Jesus Prays While the Disciples Sleep in GethsemaneBible World
22:39Luke 22:39
And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
On the night of His final agony after the Passover supper He went out as was His custom to the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane for meditation and prayer, and His disciples followed Him as they were accustomed to do. On the way He talked with and taught them, but as He neared the garden His sorrow deepened into strange silence and He was so weighed down that He groaned and needed support. There He bore the guilt and sins of the whole world under a strain never laid on any other, fearing above all that sin would separate Him from His Father's love. Prostrate He prayed three times that the cup might pass yet submitted to His Father's will, until bloody sweat stained the ground and an angel was sent to strengthen Him while His sleeping disciples left Him alone. By seeking His Father thus when weary and tempted He braced Himself for trial and left a perfect example that divine communion must come before power and victory, warning His followers not to miss strength for coming trial by spiritual sleep.
Customary Journey to Gethsemane
He came out and went to the Mount of Olives and on to Gethsemane as was his wont, for it was his customary habit and familiar place of prayer, meditation, and retreat. He had often visited it to pray, frequently spending the entire night there in fervent prayer, while spending the day teaching in the temple and healing the sick, there bracing his spirit for duty and temptation and seeking vigor of soul and body and strength to complete his work.
His disciples also followed him there as they were accustomed to do, going with him to the garden on the Mount of Olives. Because withdrawing farther in to pray was familiar, his telling his companions to remain while he went on to pray called forth no remark and did not surprise them.
This going took place after the Passover supper on the night of his final agony before betrayal and crucifixion, leading to Gethsemane where he withdrew to pray as he faced deep agony and asked that the cup pass from him while submitting to the Father's will. It belongs to the Gethsemane and arrest narrative told also in Matthew, Mark, and John, and begins the most trying ordeal of betrayal, agony, and crucifixion. It was a Passover night under a broad full moon while the city of pilgrims' tents lay hushed in silence. The mount was made holy by his presence in human nature and set apart by his prayers and tears, holding the road where he rode into Jerusalem just before his trial while its steeps echoed the joyous shouts of the multitude, Bethany on its sloping descent where he often found rest, and the garden of Gethsemane at its foot where he agonized alone.
On the way he talked with and taught his disciples, but as he neared the garden his sorrow deepened and he became strangely silent and utterly sad. The journey was so physically difficult that he groaned and his form swayed as if about to fall, so that twice he needed his companions to support him lest he fall, while his disciples were perplexed and looked anxiously for his usual place of retirement where he might rest.
Agony and Atonement
In the garden He bore the guilt and sins of the whole world under the most fearful strain ever brought upon a human being, an unparalleled distress that cannot be exceeded. God permitted that strain to come upon His Son, and in all that suffering He gave an example of absolute submission to the divine will. What He feared most was separation from His Father, fearing that sin would shut Him out from His Father's love. Bearing humanity's guilt He felt His Father's presence withdrawn, and His agony over bearing sin became so great that He felt separated and faced the bitter cup of separation as one who was to die as a sinner.
Prostrated in fearful hours of prayer He asked that the cup pass from Him yet submitted to His Father's will. He prayed three times for deliverance until bloody sweat was forced from His pores and stained the sod, expressing the anguish of the ordeal. An angel from heaven came to strengthen Him as He fainted under the burden. Though sinless He was treated as a sinner so that sinners might be treated as innocent, wounded for transgressions and bruised for iniquities, with the chastisement of peace upon Him bringing healing. He had laid off His royal robe and kingly crown and clothed His divinity with humanity to live a sinless life on human behalf and to make atonement on the cross.
Though His will was capable of asserting itself and He could have refused such humiliation, He came into the world to suffer humiliation and death and surrendered His will to the will of God. His suffering makes it possible for humanity to grasp divinity and, through divine power, overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony. His disciples soon fell asleep for sorrow and left Him to face the powers of darkness alone, while Satan pressed darkness upon Him during His trial. Their drowsiness kept them from hearing His voice and receiving the strengthening evidence of heaven and the angels' presence and glory that could have strengthened them for the trials ahead.
Only Peter, James, and John were brought closer as three favored disciples in closest relationship with Him, the same three who saw His transfiguration, and for John this witnessing of both His glory and His agony was a token of confidence and love. In His agony He longed for the sympathy of His disciples, showing the desire for love and sympathy implanted in the human heart by God. He wanted them to watch with Him so they could understand that He had come to suffer and die for sin, remember His promise to rise again, and be strengthened to endure the trial, but their failure to stay awake left them unprepared for His death and its shame. His agony became a central subject of the disciples' preaching and conversation, with His humility and forbearance under suffering and His prayer for those who persecuted Him as central themes.
