Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Matthew 26:36-46 (NIV)
Peter had the best of intentions – there is no doubt about that. Immediately before the short hike to Gethsemane he was loudly proclaiming his undying faithfulness to Jesus: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (26:35) But here he was, minutes later, giving in to his flesh and leaving Jesus alone in His hour of greatest need.
I think a big part of the problem was that Peter couldn’t discern the enemy. There was nothing to “turn on” his awareness that the battle of the ages was taking place only a few feet away from where he was drowsing!
Jesus’ request was heartbreakingly simple: My soul is swallowed up in sorrow – to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” He just wanted some moral support as he faced down His own fears over what He knew was coming, and His sorrow over His own people who would not receive Him, and would, in fact, kill Him. But even the disciples of His inner circle, James and John, who claimed to be able to drink from His cup, and Peter who would supposedly die before He betrayed Him, couldn’t even stay awake while He battled the terrors of death in His prayers.
And in falling asleep, they missed out on an opportunity to strengthen their own souls against the temptations that would soon be assaulting them. Not temptations to engage in some blatant immorality, as we usually define sin, but the temptation to run away when they should have stayed. Temptation to put their own skins ahead of God’s will. Temptation to leave Jesus to fend for Himself. And, in Peter’s case at least, temptation to deny Jesus when the chips were down.
How different it would have been if Peter and the others had only stayed awake and joined Jesus in the battle! Jesus would still have gone to the cross – that was why He had come, but He would have gone even more strengthened and encouraged, and His followers would have been there cheering Him on instead of holed up in hiding. Same result, but a whole different atmosphere.
I really can’t get away from Jesus’ warning to Peter, though: “Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation.” Any of us who belong to Jesus are at risk of falling to the schemes of the enemy. When you come to Jesus, you become the target of the enemy; even more so if you intend to tell more people about Jesus and bring them into the kingdom of heaven. This isn’t to make us paranoid, but wise. The enemy is real, but his easiest targets are those who either deny his reality or their own danger.
If Peter needed to watch and pray, I do too. If Peter could fall prey to temptation, so could I. If Peter could deny his Lord when the chips were down, I can too. The key is staying close to Jesus, staying alert, and praying alongside Him.