Matthew 26:36-46 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
This focus readily shows why man cannot keep the law in his flesh, even when he is considered to be the most faithful, caring, and loving of all men to God. In the above verses, we find Jesus in great despair, for He knows his hour of persecution and death is imminent. He has his faithful disciples with him on this night of dread. Now He tells the majority of his disciples to sit while he goes to pray. To Peter, James and John, he tells them to follow him into the Garden of Gethsemane. He tells them the seriousness of his situation that night, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Jesus asked these faithful companions to support him in prayer. They were his closest disciples: they had seen Jesus heal people, raise the dead, cast out demons, calm the sea; they had heard God’s voice from the clouds, proclaiming Jesus as his Son. All of this was in their knowledge bank. They knew Jesus as a person of love, caring not only for them, but for all the Israelites. Yet, under a direct command from Jesus’ lips, they could not be obedient. All three fell asleep, not one or two, but all three slept. The most obedience and faithful of Jesus’ companions were in a deep sleep when Jesus needed them the most. They were fully aware that Jesus wanted them to stay awake and pray. This is a poignant scripture passage, pointing out to us that even when we are most aware of what to do, what God demands of us in the flesh, we often fail. God’s desires for our lives are put aside because of our fleshly wills. Even Jesus could not keep these three devoted disciples awake. Often in our lives, we find ourselves unable or unwilling to obey God. Sin is doing something other than God’s will. Paul talks about this, So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7:21-23) These three dedicated and faithful men to Jesus wanted to do good that night. Falling asleep is not a sin, but falling asleep was not doing the will of God. They succumbed to the will of the flesh, their eyes were heavy. Often when we are on the mountaintop and sledding down hill, it is easy to do the will of the Father or to be totally obedient to his commands, but when the day is long and we seem to be going up hill all of the time, our will to the law can become weak. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Paul in his walk with Christ knew within him was much flesh. He expressed his struggles and anxieties as he walked through life to the Corinthians. He knew he could endure through this wilderness, not by the cloud of the Spirit in the day or the fire of the Spirit of night watching over him, but because the Spirit was embedded in his soul. He could do all things in God now as the Spirit strengthened him. Peter, James and John heard Jesus that night, but commands alone will not overcome the will of the flesh. Only the indwelling Spirit can provide us the will and the strength that the flesh needs to fulfill God’s desire for our lives.
Jesus called himself the Son of Man. He personified the struggle of mankind in this life. We read in Hebrews that Jesus understands us because He experienced life as we do. He was tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:14 KJV) Now in the garden we see Jesus struggling with his impending death. He knows that the cross is in his immediate future. He also knows the Jews in Jerusalem will betray him and rejoice about his death. They will call out, “Crucify him!" They will not allow the authorities to release Jesus, for his very existence was humiliating to them. Pilate and Herod were playing with this Jewish man, having him beaten, flogged, spit upon, undressed, putting him in a kingly robe. Jesus, the Israelites’ miracle worker, was mocked, abused by these rulers, strongly correlating Jesus’ position of helplessness with the Israelites own condition of weakness, totally under the control of foreign, oppressive rulers. They knew by calling Jesus the king of the Jews, they were throwing aspersions towards the Israelites, for Jesus had no power over these rulers and neither did the Israelites have any authority over their oppressor: Rome. The Jewish religious leaders had their own reason for crying, Crucify him: Jesus was a threat to their religious order, to their control over the people. So both groups yelled, Crucify him. By crucifying Jesus, the people were exercising some control over these rulers who wanted to set Jesus free. They were making these rulers bend to their will by having them kill Jesus, restoring some of their own self-esteem. Jesus knew all of this was in his future, so he prayed, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. As a man He struggled with the thought of what was ahead of him. But He knew the Father’s will was to have him killed, placed on a cross. But still the agony of this future happening was in his mind. The Israelites will see him in his weakness. The religious leaders will see him but as a man, maybe one who was possessed by the devil, a miracle worker only because the devil was using him. The Jewish leaders would glory in getting rid of this nuisance to their power. But Jesus had told them who He was, and that He was doing the Father’s will even though He carried the mantel of a man. They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” (John 8:27-29) He knew all of mankind would eventually understand why He was crucified, lifted up. Many would only know after their deaths, that Jesus was really the Messiah, sent to set all men free from the captivity of sin.
The disciples could not appreciate what God was initiating that night: the death of Jesus on a cross for the redemption of man. They knew only that Jesus was very troubled, in despair, but they were also very tired and needed to sleep. Even though Jesus woke them up three times, they could not obey his will. Jesus’ commands were not enough to stir their obedience to his will. Finally, Jesus tells them to get up, for God’s plan was being put in motion. “Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” They will rise and immediately be thrown into a caldron of confusion and violence. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss, and the mob grabs hold of Jesus, arresting him. Peter, James, and John realized then why Jesus needed them to pray for him and for themselves. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Their teacher, the Miracle Worker, would fall into the hands of mere men. Should they still believe that Jesus is the Messiah? How can the Messiah be controlled by the strength of fleshly men? For them, they must have thought, what is going on? How could this happen? The temptation to flee for their lives was upon them. If the Miracle Worker can be controlled by men, what will happen to them? Of course, they believed their own lives were in danger. As this commotion is taking place, the three probably felt, why did not we stay awake and pray? Maybe this would not have happened if we had done so. Of course, this plan of God was bigger than anything they could do or not do. Peter tried to defend Jesus, but Jesus forbid him to do so with a sword. He told Peter to put away his sword. So Peter followed this mob from afar. He entered the courtyard of the high priest where Jesus was held. Jesus as David before him was intent to do the will of the Father. I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do. (Acts 13:22) Jesus would take the throne of David, a man willing to do the will of the Father at all times. Even in the horrific acts of that night, Jesus willingly fell at his Father’s feet in obedience. This mysterious plan of God for the salvation of men and women was implemented that night. Jesus knew this plan of his Father would cause him to drink the full cup of redeeming mankind. The pain of being separated from the Father in death would be immense. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) But Jesus knew as Abraham did, Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. (Romans 4:17) As with all of us believers who are found IN CHRIST through faith, we have the wonderful knowledge that God will be with us forever and that we will not rot in the grave. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. (Psalm 16:8-11) Peter, James and John would receive this great inheritance too, for after the gate was opened to eternal life through the cross, they would enter into the everlasting kingdom. At Pentecost they received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They became new creatures, no longer frustrated by the flesh’s unfaithfulness, but through and in the Spirit, they became more than conquerers. As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:36-37 KJV) Today see yourself as more than a conqueror through Christ who gave himself for your sins.
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