Peter after denying Him in His humiliation returned alone to the solitude of that same garden and prostrated himself on the very spot where he had seen his Saviour prostrated. With breaking heart and blinding penitential tears moistening the sod stained with the sweat drops of God's dear Son, he left that garden a truly repentant and converted man. He was humbled and fitted to pity the tempted, sympathize with the weak and erring, caution and warn the presumptuous, and strengthen his brethren.
Example for Prayer
As was his wont he went out to the Mount of Olives for prayer and retreat, often spending whole nights there after days spent teaching in the temple and healing the sick. There as Son of man he braced his spirit for duty and temptation and for the great trial and important work before him, even the agony of the judgment hall and the cross, seeking his Father's help for his disciples' protection from evil and for vigor of soul and body and strength to complete his work and do his Father's will. By communion with God he was invigorated and refreshed, braced for duty and prepared for toil, and came forth to minister, encourage, and bless with tongue touched anew with living fire. Divine communion in solitude thus comes before power, strength, success, and victory. Prayer sanctified his ministry and shows that strength and vigor for daily duty are derived from worshiping God in the beauty of holiness.
Though weary and tempted he prayed earnestly with strong crying and many tears, and though he was the Son of God, equal with the Father, all-sufficient, the storehouse of all blessings whose voice could rebuke disease, still the tempest, and call the dead to life, he bowed as a suppliant before the Father. He was not praying for himself but for those he came to save, for sinners, having identified himself with humanity as representative of the race, tempted in all points as men are and able to sympathize with the tempted. His praying is left on perfect record as an example for all who desire to follow him, especially ministers, of how to combat the enemy, seek grace and strength through frequent earnest prayer, and derive strength for daily duty from worship. The lamp must be filled with holy oil before its light can shine amid moral darkness. Those who are indeed his friends will often commune with him, having implicit faith that he will answer all prayers offered in his name, and those prayers reach down to the present time.
His disciples followed him there as they were accustomed to do, yet their drowsiness and sleep kept them from hearing his voice and receiving the strengthening evidence of heaven and the angels' presence and glory that could have strengthened them for the trials ahead. He wanted them to watch with him so they could understand that he had come to suffer and die for sin, remember his promise to rise again, and be strengthened to endure the trial, but their failure to stay awake left them unprepared for his death and its shame. Their failure shows the need for prayer and communion with God especially before trials, and warns those who need divine instruction not to miss it by spiritual sleep but to wake and become believing Christians. Safety from Satan's influence requires constant connection with God, continual help from heaven, and obedience to God's requirements.
His lonely prayer and pleading with the Father on the mount show that his followers may also face seasons of deep spiritual anguish and earnest prayer without being driven away from God.
On the night of His final agony after the Passover supper He went out as was His custom to the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane for meditation and prayer, and His disciples followed Him as they were accustomed to do. On the way He talked with and taught them, but as He neared the garden His sorrow deepened into strange silence and He was so weighed down that He groaned and needed support. There He bore the guilt and sins of the whole world under a strain never laid on any other, fearing above all that sin would separate Him from His Father's love. Prostrate He prayed three times that the cup might pass yet submitted to His Father's will, until bloody sweat stained the ground and an angel was sent to strengthen Him while His sleeping disciples left Him alone. By seeking His Father thus when weary and tempted He braced Himself for trial and left a perfect example that divine communion must come before power and victory, warning His followers not to miss strength for coming trial by spiritual sleep.
Customary Journey to Gethsemane
He came out and went to the Mount of Olives and on to Gethsemane as was his wont, for it was his customary habit and familiar place of prayer, meditation, and retreat. He had often visited it to pray, frequently spending the entire night there in fervent prayer, while spending the day teaching in the temple and healing the sick, there bracing his spirit for duty and temptation and seeking vigor of soul and body and strength to complete his work.
His disciples also followed him there as they were accustomed to do, going with him to the garden on the Mount of Olives. Because withdrawing farther in to pray was familiar, his telling his companions to remain while he went on to pray called forth no remark and did not surprise them.
This going took place after the Passover supper on the night of his final agony before betrayal and crucifixion, leading to Gethsemane where he withdrew to pray as he faced deep agony and asked that the cup pass from him while submitting to the Father's will. It belongs to the Gethsemane and arrest narrative told also in Matthew, Mark, and John, and begins the most trying ordeal of betrayal, agony, and crucifixion. It was a Passover night under a broad full moon while the city of pilgrims' tents lay hushed in silence. The mount was made holy by his presence in human nature and set apart by his prayers and tears, holding the road where he rode into Jerusalem just before his trial while its steeps echoed the joyous shouts of the multitude, Bethany on its sloping descent where he often found rest, and the garden of Gethsemane at its foot where he agonized alone.
On the way he talked with and taught his disciples, but as he neared the garden his sorrow deepened and he became strangely silent and utterly sad. The journey was so physically difficult that he groaned and his form swayed as if about to fall, so that twice he needed his companions to support him lest he fall, while his disciples were perplexed and looked anxiously for his usual place of retirement where he might rest.
