John in the Garden of Gethsemane

After the Passover meal ended, Jesus went to Gethsemane which is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.”     {Matthew 26:36-37}

He took his inner circle of three with him, and left the other disciples to “Sit ye here”. 

He told Peter, James and John to “sit here and pray”.  He went farther into the garden to pray and each time he returned how did he find the disciples?

They were asleep.

He ask them “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  {Matthew 26:40-41}

Jesus knew what was coming and the temptation they would face, but their bodies were tired and their flesh weak. 

Doesn’t the Lord often tell us to pray and resist temptation, but we give in to our tiredness or the flesh in our weakness?

Jesus knows they need their rest the next time and tells them to sleep and get their rest. He knows what is ahead and they need to be rested for it.  {Matthew 26:43-44}

There are times when we need to rest and be still for whatever is to come.

Do you give in to temptation too often?  Do you take time to rest?

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