The King's Questions: Could you not Watch with me One Hour?

Notes

Ideas:

- Soft denial: Sleeping: Getting denied by American Embassy.

Years ago keeping watch over my own friends! Nighthawks!

Praying for an hour for our future—before we had a name or anything. Please give me a mission!!

Importance of Context

Soft denial

Soft denial=apathy

Verse by verse… Straight up

Verses 36–37

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.”

Context: 33 Peter answered [Jesus], “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Clearly Jesus is talking about when Peter will deny him later in the chapter (vv.69-75).

But this chapter reveals a ‘soft denial’

Denial of Jesus, but less overt, less urgent, less dangerous.

Questions:

What does following Jesus look like when things are comfortable?

Will you obey Jesus when your distracted or tempted?

We will get to these questions as we go through this passage...

Immediately after Jesus foretells Peter’s Denial, they go to Gethsemane:

Gethsemane: Oil Press, somewhere on the Mount of Olives

Instructions to HIS disciples

v. 36: “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”

But then, just like Jesus did at the Mount of Transfiguration, an event that manifested Jesus in all his majestic glory, he invites Peter, James, and John to come further with him.

Jesus invites his inner circle again…

Only Twice Does Jesus bring these three with him to join him.

Jesus in all his glory at the Mount of Transfiguration.

Jesus in all his sorrow on the Mount of Olives.

Note:

Peter, James, and John=Also were the three most passionate about following Jesus no matter what.

Peter saying he would never deny Jesus

James and John saying they’d take the cup.

So Jesus takes his inner circle with him, his loud and proud, his courageous and motivated, his closest and most intimate followers, and then Matthew writes: “He began to be sorrowful and troubled.”

Verse 38–39

Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

v.39: “This is the only time Jesus is said to have prostrated himself.” France

Lit. “Grief encircled is my life unto death.”

Mark’s Gospel= “horror…came over him” Pierre Beniot: This word for very sorrowful is “Used of a man who is rendered helpless, disoriented, who is agitated and anguished by the threat of some approaching event.”

“Very sorrowful, even to death...”

Context helps translate words:

Luke 18:23: Luke uses this same word, to describe how the Rich, Young, Ruler felt after Jesus challenged him to sell everything he had, distribute it to the poor. “But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”

Just as the rich, young, ruler couldn’t leave his stuff to serve others and himself, Jesus was consumed with this overwhelming thought: “I can’t do this!”

So Jesus prays for a pass: 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Discipleship Lessons:

Permission to be Sad

If you’ve ever felt depressed, you’re in good company. Insight into Jesus the Man! God who felt sorrow. If he could feel “Sorrow unto death,” then that means we can experience this feeling and not sin.

Text: Christ’s overwhelming sorrow in this moment gives us overwhelming sense of hope in times of crisis.

When bad things happen, we can’t poopoo the situation. Christians aren’t pie in the sky optimists, but down to earth realists. That means we can experience joy and, when bad things happen, we have permission to dive deeply into sorrow.

Bruner: “Nothing is more unhelpful than telling people in very sad circumstances not to be depressed. Away with such depressing counsel!”

Hogwash of Christianity being filled happy, plastic Chrisitans.

This passage has so much to say about Jesus’ humanity, and that also informs OUR humanity!

When sad things happen, be sad.

Pray when you are Sad:

Tell my kids when they’re scared… Did you pray about it? Go back to your bed and pray about it. Same with sorrow… Go to Jesus!

Verses 40-41

40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The Kings’s Questions:

“Could you not watch with me one hour?”

Remember, “To watch” was the command. Keep watch! “Remain here, and watch with me.”

Rather than stay awake, the disciples fall asleep… So Jesus turns to Peter, but keep in mind that though Jesus talks to Peter, he’s addressing James, and Andrew for sure, and possibly to all the disciples if they could overhear Jesus. The verbs are plural:

“Couldn’t Y’ALL keep watch?”

ONE HOUR! One hour is all I needed from you.

Could you not Watch One Hour?

Other passages:

Matthew 24:42-43 “42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.”

Matthew 25:13 “13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Major theme in Matthew:

Tried and true followers like Peter, James, and John, they should be on watch!

I remember, when I was a teenager, I was a small group leader at a high school retreat. At night, my responsibility was to be what they called a “Night Hawk.” Nigh Hawks were supposed to keep watch and make sure no one snuck out of their rooms. Always being on watch.

But after a while, it definitely lost it’s allure. Once everyone was in bed sleeping, it was like, “Okay, where’s my pillow.”

When we first moved to NC, I ended up taking a course called Church Plant Boot Camp. It was a week of intensive training. One day our evening assignment was to create a mission statement… Prayed a whole hour… It’s really hard! How many times in that hour did I loose my concentration…

It’s hard to keep watch! It’s one thing to keep watch when things are happening, but to keep watch when things have settle down, comfortable, it’s difficult! And prayer is difficult! Prayer alone is difficult!

So Jesus summarizes so much of what it means to be human in one sentence:

“The heart is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Flesh: “Sick” and “weak” are the same word

Discipleship Lessons Here:

Negatively: Don’t put yourself in susceptible situations, and when you are in one, pray!