Agony and Atonement
In the garden He bore the guilt and sins of the whole world under the most fearful strain ever brought upon a human being, an unparalleled distress that cannot be exceeded. God permitted that strain to come upon His Son, and in all that suffering He gave an example of absolute submission to the divine will. What He feared most was separation from His Father, fearing that sin would shut Him out from His Father's love. Bearing humanity's guilt He felt His Father's presence withdrawn, and His agony over bearing sin became so great that He felt separated and faced the bitter cup of separation as one who was to die as a sinner.
Prostrated in fearful hours of prayer He asked that the cup pass from Him yet submitted to His Father's will. He prayed three times for deliverance until bloody sweat was forced from His pores and stained the sod, expressing the anguish of the ordeal. An angel from heaven came to strengthen Him as He fainted under the burden. Though sinless He was treated as a sinner so that sinners might be treated as innocent, wounded for transgressions and bruised for iniquities, with the chastisement of peace upon Him bringing healing. He had laid off His royal robe and kingly crown and clothed His divinity with humanity to live a sinless life on human behalf and to make atonement on the cross.
Though His will was capable of asserting itself and He could have refused such humiliation, He came into the world to suffer humiliation and death and surrendered His will to the will of God. His suffering makes it possible for humanity to grasp divinity and, through divine power, overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony. His disciples soon fell asleep for sorrow and left Him to face the powers of darkness alone, while Satan pressed darkness upon Him during His trial. Their drowsiness kept them from hearing His voice and receiving the strengthening evidence of heaven and the angels' presence and glory that could have strengthened them for the trials ahead.
Only Peter, James, and John were brought closer as three favored disciples in closest relationship with Him, the same three who saw His transfiguration, and for John this witnessing of both His glory and His agony was a token of confidence and love. In His agony He longed for the sympathy of His disciples, showing the desire for love and sympathy implanted in the human heart by God. He wanted them to watch with Him so they could understand that He had come to suffer and die for sin, remember His promise to rise again, and be strengthened to endure the trial, but their failure to stay awake left them unprepared for His death and its shame. His agony became a central subject of the disciples' preaching and conversation, with His humility and forbearance under suffering and His prayer for those who persecuted Him as central themes.
Peter after denying Him in His humiliation returned alone to the solitude of that same garden and prostrated himself on the very spot where he had seen his Saviour prostrated. With breaking heart and blinding penitential tears moistening the sod stained with the sweat drops of God's dear Son, he left that garden a truly repentant and converted man. He was humbled and fitted to pity the tempted, sympathize with the weak and erring, caution and warn the presumptuous, and strengthen his brethren.
Example for Prayer
As was his wont he went out to the Mount of Olives for prayer and retreat, often spending whole nights there after days spent teaching in the temple and healing the sick. There as Son of man he braced his spirit for duty and temptation and for the great trial and important work before him, even the agony of the judgment hall and the cross, seeking his Father's help for his disciples' protection from evil and for vigor of soul and body and strength to complete his work and do his Father's will. By communion with God he was invigorated and refreshed, braced for duty and prepared for toil, and came forth to minister, encourage, and bless with tongue touched anew with living fire. Divine communion in solitude thus comes before power, strength, success, and victory. Prayer sanctified his ministry and shows that strength and vigor for daily duty are derived from worshiping God in the beauty of holiness.
Though weary and tempted he prayed earnestly with strong crying and many tears, and though he was the Son of God, equal with the Father, all-sufficient, the storehouse of all blessings whose voice could rebuke disease, still the tempest, and call the dead to life, he bowed as a suppliant before the Father. He was not praying for himself but for those he came to save, for sinners, having identified himself with humanity as representative of the race, tempted in all points as men are and able to sympathize with the tempted. His praying is left on perfect record as an example for all who desire to follow him, especially ministers, of how to combat the enemy, seek grace and strength through frequent earnest prayer, and derive strength for daily duty from worship. The lamp must be filled with holy oil before its light can shine amid moral darkness. Those who are indeed his friends will often commune with him, having implicit faith that he will answer all prayers offered in his name, and those prayers reach down to the present time.
His disciples followed him there as they were accustomed to do, yet their drowsiness and sleep kept them from hearing his voice and receiving the strengthening evidence of heaven and the angels' presence and glory that could have strengthened them for the trials ahead. He wanted them to watch with him so they could understand that he had come to suffer and die for sin, remember his promise to rise again, and be strengthened to endure the trial, but their failure to stay awake left them unprepared for his death and its shame. Their failure shows the need for prayer and communion with God especially before trials, and warns those who need divine instruction not to miss it by spiritual sleep but to wake and become believing Christians. Safety from Satan's influence requires constant connection with God, continual help from heaven, and obedience to God's requirements.
His lonely prayer and pleading with the Father on the mount show that his followers may also face seasons of deep spiritual anguish and earnest prayer without being driven away from God.