Matthew 26:36-46 Mark 14:32-42 Luke 22:39-46

Matthew 26:36-46 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” 39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

Mark 14:32-42 32 They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” 33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34 And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. 36 And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” 37 And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 “Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 Again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. 41 And He came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

Luke 22:39-46 39 And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

After all the warnings about falling away, Jesus takes the disciples into garden to pray.  This exchange between Jesus and His disciples reveals what is in the Lord’s heart as well as some of the weakness in the disciple’s will.  Prayer is one of the most difficult disciplines for us to practice effectively.  It is also one aspect of the life of Christ that we see being fundamental to His life and ministry.  There is much we can learn from the Lord’s prayers and from the disciples struggles.

JESUS PRAYS IN PAIN: I don’t think that any of us know what it is to pray in the way that Jesus prays in this passage.  He fully understands the suffering He will face physically, emotionally and spiritually.  He is about to endure the horror of crucifixion.  He will be mocked, slandered, accused and condemned by unjust men while His closest friends abandon and deny Him.  However, the greatest pain He would face was the Father’s wrath poured out on Him for the sins of the world.  The Father would forsake Him, and this was an agony that would far exceed the physical and emotional pain inflicted by men.  Jesus does not want to face this but is willing to submit to the Father’s will.  He cries out to the Father for hours in the garden inquiring if there might be some other way and then at the same time asking for the strength to accomplish the Father’s will.  The Son agonizes before the Father concerning the cross.  He pleads repeatedly before the Father if there is any way that this can be avoided.  He submits to the Father’s will and wisdom.  In the hours ahead, He will demonstrate supernatural courage and endure unimaginable pain while demonstrating unconditional love and forgiveness.  His strength in the courtroom and on the cross flow from His prayers in the garden.

DISCIPLES STRUGGLE WITH SLEEP: Jesus has just warned His disciples of their impending failures and He has revealed what is to come.  He then takes them to the garden where He asks for them to join Him in prayer.  Instead, they struggle with sleep.  When Jesus returns to wake them and instruct them to pray so they might not enter into temptation, they try again to pray, but fall asleep again.  They, like we, have a hard time connecting the spiritual world with the physical realities.  The differences between the courage of Jesus and the cowardice of the disciples in the hours ahead can be traced back to the contrast in their prayers.  Jesus understands their weakness and He tries to warn them of the battles ahead, but He cannot to the work for them.  We all tend to be action oriented and prayer does not seem like a productive activity.  In fact, it seems like an unproductive activity.  If we are going to be effective in our families and communities, our prayers must change.  If we are going to be able to stand against the temptations of this world and endure the persecution associated with following Christ, we must learn to pray more effectively.  Our ability to spread the Gospel to our neighbors and to the nations will spring from a life of prayer.  Power for following Christ is proportionate to prayer. 

APPLICATION: We can be free to cry out to the Lord about the struggles, trials and doubt of our lives.  He knows our heart and it is dishonest to try to relate with God and not admit to Him the realities that we struggle with.  However, we must also exercise humility and submission as we recognize His superiority.  Understand that our ability to faithfully represent our Lord in a fallen world will be influenced by the quality of our prayer life.  Do whatever it takes to stay awake when we pray and maintain focus while we pray.  Write, walk or pray out loud so we can be alert in our praying.