Week 4: Reading

Monday, February 13th

Mark 14:26 – 72 (Read Here)

Tuesday, February 14th

Mark 15 (Read Here)

Wednesday, February 15th

Mark 16 (Read Here)

Week 4: Devotional

Jesus Cries out to God

These passages quickly take us through an eventful narrative starting with what takes place right after the last supper all the way through the start of the great commission. Within them, a lot happens. Here are the highlights:

• Jesus is betrayed and handed over to the High Priest.
• Peter denies Jesus.
• Jesus is brought before the High Priest and eventually Pilate and is then condemned.
• Jesus is crucified and placed in a tomb.
• Jesus is resurrected and appears to the disciples .
• Jesus charges the disciples to preach His gospel to the world.
• Jesus is taken up to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.
• Jesus begins to work through His disciples as they start their mission.

What strikes me most through all of these events is the way in which we find Jesus crying out to God. Not once, but twice he cries out to God in desperation. In Mark 14:35 He’s asking God to find another way to accomplish His mission. In Mark 15:34 He cries out to God in lament as if He’s been abandoned or betrayed. Even though Jesus knew that this was the plan all along, He still cried out on both of these occasions as a child would to his or her parents.

As humans living on this planet, we often encounter suffering through both physical and emotional hardships. If there’s one thing this world offers us, it’s that. Since that is a reality, I suppose the question we should ask ourselves is: “How do I respond to this suffering?”

In these particular passages, Jesus clearly responded with protest. I think he modeled this for us not only to display His humanity while He was here on Earth but also to reinforce that it’s good for us to go to the Father with our struggles. 

God is fully capable of healing us. Never doubt that. I think we see here that we can come boldly to the cross with our needs before us. Time and time again through the old and New Testament (and amongst our own community) we see God’s redemptive and healing work in people. But the flip side, however, is that we also see from these passages that God did not “take the cup” from Jesus. So… sometimes he doesn’t remove our suffering? At first glance, that’s super discouraging. But look further… What did God accomplish through Jesus’ suffering? He accomplished salvation for all of those who look to the cross and believe. That’s a huge deal! 

So when those hardships come, remember that God welcomes us to cry out to Him. But also remember to ask yourself, “what could God be teaching me through this suffering?”. Or, “What is He using this suffering for?” In some cases, we may never know the answer, but when brought rightly before God, our suffering is never in vain. It’s always an opportunity to cling to God and find our strength in Him.