New Testament · Gospel

Mark 14:36

Betrayal Begins

“Abba, Father,” He said, “all things are possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:36 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Mark 14:36, in plain English

He prayed, 'Abba, Father — everything is possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Yet not what I want, but what You want.'

Why it's here

Abba is the word a child uses for their father — intimate, trusting, vulnerable. Even in His darkest moment, Jesus ran toward His Father, not away.

Who's speaking

Jesus prays directly to God the Father.

Where it sits in the story

This is the most sacred prayer ever spoken. Jesus didn't pretend to want the cross. He asked to be spared. And then He surrendered. That 'yet not what I want' saved the world.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus addresses God as 'Abba' (Aramaic for 'Father,' an intimate familial term) and prays the paradigmatic prayer of surrender: 'not what I will, but what You will' (all' ou ti ego thelo alla ti su).

Language and setting

The 'cup' (poterion) represents divine judgment (cf. Isaiah 51:17, Jeremiah 25:15) — Jesus asks to be spared the experience of bearing the world's sin under God's wrath.

Voice

Jesus prays to the Father in Gethsemane.

Significance

This prayer represents the existential crisis of the incarnation: the Son's human will shrinks from the horror of the cross, yet submits completely to the Father's redemptive purpose.

In context

Mark 14:34–38

34Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”

35Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour would pass from Him.

36“Abba, Father,” He said, “all things are possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”

37Then Jesus returned and found them sleeping. “Simon, are you asleep?” He asked. “Were you not able to keep watch for one hour?

38Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Read all of Mark 14 — A woman anoints Jesus with costly perfume while Judas negotiates his price. The Last Supper, Gethsemane, and Peter's denial unfold in rapid succession.

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