Peter, James, and John followed close behind Jesus as he lead them through the trees of Gethsemane. It was dark was out, and their torches flickered in the light breeze, which was also accented with olive scent. In the daylight, this was one of the most scenic places. It was no mystery why Jesus liked to visit it often. It was usually undisturbed, making it a quiet, peaceful place to reflect and pray. The disciples assumed that was what Jesus wanted to do there, but it was unusual for them to visit at night. Yet, it was not quite unusual that Jesus signaled them out to accompany Him. They had been with Jesus during the Transfiguration. He seemed to favor them. They didn't mind it too much. They liked getting the extra attention from Him; it made them feel important. There was something in the back of their minds though that reminded them perhaps Jesus signaled them out because they were the best ones to handle the biggest trials.
Tonight could have been one such trial. The three disciples were still somber after Jesus' speech to them at the Passover meal. They were still confused by parts of what He had said. John secretly intended to write down as much of Jesus' words as possible so he could never forget them. They didn't dare speak a word. It was extremely unusual that Jesus, the most hopeful of them all, would be so distressed. Their hearts ached for Him, but they didn't know what they could say to help them. What can you say to comfort the Son of God? To tell you the truth, they were scared.
Once the four men had traveled a good five minutes away from the other disciples (Mark 14:32), Jesus stopped in a small clearing. There was a large-crowned tree with a rock and some other trees nearby. He turned around to His three remaining disciples. "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch. Pray that you may not enter into temptation." (Mark 14:34 and Luke 22:40).
Peter, James, and John nodded and sat down underneath the large tree and watched as Jesus walked towards the other trees yards away.
"I wish there was something we could do for him," John said.
"I suppose pray, as he said," his brother replied.
"But what do you suppose he meant by not entering temptation? Tempted by what?" Peter demanded.
John shrugged. "Maybe he knows someone is coming that might tempt us to disobey him."
"But how?"
"I wish I knew."
James knelt down and started praying aloud for them, reflecting on the emotions of that night which was filling their minds. They remembered the fear of knowing they would have to suffer terrible things but not knowing what, the pain and sadness of knowing their joyous times with Jesus would come to an end, the helplessness they felt, the guilt of thinking they might have done anything to harm Him, the confusion of the bread and wine, and most importantly, the deep compassion they felt for Jesus' pain. They could see it written all over His face. The Master was innocent. He didn't deserve this. James voice quivered until he couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and the word, "Please" faded on his lips. John gave his brother a hug and wiped away a few tears. Even Peter, the one who hardly showed any weakness in front of anyone, sniffed loudly.
The darkness and silence was actually comforting to them, and they leaned against the tree and closed their eyes, just for a moment. It was too easy for them, and they quickly dosed off. Jesus' gentle voice startled them awake again.
He addressed the disciple closet to Him. "Simon, are you sleeping?"
All three of them started awake.
"Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14: 37-38)
They hung their heads in shame, and Jesus walked back to His spot.
"I can't believe we fell asleep!" Peter spat as he jumped to his feet.
James commented, "I didn't feel like we were asleep for an hour."
"We have been traveling all day, and tonight has been stressful for us all," John added, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"That's no excuse!" Peter replied. "I refuse to let him down." He walked a few feet away and stared into the distance, near to the area was Jesus was praying.
"What are you doing?" John asking, shifting his position under the tree.
"Keeping watch, like Jesus said."
"Good idea," James yawned. "I'll watch this side." He stood opposite from Peter.
"I'll watch from the front," John said, still sitting.
As the minutes stretched on, one by one they eyelids grew heavy. John was the first to drop. James kept yawning and fell asleep standing up. Peter paced back and forth and even jumped a little, but the longer he stared at the endless black, the harder it was to keep his eyes open. He eventually sat down because his feet were tired and fell asleep as well. At some point, each man prayed, but they did not try hard enough.
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