Little words matter. Sometimes I don't notice them, but that's a mistake on my part. I'm almost forty years old, I've attended church my entire life, and I've taught children and teens most of my adult years, so I've read the Easter story a lot. I'm not bragging; I'm confessing that I have read something so important so many times and still missed so much.
Each of the four gospel accounts tells the story of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. In John it is called the garden across the Kidron Valley. In the Gospel of Luke, it is called the Mount of Olives, at the bottom of which the garden is located. Luke tells the shortest account, just seven verses:
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Luke 22:39-46, NIV)
As I read this tonight, I noticed some words I've missed many times before.
As usual...
Jesus had established patterns in his life that kept him close to God. After the Last Supper, the story transitions to the garden by saying, "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him" (Luke 22:39). It doesn't say that Jesus realized he should pray for a while because he knew something difficult was about to happen. It says he went "as usual." Previously in Luke, the writer says that "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (5:16). Jesus chose his last actions as a free man to be prayer because that's what he did. He was a man of prayer.
More earnestly...
Jesus prayed a lot, and yet in his darkest days he found an even deeper level of passion and conviction. We read that "being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44). Jesus knew what was coming next, so he spoke to God more passionately. He did not try to hide his heart; he laid it all on the line. Jesus was able to do this because he fully trusted God's will for his life. As Timothy and Shauna Gaines write in their book, Kings & Presidents, "When you don't have a vision for how God is saving in the midst of hardship, your recourse will be to blame God and sink into despair. You can either ask God to help you see something others can't, or you can blame God for your circumstances." Jesus was able to see the situation in a way others did not. His heart was in tune with God.
More earnestly...
Jesus prayed a lot, and yet in his darkest days he found an even deeper level of passion and conviction. We read that "being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44). Jesus knew what was coming next, so he spoke to God more passionately. He did not try to hide his heart; he laid it all on the line. Jesus was able to do this because he fully trusted God's will for his life. As Timothy and Shauna Gaines write in their book, Kings & Presidents, "When you don't have a vision for how God is saving in the midst of hardship, your recourse will be to blame God and sink into despair. You can either ask God to help you see something others can't, or you can blame God for your circumstances." Jesus was able to see the situation in a way others did not. His heart was in tune with God.
Exhausted from sorrow...
I've often wondered why Jesus was so hard on the disciples for falling asleep. Some believe this account occurred after midnight, a time late enough to warrant fatigue. Like it so often is, the truth is hidden in plain sight. Notice the cause of the disciples fatigue according to the gospel writer: "When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 'Why are you sleeping?' he asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation''' (Luke 22:45-46). The disciples weren't tired from a long worry; they were exhausted from a long worry. Jesus received power from his prayer time. His intimacy with God did more for his body and spirit than sleep did. Don't misunderstand me, sleep is important. However, sleep would not protect any of them from what was about to occur, only pray would. His prayer time was an expression of his faith as much as any of his miracles were.
With just a few days until Easter, I think about the unique situation that the disciples found themselves in. They didn't realize that they would soon witness history or that their actions would be studied and scrutinized by millions of people for thousands of years. Most people can't predict which of their actions will be remembered and which will be forgotten, and no one knows what will happen at midnight. We can, however, determine if Jesus finds us asleep or in prayer.
