Matthew 26:41-46

Matthew 26:41-46

“Keep alert and pray, in order that you should not enter into temptation.  On one hand the spirit is eager but the flesh is weak.”  Again – out of a second time – after leaving He prayed while saying, “My Father, if this is not powerful enough to pass by unless I should drink it, let your will become.”  And again after coming He found them sleeping, for their eyes were having been made a burden.  And after leaving them again and after departing He prayed – out of a second time – while again saying the same words.  At that time He comes to the disciples and he says to them, “You all sleep and become refreshed from the work in the future.  Behold!  The hour has drawn near and the Son of Man is handed over into the hands of sinners.  Get up, we should leave.  Behold!  The one who hands me over has drawn near.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Take a look at what Jesus says the first time He comes back to the disciples.  “Keep alert and pray, in order that you should not come into temptation.”  And then of course He spells out the familiar quote about the willingness of the spirit and the weakness of the flesh.  But Jesus knows the truth about us.  Temptation spells bad news for us.  We cannot resist temptation.  Jesus doesn’t tell us to grow stronger so that we can put temptation in its place.  He tells us to pray so that we shouldn’t even come into temptation in the first place.  We are all truly incredibly weak individuals when it comes to the passion and desire of our flesh.  We can say all the right words when we need to, but living them out is far harder than saying them.

How is your flesh?  Do you confess that your flesh is weak?  Where are you the weakest and truly need to not even enter into temptation so you don’t fall?

Second Thought:

I love the difference in the Greek between Jesus’ first prayer and His second prayer.  In the first prayer, Jesus asks if the Father is powerful enough to accomplish His will without Jesus having to die.  Of course Jesus knows that God’s will is for Him to die, so He quickly submits in the very next breath.  But in the second prayer, notice the mellowing of His words.  This time He begins with the confession that He should drink the cup of God’s wrath.  I call this the mellowing of the spirit, and we all do it.  When we face a difficult time, we wonder how on earth we’ll ever survive.  The first time we think about something huge we cannot fathom how we’ll ever do it.  But after the concept has been allowed to be a part of who we are, we find ourselves seeing God’s way through the difficulty.  Instead of being consumed by the weight of a large task, our spirit mellows in order to actually see the task for what it is.  Of course, we all know what it is like to be in the middle of a difficult thing and not just be surviving but thriving.  I’ve had many people in my life confess to not understanding a huge change in their life before they get to it but realizing as they are going through it that God has provided a way.  I find it comforting that Jesus seems to be displaying this human trait here as well.  Jesus’ spirit mellows as the task of His crucifixion draws nearer and nearer.

Where has God allowed you to come through difficulty?  What has God revealed about Himself and yourself in those times?

Third Thought:

I love that in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus doesn’t wake them on the second time that He comes back.  He just lets them sleep.  He knows the futility that humans have in fighting their will.  However, when the time comes for Jesus to be handed over and His purpose to be fulfilled, He does wake them.  The disciples will learn much about themselves in the very next few moments of their life, and as difficult as it is for them to go through it, Jesus does not want them to miss what is happening.  Jesus wakes them and prepares them for what is about to happen.  By telling them up front that they come out to hand Him over into the hands of sinners, Jesus is telling them that He knows what is happening.  This doesn’t make it okay, nor does it make it easier to go through.  But at the very least the disciples know that Jesus understands what is happening.

Where has Jesus let you wallow in your futility and inability to resist temptation?  Have you had a time in your life when you went through something very difficult but you at least knew and understood that what was happening was not a surprise?  How does knowing that someone is in control help us go through difficult times?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 26:47-50