A Tale of Two Crises.

“IT was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,…” Thus begins Charles Dickens classic work, A tale of two cities. And although it may seem too familiar to repeat, just the sound of it immediately conjures up images in our minds of a time and a place where both the best and worst can coexist. Although Dickens was referring to London and Paris in 1775, the line lends itself to so many other comparisons where in one setting we have both the epitome of joy and depths of sorrow; where the sweet scent of peace abounds, mingled with the foul stench of desolation; the sunlight of hope shines, crowded by the shadows of despair. And often these are not two separate things, but two separate outcomes that could result from decisions and situations that we face. Often we call this moments of crisis, moments that define and shape our character.

Jesus went through just such an experience, a Crisis unlike any we could imagine when he spent his last night at the garden of Gethsemane. However, Jesus wasn’t the only one going through a crisis of faith, for it was a defining moment for Peter as well, only he didn’t even know it. Let’s look at how this event is recorded in Mark 14:32-43. We pick up the story after Jesus had shared his communion with his disciples and Peter had given his grandiose, “I will never deny you” speech. The text continues in verse 32.
They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." [33] He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. [34] And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake."

We see the stage being set. Of course Jesus knew what was ahead of him, he had been foretelling of this event before he even began heading for Jerusalem. Now that the time was close at hand, his spirit began to be distressed and agitated. It says, “he was grieved to the point of death.” So he brought his disciples out to this Garden, which was just outside the city on the mount of Olives where he could pray. He had eight of the twelve wait outside the garden, while he asked his inner circle to come in further. Then he gave them one simple task, stay here awake. He didn’t ask them to keep guard, he didn’t ask them to build an altar, he didn’t ask them to recite the shema, he simply said, stay here and stay awake. Then he continued on.
[35] And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. [36] He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want."

This is the first crisis. This is a defining moment for Jesus and it is the one we usually associate with the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus came face to face with his humanity and the will of God. This is where he bore his soul and cried out to God. This is where his humanity was faced with the decision to resist God’s will or to submit to the suffering and pain that laid in front of him.

Oh, he knew what awaited him in just a few hours. He knew that if he submitted to God’s will he would be beaten beyond recognition, he knew that he would be spit on and cursed. He knew that he would have thorns crushed down into his skull and nails driven through his hands and feet as he was lifted up on the cross to hang there and die a slow agonizing death, struggling to get every breath. He knew that he would have every sin that he never committed but that was committed by every other human who ever lived and ever would live, placed upon him and he would take the penalty for all of it.

And worst of all he knew that he would be separated from God, from his father, who he had been with since before time began…and it destroyed him. Luke records that he was sweating blood because he was in so much anguish. Here he is crying out, “Daddy, father, you have the power to do anything… Don’t make me do this! I don’t want to! But I will, if that’s what you really want. It’s not about what I want. It’s all about your will, daddy. I know that.” After pouring his heart out to His father, he goes back to draw encouragement from his friends. But listen to what he found.
[37] He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?

Jesus comes back after this terribly draining ordeal and finds his best friends, his most ardent supporters sleeping. He tells Peter, “Wake up! Come on man. Can’t you even stay awake one hour with me?” Now remember, Peter had heard the speech that Jesus had given earlier, about someone betraying him. He had since Jesus give bread and say it was his body. He had heard Jesus talking about his blood being poured out. He witnessed Jesus being agitated and in great distress. It was just an hour or so earlier when Jesus had told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before that very morning, and yet none of this seemed to trouble Peter enough to even keep him awake! So Jesus gives Peter a chance, and a little bit of encouragement. He says,
[38] Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

How many times have we heard those words, “the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak?” And we understand that to mean you want to do the right thing but you just don’t have the discipline to do it. But listen, Jesus is offering these words to Peter as encouragement. When he says to Peter, “Pray that may not come into the time of trial,” He is telling Peter, “Look, you said you would die for me and never desert me. I told you that you would deny me, but if you are serious, then pray that the time never comes. Pray that you will never face that situation. Pray that you will not have to face this trial. "Lead me not into temptation." Look Peter, I know your spirit is willing to stand up for me, but you are not even able to stay awake and pray. If you really want to have victory with me, then you have to get serious about it!”

After giving Peter this pep talk, he went back to his own prayers, as it says in verse 39,[39] And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. [40] And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him.

What could they say? “Sorry Jesus, your despair isn’t important to us?” “We’ll do better next time?” You see they were going through their own crisis and they didn’t even know it. Especially Peter. You see, while Jesus was facing his Crisis by going three times and talking with his daddy about the events that faced him, Peter had three opportunities to get the strength he needed to face his upcoming trial. Although the denying would come later, this is where the battle was lost for Peter. While Jesus became victorious because he faced his crisis, Peter become despondant because he ignored it.

Dallas Willard explains this point well in The Spirit of the Disciplines (4-5). He remarks how young athletes will idolize a professional athlete and try to emulate them in the game. They try all the same mannerisms and techniques that the professional uses so that they can be just as successful, yet it never works. The reason it never works is because the professional athlete doesn’t just attempt these feats during game time, but they uphold a strict regimen of disciplined behavior, diet, exercise, and training that allows them to be prepared to do those amazing things when the time comes. They perform because they have disciplined themselves to perform. In a sense, they perform because they have trained their body not to be weak. Peter denied Jesus here in the Garden, he just didn’t say the words until later that morning. Did you notice that Jesus came back three times? Wasn’t it three times that Peter was to deny Jesus? Wasn’t he asleep all three times? Oh, I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s see what happens next.

[41] He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. [42] Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."

Indeed “Enough.” Jesus was ready, he had faced his crisis and was prepared for whatever lay ahead. He had his spirit built up through prayer. He had talked it over and talked it out with God. He was willing to submit to God’s plan for his victory. It had been enough for Peter too. His crisis lay there untouched. He had failed to be moved enough to pray. Even faced with the accusation of being a deserter was not enough to make him wrestle with his humanity. He simply succumbed to it.

It’s easy for me to be hard on Peter, because I am just like him. Perhaps some of you are as well. While I may never have said the words, “I don’t know the man,” I have expressed the same sentiment a time or too. How many times do I let my own human weakness interfere with my spiritual disciplines. How many times do I fall asleep when I should be awake praying. Times when I know I have serious things going on, crises that must be handled, circumstances beyond my control that I must call on God with tears and anguish. Yet instead I lay my head on my pillow and think God will take care of it. Oh wretched man that I am!

The thing is, Peter didn’t even know he had been through a crisis and failed, he simply knew he had a restless night sleep while Jesus stayed awake. He wouldn’t realize he had failed until several hours later, when the rooster crowed. Listen, we do not need to wait for a rooster to wake us up from our failures. We need to be attentive and prayerful, before we face the trials.

The garden of Gethsemane is a tale of two crises. For Jesus, it was the springboard for the best of times… For Peter it was the catalyst for the worst of times. We can learn to face our trials with prayer and honesty before God and come out victorious like Jesus, or we can ignore them and be caught off guard and face some of our darkest moments like Peter. Let’s let Jesus be our example.