And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:37-38, New American Standard Bible).
After the Last Supper—Jesus’ final Passover meal with His disciples, a few hours before His arrest—He went to the nearby Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane (the name means “olive press”) to pray. Even though He was God in human flesh, He did not skate through life without struggles. When life got difficult or He had to make major decisions, Jesus would pray.
He was preparing for the hardest thing He would ever do, and lesser men would have given up. “Die for the sins of the world? Forget it; suffering like this is not worth it. People deserve what they get. I’m out of here!” Even Jesus bargained with God, hoping that perhaps there was some shortcut or loophole that would fulfill His mission without that pain, humiliation, suffering, etc. Jesus was tempted in every way that we are (Hebrews 4:15); therefore, He prayed while enduring agony that produced sweat like blood (Luke 22:44).
Where were His disciples? He had told them to “watch and pray with Him,” but instead, they fell asleep. They would be tried, tested, and tempted as well. In the time of testing, when they needed to pray, they took a power nap.
All of the disciples would face temptation. Ten abandoned Jesus in His hour of need. Peter tried to take on a small army but only succeeded in chopping the high priest’s servant’s ear off; he then denied that he had ever met Jesus. Only John stayed with Jesus until the end.
When trials come, what do we do? Do we pray to God about our fears and uncertainties? Or do we try to solve problems ourselves, like Peter did with his sword? Do we take a nap or seek out some other form of escapism, hoping that the problem will disappear if we ignore it long enough?
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged.
Take it to the Lord in prayer (from the song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”)
How do you face hardship? Do you watch and pray, even when it demands persistence, endurance, and fighting through agony?
Copyright © 2023 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.
Darkened Glass Reflections 
2 responses to “The Words of Christ—Mark 14:37-38”
Mark 14:50, to my eye, is the saddest verse in the Bible. (Just out of range from your passage.
Gethsemane.
It’s the same place, a resting stop, about half way of the mount of olives opposite the temple mount in the kidron valley. It is the same spot David stopped and prayed when his son Absolem chased him out of the palace.
Think about that.
We know some things about this place!
There are switchbacks in the trail both descending and ascending this valley. A rest stop about half way out the other side is a great place to observe pursuers! David had, and he jumped up and ran for his life. David got away to the transjordan desert! WE KNOW, therefore, that if Jesus had wanted to run, he would have got away. We know his disciples cannot truly fathom what is happening.
They are tired.
You ever struggle to pray? Ever fall asleep in prayer?
Well, that is a problem…
BUT…
You are in good company. Even the apostles of the church struggled with it too.
They get so drifty and Jesus fully awake and completely ABLE to get away, instead prays as he watches the trail fill up with torches zigzagging their way down, down, down into the kidron valley and then as they begin to ascend to the garden rest area.
Jesus is awake and praying the whole time he could be running. The disciples are sleeping when they should be praying.
The intensity of this scene is more than we can bear.
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Mark 14:50 is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. Probably even sadder because we each have to ask ourselves, “What would I have done?” I cannot say I would have done any differently. The Bible never hides the apostles’ shortcomings (or those of other great men of God) because they are our shortcomings too.
You brought up some interesting points about Gethsemane. Jesus could have run away, or found somewhere else to hide out. Instead, He went right to His favorite prayer spot in Jerusalem, so Judas knew exactly where He would be.
This is a powerful passage. I’m only doing two or three “Words of Christ” devotionals per week, so it doesn’t look like I’ll have Mark 14:50 post this time around (it would be tomorrow).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!
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