Watch and Pray

In this text, we see a unique moment in Christ’s earthly life. A peek into the weakness which he put on by taking the body of a human. It is a painful scene where Christ, presented with what he must do at the cross, was in agony and was troubled in his heart more than anyone has ever been troubled before. We all face internal trouble and fear from time to time, although most times needlessly. Here, Christ had more reason than anyone to be disturbed in his heart. We see here both a prelude to the death he would die for our sins, and an example of how we must approach God when our hearts are troubled if we hope to make it to the end of the Christian life.

A Summary of the Text

Gethsemane, which literally means the place where oil is pressed is significant. Like olives which are pressed and crushed to make smooth and light-bringing oil, Jesus will here be pressed to the breaking point in his heart and mind, a struggle which will result in the oil of his blood which is for our salvation.

Leaving most of the disciples in a place to sit and wait, Jesus takes his three closest: Peter, James, and John. These he takes to join in prayer while he prayers fervently in private to the Father.

Verses 33-34 give us a very raw and even troubling view of Christ’s experience of humanity. We are told that we began to be greatly distressed and troubled and that his soul was very sorrowful, even to death.

Jesus prayer, also, is very human. Jesus prays that the hour might pass from him. That is, seeing the suffering he was to endure, his heart was filled with anxiety and fear, and he prays for an escape from the pain.

He calls on the Father with the familiar and affectionate title Abba and pleads that, with all things being possible for him, that the cup might be removed.

Yet he ends with this strong condition: Yet not what I will, but what you will. This is not to set the divine will of Christ against that of the Father, but rather to show the human struggle and aversion to pain and suffering which Christ, being fully man, experienced. He would suffer not only on a Roman cross, but wrath at the Father’s own hand for the sins of his people. Christ, is his humanity, pleads for another way this may be accomplished, and yet submits his human desire to avoid suffering to the Father’s greater will.

Three times Jesus prays this way, similar to the three times Paul prays for relief from his thorn in the flesh. The three-fold prayer signifies the resolution of it, and yet both prayers were not answered with a yes, but a gracious no.

Simon shows us the ignorant position we often find ourselves in when faced with such trials. Peter has just been told by Christ that he will deny him (vs 30) and yet, ignorant of the great spiritual struggle he will have to endure, he puts little effort into seeking help from the Father for this.

How often this is our state, where we have a firm conviction in our mind, and yet with ignorance to the true danger we are in, give little attention to the strength we will need to endure. This directly leads to Peter’s fall into sin, and creates for us a clear distinction between the humility and gravity with which Christ takes on this future test, and the ignorance and pride with which we, in our flesh, take on these things. God will indeed give us the strength to endure, as the Father gave Christ, and yet we must seek it diligently with fear and trembling, being aware of our own weaknesses and limitations.

Their sleep does not end until the hour of temptation and testing has arrived, one which all will fail except Christ.

Focus on the Struggle

Today, I want to focus on the real struggle Jesus undertook in Gethsemane on that fateful night. We are told in Hebrews 2:18

Hebrews 2:18 ESV

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The suffering, or passion, of Christ in the Garden was very real. It was not so in the first garden when Adam and Eve did not undergo suffering with temptation, because they simply and freely gave into it. In this case, Jesus resists by fleeing to the Father of mercies and God of all comfort for help. He pleads for relief, as we might well do, while submitting to the Father’s ultimate will. In his humanity, Jesus’ view of things to come was somewhat clouded in that moment, and he had to entrust himself fully to the will of the Father who had his ultimate victory and glorification in mind, along with the redemption of our souls.

In Gethsemane, we see the great pains afflicted on Jesus for our sakes. This is a suffering taken on willingly, one which Jesus could easily have avoided as he had avoided death in other cases by slipping away from a murderous crowd. So we see that this was a brutal trial which Christ took on willingly, and that for us. We were the sinners, deserving of such judgement which Christ experienced on the cross. Yet Christ chooses this battle and the agony which accompanies it in order to accomplish our salvation. Let no one ever shake their fist up at God challenging him as to why he has us go through such difficult trials, when God himself in human form did so willingly for us.

