When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you fall in temptation." Luke 22:45
A couple of weeks ago I read this verse and have not stopped thinking about it since. A whole lot had transpired leading up to this moment. The disciples had just shared a meal with Jesus, one of them leaves the meal because he was about to give Jesus up to a mob. The disciples were arguing about greatness and Jesus tells Peter that before the cock crows three times, Peter would say he didn't know Him. Wow!
Jesus took the disciples to a familiar place to them, a garden on the Mount of Olives. Jesus tells the guys to wait and pray and then He goes a short distance from them and prays to the Father. Jesus is burdened, weary. He ask for the cup to pass from Him but knows that it's the will of the Father for Him to endure the moments and days ahead. The Scripture says he was in agony and sweat drops of blood.
As I read these words I can imagine how confused, frustrated and disillusioned the disciples felt. I can imagine they sensed something in Jesus' behavior and body language that was different than what they had experienced before. Though Jesus told them to wait and pray, they slept. Not from laziness. Not from the long hike up to the garden but from sorrow. They were sleeping from sorrow.
I get it. There have been seasons in my life where I have fallen asleep. I didn't fall asleep like I do every evening around 10:00 but in my spirit I have slept from sorrow, weariness, doubt, fear, and frustration.
What does Jesus mean by, "lest you fall into temptation." I think maybe he meant for them not to lose sight of His character and promises, to remember the words and what they saw Him do. To remember the meal they had just shared together. The temptation is always to doubt who He is and what He has promised. Things weren't quite going like the disciples had envisioned them. Now the One they left everything for, seemed to be burdened to a depth that none of them could imagine. So the slept.
When Jesus returned and found them sleeping He wakes them and again encourages them to pray lest they fall into temptation. He doesn't rebuke them for sleeping. He doesn't shame them in their sorrow. It seems to me that Jesus gets it. He understands their weariness. He gets their humanness.
Here's what's awesome to me. While they slept, Jesus prayed. He models exactly what we need. In His agony, He goes to the Father. An angel appears (disciples totally missed that since they were sleeping) and strengthens Jesus. In His agony, He prays.
Are you weary? Pray. Are you confused? Pray. Are you frustrated? Pray. Are you doubting? Pray. He will strengthen you. He will sustain you. He will draw close and love on you. He understands and He is compassionate, merciful and kind. He is strong and able.
What a Savior! What a Friend! What a King!
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