The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ: Episode 39

Rev. Sun Myung Moon: The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ
Chapter 4: With The Disciples, Jesus Prays Alone on the Mountain, Page 106-107

Jesus Prays Alone on the Mountain

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

We know well that Jesus visited high mountains whenever he was faced with serious matters … .

Jesus went to the Israelites and the synagogues with the victorious pattern established in his 40-day wilderness course, yet they did not welcome him. Instead of welcoming him, they persecuted him wherever he went. He met with opposition and ridicule. Having to go the wilderness course after being rejected the first time [by John the Baptist] was already enough to provoke hard feelings and anger. When Jesus saw the Jewish religion and the Israelite nation opposing him, having returned to them with a victory over Satan, his heart was consumed with inexpressible pain and sorrow. We need to think about the position and situation of Jesus. In difficult circumstances of persecution, to return the nation and religion to God, Jesus prayed on the mountaintops and fought against Satan throughout his three years of public life. 

Jesus’ heart was such that rather than feeling sorrow for his lonely position, he regretted that the result of God’s efforts for humanity during the 4,000 years was so meager, and he felt sorry to express his heart to heaven. To Jesus, consumed with such a heart, it was out of the question to express resentment toward the nation, the synagogues, or fallen humanity. We should know that Jesus did not have the leisure to bear a grudge against anyone.

 

Father, we know well that the great religious figures of history had relationships with mountains, sharing their situations with mountains and determining the standards of life and death and victory and defeat on mountains. We have learned that Jesus, as the representative of humankind, visited the top of a mountain and there pleaded with God from the depths of his heart.

As we have realized the historical connections with mountains, please allow many sons and daughters of God to appear on the mountain tops of this peninsula of 3,000 li. Guide them to be proud people who can return the glory of victory to you and indemnify the historical grounds of resentment over what took place on the mountains.

To be such people, we know that besides our individual selves, our families, our societies, our religions, nations, and world must all go to the mountaintop. Please guide us to resemble the heart of Jesus, walking up and down the mountains for the sake of heaven and earth, and to follow in his footsteps. Allow us to become the children who can fight with fidelity until the day we set up a victorious altar on the mountaintop and sing “Hosanna.” Let us fight without exhaustion or retreat.

Father, we know that if we have such a determination, you will help us. Lead us to go through any complications with single-mindedness. We pray all this in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The Sorrowful Heart of Jesus as He Went to the Mountain
January 25, 1959

How pitiful a person was Jesus? His mind could not help but lament when he looked at the people, and there was nothing for his heart to do but weep aloud when he looked at the religious bodies. Humankind could not understand the situation of Jesus, who carried the responsibility of heaven’s providence and destiny. There was no one who understood his heart as he wandered in the mountains alone at night.

Prayer
October 18, 1959