In Gethsemane, we see an example of how we are to face the temptations and trials in which we, as Christ’s followers, must suffer in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The straight and narrow way in the way in which Christ walked, and as there was a garden of passion for Christ, so we will also face such moments of fear and doubt. Jesus’ warning to us is found in Mark 14:38

Mark 14:38 ESV

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Watch and Pray. When we are at our weakest, when we feel far from God, when we are filled with fear, anxiety, and doubt, that is the time we must be alert and pray. The way to our glorification is filled with moments where a watchful prayerfulness is necessary and without it we will fall, just as Peter and the other disciples did. Satan is crafty in his approach, and he would have us sedated and sleepy when the hour suddenly comes upon us. All this is the more reason to watch and pray.

Watch and pray. This injunction from our Lord implies that we should maintain a clear, abiding apprehension of the great danger we face if we enter into temptation. If one is always aware of the great danger, one will always stand guard.

John Owen

Do not think that because Christ suffered, you will therefore have it easier. Look at Church history and what the NT promises for the life of a Christian and be humbled. You are not strong enough to take a surprise attack from the enemy. You must be prepared, so we watch, and you must pray, so as to have the power of him who is able to overcome the attack victoriously.

It is no sin to pray for the difficulty to cease, as Jesus did. But it is sin if we do not qualify, either in word or in thought, such prayers with Yet not what I will, but what you will. Indeed, it may be the Father’s will to bring you out of that pain and fear, away from the storm. But there are some storms God will not take you out of, and the only way out is through. This takes great faith, trusting that as high as the waves of doubt and fear are, God will not let us be overcome. The storm must be crossed, you may put it off but that will only make it the more difficult to cross at a later time, and what hope do you have that you will be stronger then, since you have made it a habit to put it off?

That you may not enter into temptation. There are storms that are a matter of life and death in Christ. Do not think a faith will save you in the end that is not tempered by the storms which God will to take us through. The hour was coming, and Christ is warning Peter that if he does not watch and pray, he will enter into temptation. The harbour of our heavenly home is hemmed about with violent storms, and if you will not go through, you will never reach it.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. This reminds us of the two-fold state we Christians live in. The redeemed nature which is the Spirit wills us to ride the storm in faith, knowing that God will not allow us to sink, but our flesh is weak. We are, in our sinful nature, like those Israelites who fled the promised land for fear of the Canaanites which they would have to face in battle. Will you walk into that Battle or will you compromise in the flesh? Peter sure thought he could stand even to die for Christ, but he did not understand the weakness of his own flesh. Try to fast for three days and you will see how quickly your flesh makes excuses to have it satisfied again.

Conclusion: Jesus’ Victory Over Fear Provides the Basis for Our Victory

Is there hope for us? Yes, but only in Christ. His struggle with fear and overcoming it gives us a hope that, in Christ, we can pass through the storms and battles we are subject to by faith.

Some of us are prone to run away from these storms; to escape, distract ourselves, or soothe when what we need to do is accept them and ride through them in the confidence that, because Christ overcame, we too may be called “more than conquerors”. To be in Christ means we have the assurance that we will survive and overcome through him who works in us. We are united to Christ by faith, and when we survive these storms that faith proves itself through endurance.

As Christians, when we run away from these storms, we are effectively denying our faith in God’s grace to take us through them. If we truly believe that Christ, who endured so much as the cross, is with us, we can truly walk into that fearful place with confidence. Ps 23:4

Psalm 23:4 ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Some of us are prone to take on these battles ourselves, working in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. This often makes itself obvious by a lack of joy or the presence of compromise as we deal with the affliction. Pride convinces us that we may walk into that battle ourselves and we will find a way out of it. In this case, we must be humbled by the weight of the task ahead. We cannot be like Peter, who in vain self-confidence slept thinking he could wake up strong to die with Christ. How humbled he was when he first fled from him and later denied him three times. Better to be humbled before the trial and come to know our own human limitations. You do not have this. You cannot do it. You are weak and unable, in yourself, to accomplish the victory. That is why Christ has already fought this battle for you. You must humble yourself with the crippling reality of your own inability. Only then will you take seriously and with great sobriety the command to “watch and pray.” Only then will you be able to cry out in prayer to the Father, as Christ himself did.

But in Christ, we have victory both over sin and in the midst of the trials we are called to participate in with Christ. Let us, then, with confidence draw near to his throne of Grace. There, there is mercy and help for us in our weakness. Let us take Christ’s own example to heart, be watchful and prayerful, and rely on him who endured such pain for our own salvation.

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