Jesus’ Patience & Self-Control: Disciples Fail to Stay Awake & Pray!
Let’s consider another event where the disciples fail and Jesus corrects them but does not reject them. Right before Jesus dies He spends the last evening with His disciples eating, talking about the Kingdom and revealing that He will die in Jerusalem. The disciples are shattered. They don’t know what to make of it. Later they leave the upper room and Jesus takes the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. He wants to pray and “possess His soul” before facing His greatest challenge and His most intense work!
It is not only the physical torture of the Roman guards and the crucifixion that He is steeling His soul against. The physical torture actually points to the real torture and struggle. Invisibly the sin of the entire human race will be “laid upon His soul.” Then, God, the Father, will pour out His “wrath” (His “just” vengeance against evil) against His beloved, innocent, wonderful Son! Once Jesus is punished for our sins, we can actually go free. And we are fully “convinced” we are free because we see the Son punished in our place. The price of our total forgiveness is horrific. But He wants to do it! And it points to His vast love that is passionate for… us!
Gethsemane is the place of preparation for the ultimate conflict that started in Eden, between Humans and God, to be resolved! Jesus has the 12 (and other disciples probably) sit down. Then He takes Peter, James and John a bit further and “begin to be deeply distressed and troubled.” Jesus says, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
What does it take for the Son of God to be “deeply distressed?” What does it take for the one who silenced the storm and who walked on water to be “overwhelmed?” He is fearless before the Pharisees and the Roman guards! He is fearless before the wildest demon spirits and forces them into instant submission! The physical torture is shocking, but that in itself does not shake Jesus. The real issue that brings Him to the point of being overwhelmed is the just punishment of evil that His Father will pour out on Him as He bears our sins.
Remember, before Jesus was even born the Father, Son and Holy Spirit designed this plan to save humans from “bearing their own sin” in Hell forever. Jesus elected to go and be the sacrifice. He wanted to do it. Holy Spirit agreed to support and strengthen Him. The Father who delights in the Son ordained this specific plan. They were unified in this choice! 1 John 3:1 says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should called children of God! Would it be harder to be Jesus who suffered so terribly or to be the Papa who delights in the Son, watching Him suffer? Or the Holy Spirit supporting the Son in His anguish and knowing the fullness of the Father’s anguish? This is the love of the Trinity! (All of the Old Testament sacrifices occurred to “speak” to this event so that humans could interpret what Jesus was actually doing!)
The “conflict” in the soul of Jesus to follow through with the redemptive plan is so great that Jesus goes a little further from the three disciples and “falls to the ground.” (Mark 14:35) Hebrews 5:7 says that Jesus prayed with “loud cries and tears” to His Father! Jesus is asking God if there isn’t any other way! And there is not! Luke 22:43 says that “An angel from heaven appears to him and strengthened him.” You would think it would be easier after that right? No. Verse 44 says, being in “anguish”, Jesus prayed all the more “earnestly.” His anguish is revealed by His sweat falling like drops of blood.
It is during this event, that Jesus wants someone to stand with Him the most! However, He comes back and finds the disciples “sleeping.” To be fair, Luke 22:45 says, “… He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.” The disciples were completely worn out with recent events and the declaration of Jesus that He would leave them and be taken in death. Regardless Jesus returns from His massive struggle to find them sleeping! Wow, wouldn’t you feel “alone” in your struggle? The very ones you were wrestling for were sleeping! The very ones you are protecting from eternity in Hell… are sleeping while you labor in agonizing torment. They failed to “watch” with their master. Jesus responds, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” (Mk 14:37) Jesus is so self-controlled! A mere man or woman would have exploded with disappointment and rage. Jesus is so patient. He does not emotionally tear down the disciples! He doesn’t reject them. There is instruction. There is correction. There is warning. “Pray so that you will not be tempted!” But there is NO rejection. He challenges them. “Are you sleeping? Could you not keep watch one hour?” Then Jesus instructs them, “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Your inner man is willing. But your body is tired.
It bears repeating: At no point does Jesus reject Peter, James and John for falling down on the job.
Sometime later Jesus comes back after praying the 3rd time (Mark 14:41) saying, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
Again, you see Jesus intense correction, but not rejection. The more you separate the two (correction vs rejection), the more you can process the correction and grow! If you are not sure, the rejection will undermine your confidence in Jesus and you will “wilt” under His correction rather than grow.
“… the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes [corrects] everyone He accepts as a son.” Hebrews 12:6
If you get your image of Jesus cleaned up from 1) accusation and 2) condemnation you can related to Him in a significantly more healthy way. This will yield great fruit in your own life. Jesus convicts but is not spewing condemnation on His followers.
Remember, Satan is constantly spewing condemnation out on us trying to masquerade His voice as Gods! It is a lie. Holy Spirit teaches us the difference. Reject condemnation, the voice of the enemy. However, we must accept the conviction of the Spirit and repent and grow!
Take Away:
God Is Just Like Jesus: In yet another event we see Jesus demonstrating great self-control and patience in the middle of His greatest agony and struggle! This reveals the invisible character of God. He is wonderfully self-controlled and patient. He does NOT reject His followers no matter how imperfect they are. Jesus instruction, correction and even discipline reveal God’s instruction, correction and discipline but without rejection! Since we are seeing this better, how much more can we trust God and lean on Him with great faith?
1st Commandment Prayer: Jesus you are amazing! Even during your greatest struggle you deal kindly and patiently with our failures and sins! You are the kind of shepherd that I truly need! I am always fearful that my failures and sin disqualify me to serve in You or be close to You. But I can see with Peter and the disciple’s failures that you keep working with us and grow us for our good and to care for others! I love your ways! The enemy accuses me and I even reject myself at times! But you continue to uphold me and teach me to care, even for myself, and for others! It is as Psalms 18:35 says, “… your gentleness has made me great!” (NASB/KJV)
Scripture for this Week: Mark 14:32-42
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Returning the third time, he said to them,“Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
