36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
Gethsemane was familiar ground on the west side of the Mount of Olives, with a full view of the temple mount in Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It was a time for humble, earnest, heart-wrenching prayer. The entire band was with Him there, but Jesus separated out three of them. We often call them the inner circle, Peter, James and John—the same three He took up on the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5 see also Mark 5:36). For reasons not explicitly stated, the Lord included these three for certain, special intimacies of ministry. Peter seemed to be somewhat a leader of the twelve, or at least the most outspoken. John was known as the “beloved disciple,” as he so references himself in his gospel account.
James was not especially noteworthy other than he was John’s brother and one of the first disciples called to follow Jesus. But then Andrew was Peter’s brother and one of the first called but he wasn’t part of the inner three. In fact, both John and James rather selfishly aspired to positions of prominence over the other disciples (Luke 10:35-37). And James became the first apostle martyred after the resurrection (Acts 12). Why Jesus selected these three must remain a mystery for now. One thing it does tell us is that Jesus’ selection was not based on their sterling qualities and accomplishments. Remember, He also chose Judas as one of the twelve!
Jesus separated Himself from the disciples, taking the inner three with Him. His task was to pray. One would think that after three years of following their Rabbi, they would have been accustomed to doing what the Rabbi did. In fact, as recorded in Luke 22:40, Jesus instructed them to, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” But this must have puzzled them—what could possibly tempt them in the middle of the night? It becomes clear to us as readers that the temptation was about to become obvious. Temptation to sleep when they should be praying. Temptation to flee when Jesus was arrested. Temptation to deny Christ when accused. Temptation to abandon faith when Jesus would be buried before the next day was out. Is it any wonder Jesus’ soul was “deeply grieved, to the point of death.” But there are other things grieving Him as well.
Lord Jesus, I am sorry for causing You grief when I fall into temptation, and even when I fail to take Your warning seriously about falling into temptation.
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