Mark 14:32

Mark 14:32 says, And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. After telling the disciples that He was going to be betrayed by everyone soon, and Peter's bold claim that He would never betray Him, Jesus came to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He stopped to pray.  As Christians, in our time of temptation and distress, we should never forget to stop and pray. Verse thirty-three adds, And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy. Though all the disciples were with Him, Jesus took Peter, James and John a little farther with Him. I have to wonder how the other disciples felt about this. God does not require us all to do the same thing, but He expects us to do what He calls us to do, without envying what someone else may be called to do.  Verse thirty-four continues, And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.  Jesus had said His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, because He knew what awaited Him, and that was death on the cross for the sins of all mankind for all time. Jesus did not make an overpowering demand on the three.  He simply asked them to tarry there and watch.  After Peter's bold proclamation, all Jesus asked of him was that he stay awake and watch.  We may believe that we would never deny Jesus Christ even if faced with death because of our faith, but how often do we fail to stay awake to do God's will in the simplest of things?  Verse thirty-five states, And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.  Jesus went a little farther, fell on the ground and prayed to the Heavenly Father that if there was another way to salvation, let it be known, but there wasn't.  Verse thirty-six adds, And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.  He asked that not His will, but the will of the Heavenly Father be done, and this should always be our prayer as well, especially in trying times.  Verse thirty-seven says, And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? After Jesus left Peter, James and John behind asking them to watch and pray with Him, and He returned an hour later to find them all asleep.  As Christians, we cannot afford to be asleep spiritually, but we must be alert and in prayer that the will of God will be done in the world today, and this is really what Jesus was asking them to pray about.  Jesus singled out Peter because of his bold statement that was based on self-pride and asked him if he could not stay awake and pray for even an hour.  We may make bold statements about the fact that we would never fail in our faith in Jesus Christ, but the question may be if we will stay awake to pray for even an hour.  Jesus warned the three to watch and pray lest they should fall into temptation.   Verse thirty-eight adds, Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.  He said in spirit they were willing, but the flesh was weak.  We need to continually be in prayer today, because even though in spirit we are willing to do what God asks us to do, we too often give in to the weakness of the flesh.  Of course, if we rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us, we will never be overcome by the flesh.  Verse thirty-nine continues, And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.  Jesus went away to pray again, using the same words.  The words weren’t really what were important, but the thoughts were.  They still are today. Verse forty states, And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.  Jesus came a second time and found them asleep again, and they didn't know what to say to Him.  Jesus did not give up on them, and He will not give up on us today, even if we fail Him at times.  Verse forty-one adds, And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. When Jesus returned third time, He told them to sleep on and get their rest, because the time had come for Him to be betrayed.  I believe Jesus knew that they were going to need all their strength to get through what was about to happen.  We need to rest when we can as Christians so that we have the strength to face the challenges of life.  Of course, I don't believe that if God has called us to a particular task that we should be sleeping instead of doing what He has called us to do.   Verse forty-two continues, Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.  Jesus then told them to rise up and for them to go with Him, because the one who was going to betray Him was there.  As we go about everyday life, we need to go realizing that the Holy Spirit goes with us if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.