52 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
52 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 22:39–46"
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date = "2023-02-10"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk22.39-46)
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The Passover is finished, the hymns are sung, and the big day is tomorrow.
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Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives as He had the last several days, but not to
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sleep. I probably couldn't either if I knew I would give up my life the next
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day. No, instead, Jesus goes to pray. He also instructs the disciples with Him
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to pray so that they do not enter temptation. I have to wonder what kind of
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tempation He is warning them against. Jesus knows Judas will be bringing
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soldiers to arrest Him, but they don't.
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With those words, Jesus goes off a little way to pray by Himself. Usually,
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first century Jews would pray while standing, but here Jesus kneels. While we
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have seen Jesus wield divine power, here we see His humanity, as He is weighed
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down by the difficult things He will have to do tomorrow. He even goes so far
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as to ask for a reprieve, a change of plan like Abraham got when he was told to
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sacrifice Isaac. But even at this time He submits in obedience to the Father's
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will.
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In my Bible, and probably in yours too, there's a little note on verses 43 and
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44. It says that some early manuscripts didn't include them. That tells me that
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there's evidence to say they probably should be in the Bible, but not with 100%
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confidence. It happens that way, sometimes, when you have really old writings,
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but not the originals. Thankfully, God is faithful to preserve His Word through
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the centuries, and there isn't any questionable passage that we base any
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important doctrines upon.
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Once He has finished praying, Jesus returns to the disciples and wakes them up.
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I'm not sure how many times I've read this verse, but I have never noticed
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before that it says they were "sleeping for sorrow". (_v. 45_) Now, the
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disciples catch a lot of flak from people for how they act in the Gospels, and
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a lot of it they deserve. But I think this time, we need to cut them a break.
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They weren't being lazy, disloyal, or uncommitted; they were overcome with
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grief. It seems they'd finally figured out what Jesus meant about being handed
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over to the authorities, and that it was going to happen very, very soon. I
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don't know about you, but emotional stress wears me out, and I don't keep the
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energy and motivation to do anything beyond the essential when I'm going
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through a hard time of some kind. This, then, might be the clue to answering
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what temptation they are to prray against, especially since Jesus repeats His
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instruction. It's not exactly the tempation to fall asleep, but the tempation
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to worry about what is about to happen. While it's true that you can't pray
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while you're asleep, I now expect the disciples were praying pretty hard that
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night, too.
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* * *
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Keep us from the tempation of worry, because You are entirely in control, and
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we trust You to do what is righteous.
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