Positive: Consider yourself a soldier, on watch 24/7.

v.41: “The specific temptation facing these three disciples was that of denying Jesus (vv.31-35).” France

v.41: “The weakness of the flesh is a permanent problem of Christian discipleship, which calls for constant vigilance and for the prayer which Jesus has already prescribed in 6:13.” France

Specific temptation here is denying Jesus, which is really what all temptation does to us: It lures us away from allegiance. It lures us away from allegiance to Jesus.

Lord’s Prayer: “Lead me not into Temptation.”

Flip side: Lead me to places of allegiance… Lure me to experience Christ’s Lordship.

When are you vulnerable? When are you spiritually drowsy? Think practically about this… What physical locals do you need to avoid? What physical tools do you use that lure us away?

You are not strong enough...

People, pastors, provisions

Followers of Jesus understand the heart wills, but the carnal side often wins.

Shocking use of the definite article and the third person masculine singular pronoun...

“The Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here.’”

v. 40: “And he came to the disciples.”

You belong to HIM! Disciples belong to HIM

On Guard!

Are you part of the followers of Jesus, or are you one of his followers??

Vese 42–44

Matthew 26:42-44 “42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.”

HOW Jesus Prays:

Asks Again: “If this Cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Important nuance in the prayer:

First prayer: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

If it is possible, take this cup from me… Immediate twist towards obedience: “Not as I will, but as you will.”

“NOT my WILL”

Calvin: “The force and onset of grief wrung a cry from Him on the instant, which He at once went on to correct.”

Reveals how Jesus begins to bends his will towards his Father’s will. In his humanity, Jesus teaches us about prayer: Jesus immediately bends his neck under the yoke of obedience to the Father.

Second Prayer Shows again how Jesus bends his neck further under the yoke of obedience:

Movement from ‘if possible’ to ‘if not possible, yes’

“My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

“The prayer suggests that Jesus had to school Himself to the necessity of redemptive suffering which involves the bearing of sin” (Taylor, 554).

v. 42, Wilkins: “He consciously submits to that destiny in the words, “May your will be done.””

v. 42, Leon Morris: “In the former prayer there is a reference to the will of Jesus, but not in this one.”

Green: “Magic seeks to control cosmic powers. Prayer seeks to surrender to the will of God.”

Lent Theme: Will-Shaping Prayers…

Verses 44-46

Matthew 26:44-46 “44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.””

Three prayers!

Matthew describes that their eyes were heavy! How our bodies operate, matters!

Did Jesus even wake them??

Jesus uses the same words. Only Matthew records Jesus praying 3x.

Threes in Matthew:

Three generations of fourteen

Three temptations

Two sets of three commands, social and political (Ch. 5)

Three Devotions and two sets of three petitions in the Lord’s Prayer (ch. 6)

Three Warnings (ch. 7)

Three sets of thee miracles (ch. 8-9)

Three controversy stories (ch. 12)

Three People-of-God parables (ch. 21)

Three People-of-God Questions (ch. 22)

Three Judgement Parables (ch. 25)

Three Peter denials (ch. 26)

Discipleship and Threes

WE DON’T GET IT THE FIRST TIME. WE WON’T GET IT A SECOND OR THIRD TIME!

We need three to prove to ourselves we can’t do it, and that the only way forward is his grace!

Just as we fall often, we need to Come to Prayer Often:

Pray annoyingly!

Parable of the Midnight Knocker (Luke 11:5-8)

A guy’s expecting company and doesn’t have bread. OH NO!

So he goes to his neighbors house and starts bugging his neighbor: “WAKE UP, BRO! I NEED BREAD!”

“Because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.”

“Because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up.” NIV

Prayer is Essential

Bruner: “He feels a certain dismay with a prayerless church.”

Prayer Instruction:

Repetition is permitted, and each time our wills bend to God’s will!

Prayer Gives Strength

Calvin: “These words reveal that since His prayer, He has found new reserves of arms… Now his fears are allayed and His nerves are mastered , now again to offer a wiling sacrifice to the Father.”

“Gethsemane begins shakily, with an emotionally depressed, mentally confused, and spiritually almost overwhelmed Messiah. Gethsemane ends the way some Christian prayer can end. We learn so much about Jesus from this story and so much about ourselves, too.” Bruner

NOTES:

Heb 5:7 “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”

Heb 5:8-9 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”

What made it so very sorrowful for him?

Just the death?

No, the SIN BEARING! Green: “It was the sinbearing that was so terrifying.”

a) Watch and Pray!

b) Formed by Jesus’ own request

“In this second prayer Jesus does not ask for the cup’s removal, as if he is saying, “I’m beginning to think that you don’t want that cup to go away except by one route—my drinking it.” Jesus’ will moved from a nine, ten, or eleven o’clock position to a twelve o’clock position.” Bruner

“Gethsemane is full of instruction to the church, for it teaches her not to ascribe to Jesus a divinized, ghostly humanity, as she can sometimes do by speaking too sweepingly or easily of Jesus’ sinlessness and perfection.” Bruner

Calvin: “The way He brings His emotions into obedience to God suggests that He had transgressed [!] the limited… In the first cry…He declines and refuses to perform, as far as He may, the office of Mediators. I answer, it was no fault, when the terror of death fell on Him and the darkness covered Him, that He forgot all else and let forth that cry…It follows…that His human soul had different desires from the hidden purpose of God.” (3:151).