er sprach zu seinen Jüngern: <Setzt euch hierher, bis ich gebetet habe.> Und er nahm mit sich Petrus, Jakobus und Johannes und fing an zu zittern und zu zagen und sprach zu ihnen: <Meine Seele ist betrübt bis an den Tod; bleibt hier und wachet!>“

Gemäß dem Lukasevangelium sagte Jesus zu seinen Jüngern: „Betet, damit ihr nicht in Anfechtung fallt“ (Lk. 22,40).

Jesus war wegen seines bevorstehenden Kreuzestodes sehr ängstlich und betrübt. Darum wollte er zu Gott beten, um seine Ängste zu überwinden und Gottes Willen gehorchen zu können. Dabei nahm er seine drei Jünger mit. Sie sollten wachen und beten, damit sie nicht in Anfechtung fielen. Er wollte sie zu guten Betern erziehen. Sie sollten ihn und sein Gebet miterleben, wie er den Kreuzweg geht. Sie sollten dadurch ihn und die Bedeutung seines Kreuzestodes kennenlernen. Darum nahm er sie zum Gebet mit.

2. Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (32-42)

After Jesus announced Peter's denial, he came with his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane.

The Garden of Gethsemane was located east of the Temple Mount above the Kidron Valley at the western foot of the Mount of Olives.

The word „Gethsemane“ means „oil press“ or „oil press“. This suggests that it was an oil garden (i.e. olive oil garden). In the Garden of Gethsemane there is now the „Church of All Nations“ in the middle of ancient olive trees. Jesus used Gethsemane as his birthplace.

Verses 32-34 tell us: „And they, that is. Jesus and his disciples came to a garden called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples: <Sit here until I have prayed.> And he took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to tremble and hesitate, and said to them: <My soul is grieved until death; stay here and watch!>“

According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said to his disciples: „Pray so that you do not fall into temptation“ (Lk. 22.40).

Jesus was very anxious and grieved because of his impending death on the cross. That's why he wanted to pray to God to overcome his fears and be able to obey God's will. He took his three disciples with him. They should watch and pray so that they would not fall into temptation. He wanted to raise them to be good prayers. You should see him and his prayer walking the Way of the Cross. This was intended to get to know him a

Some believe that Jesus does not have to be afraid of death because he is God's Son.

But the truth that Jesus is the Savior of men explains his fear of death Jesus received the death penalty for the sin of men, so that all who believe in him may know the forgiveness of sins and be saved. Therefore we should thank Jesus for his sacrificial death and accept forgiveness and eternal life through faith in him.

He is actually God, but came into the world as a human being, bore all the guilt of men and died on the cross. Because of his impending death on the cross, his soul was grieved to the death When he hung on the cross in Calvary a day later, he cried out because of the terrible pain „Eli, Eli, lama asabtani“ (translated „My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?“ (15,34)).

We should thank Jesus and gratefully accept his death for our sins.

Did Jesus tell his disciples about his torment in order to receive comfort from them?

Verses 35-37 tell us: „And he went a little further, and threw himself upon the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass him by, and said, „Abba my father, all things are possible unto thee; take this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will.“

Jesus brought his distress and his fears to God and said to him: <Abba, my Father, everything is possible for you; take this cup from me.> The cup here means the death on the cross. Jesus honestly confessed his weakness and his fear of death and asked God for mercy. Because Jesus was humble before God, he could honestly confess his weakness and fear and ask G

Many believe that praying means forcing God to fulfill his desires or will. They try to impose mainly their own desires or their human wills through prayer. But Jesus prayed to God: „But not what I want, but what you want!“
Jesus' prayer reminds us of the „Our Father“: „Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven“ (Matt. 6:10b).
No matter how great the need and how unbearable his fear of impending death, Jesus prayed first and foremost for the fulfillment of the divine will. Therefore he pleased God greatly and fulfilled the divine mission and glorified God.

When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane to overcome his weakness and his own will and obey God's will, he had to fight a hard battle of prayer. Therefore Luke described in his Gospel concerning his prayer: „(And) he wrestled with death, and prayed more fiercely And his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the earth) (Lk. 22.24).
Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane was a tough battle! He fought to overcome his weakness, his fear and his human will and to obey God's will. Satan probably whispered in his ear as follows: „You are too weak, you cannot bear the torment of death. Is your God love? Why does he want to let you be tormented on the cross? I've told you many times not to walk the Way of the Cross.“ The devil's words were very convincing.
But Jesus fought to repel all doubts and to believe absolutely in God and his love.
Therefore the author of Hebrews wrote: „And in the days of his earthly life he offered requests and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who could save him from death; and he was also heard because he honored God. So, although he was the Son of God, he learned obedience from what he suffered“ (Heb. 5:7-8).

We can imagine the course of Jesus' prayer something like this: At the beginning of his prayer he told God about his distress and his weakness. In the course of prayer he recalled God's love and his words of promise and fought to the death against all doubts and unbelief. This enabled him to recognize God's will and perfect providence and accept his love. Therefore he clearly chose God's will and obedience and asked God for his help and strengthening. So he was finally able to end his prayer with confidence of victory. Jesus was very weak before his death. That's why he was nailed to the cross around 9 a.m. on Good Friday and died around 15 p.m. in the afternoon.

What does Jesus' tough prayer battle mean for us? His prayer fight in Gethsemane has two meanings for us:

First, his prayer battle means that Jesus fought to voluntarily die as God's Lamb for our sin. Jesus was not forced to die on the cross. If he hadn't wanted to die, he wouldn't have to die. That's why he said about his death in John 10:18: „No one takes it (i.e. life) from me, but I myself leave it.“
Because he loved God very much and wanted to obey his will, he died on the cross as God's Lamb for the sin of men. However, it was very difficult for him to accept all punishment for people's sins and to die in agony on the cross. Therefore he fought through prayer against his fears and his weakness, to obey the will of God. If he had shied away from this fight and not prayed, the cross would have remained empty and our sin would not have been erased. Thank God that Jesus fought the prayer battle and obeyed the will of God and died on the cross.

Second, Jesus' prayer battle of Jesus in Gethsemane means that we should follow the example of Jesus' prayer. We should confess our weakness to God and ask God for his help. God then surely answers our prayer. But if we think we are strong enough to solve our problems ourselves, we cannot completely trust God. That's why we can't really ask God for his help. To confess our weakness before God and ask God for His help – that is the secret of answering prayer.

What did Jesus' disciples do while Jesus fought to the death?

Jesus came to his disciples from prayer and found them sleeping and said to Peter, Simon: “Are you sleeping? Couldn't you watch for an hour? „Watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation! The Spirit is willing; but the flesh is weak“ (37-38).

Jesus went again and prayed and spoke the same words.

And he came back and found his disciples sleeping. Jesus went to prayer again and came back and found the disciples sleeping.

He said:

„Oh, do you want to go back to sleep and rest? It is enough; the hour has come. Behold, he Son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners Arise, let us go! Behold, he who betrays me is at hand.“ (41-42).

After the prayer, Jesus acted decisively and courageously opposed the capture.

When we have known God's will through prayer, let us resolutely follow His will and act courageously. God blesses such actions abundantly and saves many people from sin and the power of death. Amen!