"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. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, 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. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me."
Today's lesson teaches us two things. There were only three times that Jesus, so far as I'm able to remember, exposed His Human frailty. The first two of those three times are demonstrated in this lesson. The first is when He prayed God, that if it be possible, to find another way to remit the world's sin. The second was when He prayed that same prayer three times, obviously understanding that there was no need to pray more than once.
As born again, redeemed Christians, we should be forever grateful and shout the good news from the rooftops that the human man in Jesus withstood the temptations that came upon Him and followed through with His divine appointment giving those of us who believe in Him eternal life.
The second lesson in today's quote is about how frail our devotion is compared to the devotion of Jesus. While Jesus walked a few steps away, to be alone to pray, and left His "devoted" Apostles with instructions to stand watch for Him, their own human weakness took over and they fell asleep three times.
Similarly, Jesus has told those of us alive today and have accepted His saving grace that we are to stay awake being always alert, watchful and prepared for His return. Sadly, just as the Apostles there with Jesus the night before He died fell asleep at the watch, many "Christians" today are asleep on the job.~
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