When Jesus reached a place called Gethsemane, He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” Then He took Peter, James, and John with Him and began to be deeply distressed and troubled. He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.” (Mark 14:32-34, Contemporary Bible)

Reflecting on these words, I would like to draw two main lessons:

(1) Mark says that Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray (Mark 14:32), while Luke says that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives as was His custom (Luke 22:39). Considering both verses together, we learn that Jesus regularly went to the small garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray to God the Father. In other words, Jesus often went to this quiet and secluded place with His disciples to pray (John 18:1-2).

(a) “When we plant the seeds of thought, we reap the fruit of actions; when actions are repeated, they become habits; when habits accumulate, they form character; and ultimately, character shapes our life.” (Internet source)

(i) Reflecting on this, I realize how important it is to sow seeds of right and biblical thoughts. From Scripture, this corresponds to Hebrews 3:1 (second half) and Philippians 4:8:
“… fix your thoughts on Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1b),
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8, NIV)

(ii) When we diligently sow these biblical seeds of right thinking, our actions will bear fruit—not just loving in words, but loving sincerely through actions (1 John 3:18), acting wisely (Colossians 4:5), acting holy (1 Peter 1:15), acting in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17), acting decently (Romans 13:13), acting within our proper boundaries (Numbers 16:3,6), and demonstrating true repentance by right actions (Luke 3:8).

(iii) When such actions are repeated, they become habits—habits of sincere love, wise behavior, holiness, doing everything in Jesus’ name, decency, acting within proper limits, and doing what is right. We should not stop meeting together as some do but encourage one another, especially as the day of the Lord approaches (Hebrews 10:25).

(iv) These habits combine to form character—not a fallen character (Romans 8:3), but one participating in God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4). This character ultimately shapes our life.

(b) We should imitate Jesus by regularly going to quiet, secluded places to pray to God. I propose three things: Quiet time, Quiet place, and Quiet heart—praying in secret to the Father with a quiet heart.

(i) Reflecting on Jesus praying quietly to God at quiet times and places reminds me of Henri Nouwen’s idea that lonely wilderness must be transformed into a garden of solitude. The difference between loneliness and solitude is that loneliness is being alone, while solitude is being with God. Although we live in the middle of busy cities, we still feel loneliness—worse than wilderness loneliness. Even worse, we are often unable to turn this loneliness into solitude. We fail to experience the power of prayer. We prefer talking to close friends over talking with God, and listening to human voices rather than God’s voice. We prefer connecting with people and the internet over spending time alone with God in the wilderness. Although Emmanuel God is always with us, we may not feel His presence because we dislike loneliness but cannot enjoy solitude. We need to become more accustomed to loneliness. We need to practice being alone with a quiet heart in quiet times and places. Through this practice, we will experience God’s presence and be empowered to turn the lonely wilderness into a garden of solitude.

• Because Jesus’ entire ministry (public life) was centered on intimate fellowship with God the Father through prayer in quiet times and places, we too must strive to follow His example and develop the habit of intimate fellowship with the Lord in quiet time and place.

(2) Jesus was deeply distressed and said to Peter, James, and John, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.” (Mark 14:34, Contemporary Bible) I want to reflect on two points from this:

(a) First, Jesus’ anguish. The Contemporary Bible translates it as “deeply distressed,” but other versions like the Korean Revised Version say “greatly amazed and sorrowful” (verse 33). Matthew says “troubled and sorrowful” (Matthew 26:37). “Troubled” means extreme anxiety and worry (Philippians 2:26), and “sorrowful” means a deep sorrow that overwhelms the heart (Hawkma). Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38; Mark 14:34). How deep must His anguish have been to say this? What was the cause?

(i) Hawkma explains: “Faced with the weight of suffering and death, Jesus was almost crushed. This is the first real onset of Jesus’ passion. Although the physical pain of death was severe, an even greater pain was bearing the sins of humanity, becoming a sinner Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21), and being cursed by God (Galatians 3:13). This unbearable pain reaches its peak in Jesus’ cry on the cross, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (27:46).”

(b) Second, Jesus’ command: “Stay here and keep watch” (Mark 14:34). Matthew adds “stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38), while Luke adds “pray that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:40). Hawkma comments: “The temptation refers to the arrest and suffering about to come. Jesus knew His arrest would cause the disciples to be afraid and flee, so He warned them not to lose heart or fall into temptation. Jesus Himself prayed facing the severe trial and suffering.”

Considering these three texts together, the lesson is that we must stay alert and watchful so we don’t fall into temptation. We must pray with faith in Emmanuel in quiet places and quiet times.

(i) “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)
“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.” (Psalm 57:8)
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42)
“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)