Questions Jesus Asks on the Way to the Cross

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. Mark 14:41

In his hour of need those closest to Jesus failed him. One betrayed, another denied, and the rest ran away. They couldn’t even stay awake to pray with Jesus. This part of the story makes us sad, not only because of the way Jesus’ disciples let him down but also because it reminds us of the way we let Jesus down. We are no better. We too have betrayed, denied, and run away. We too have trouble staying awake and alert to opportunities to serve Jesus and advance his way of love.

It is a sad part of our story of discipleship. It is important for us to be honest. It is necessary for us to seek forgiveness and invite Christ’s living Spirit to help us do better. The good news is that Jesus does forgive us and remains with us so we can do better. When the Risen One returned to the disciples his first words were, peace be with you.

Jesus always comes to us with peace, understanding, forgiveness, healing, and a fresh start. Jesus never asked us to be perfect just willing. Jesus always invites with the words, follow me. We just have to be willing to dust ourselves off and get back on the path of loving service. We are never alone on the journey. Jesus is always there to encourage, teach, forgive, and empower us to learn and grow.

As we move with Jesus toward the cross and on to the empty tomb let us wake up to the new possibilities Jesus’ resurrection offers imperfect but willing disciples.



Yours in Christ,

Marc