‘Don’t go. Stay with me.’ It’s the sort of plea someone might breathe if they are feeling weak or vulnerable. It’s a very human reaction. In Gethsemane, Jesus was deeply saddened. He said to Peter, James and John: ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me’ (v 38). Remarkably, the Son of God wanted the human companionship of these three fishermen. When, later, he found them asleep, it can only have added to his sense of wretchedness. We might note in passing that being holy and in the centre of God’s will – as the Lord Jesus undoubtedly was – may include times of being deeply troubled.   

We have all prayed the prayer Jesus prayed – in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Your will be done.’ Jesus prayed it here at least three times (vs 39,42,44), because he was determined to carry out his Father’s wish. But he also wanted, and he pleaded in prayer, to be spared ‘this cup’, the awful trial of suffering facing him. He was appalled by it, as any sensitive soul would be. His prayer was heard. But the answer was ‘No’.    

Jesus was human like us. Like us, he needed human companionship. Like us, he prayed to avoid suffering. Like us, he wanted to do as his Father wished.  

Dear God, fill my heart with compassion and my mind with gratitude. Help me, through what I read today, to appreciate Jesus even more.

It is time for Jesus to pray. One unnamed friend had provided him with the upper room, now another gives him access to an olive garden where he retreats with Peter, James and John – men who witnessed the transfiguration. Jesus knows he is going to die a barbaric death. He must overcome his fear and place his trust in the Father. This is not easy. He wrestles in prayer, pleading three times for some other way. We see the agony and intensity of Jesus’ praying. Luke’s Gospel describes it like sweating great drops of blood.¹ He empties himself of any residual self-will before finally conceding ‘your will be done’ (v 42). 

We see the loneliness of Gethsemane in this passage. The three disciples are asked to keep watch with him, but they fail miserably. When Jesus finds them sleeping he characteristically asks them now not to pray for him, but for themselves. Their lack of commitment to him in his hour of greatest need makes them more vulnerable to attacks from the evil one. The impact on Jesus is to increase his sense of isolation. He has to face the terror in the loneliness of his own soul. So, they sleep on, and Jesus disturbs them only when the time for his betrayal has come.

The disciples arise from their sleep; Jesus arises from his knees. They go on to an ordeal with which Jesus has wrestled, but for which the three others are completely unprepared. Jesus is ready, having been in deep prayer. This speaks to us of its great importance. Jesus has subordinated his own human will to God’s higher authority and found the peace that will enable him to face death. For us to be able to stand in defiant courage before evil, we too need first to have knelt in fervent prayer before God. 

Let us pray today for all those who are wrestling with evil and injustice, and ask God to draw them close to the courage of Christ.

¹ Luke 22:44