Matthew 26:36-38 36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37And taking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful to the point of death; stay here and watch with me.”
Jesus and his disciples made their way to the garden of Gethsemane. This place was likely on the Mount of Olives where the group had gone. It is possible that Jesus and his disciples had spent time there before since Judas knew where the group had gone. Jesus gives his disciples simple instructions to sit and pray, which would help them and him. They were exhausted from a busy week. Sitting and praying in such condition is asking for trouble, as we find out in verse 40 resulting in them being asleep instead of praying. We should not wait until the end of the day when we are tired to pray. Our minds will not be clear and our eyes will become heavy. Matthew does not record anything specific Jesus asked the large group to pray for, but there was much on the prayer list. Spending time in prayer would have better prepared them for the trials that were about to come upon them.
Jesus took his three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, a little further away. These three had experienced things the others had not, such as the transfiguration. They should have had deeper insights into his identity. Because they knew Jesus more intimately, they could support him in prayer in a special way as only those closest to us can. The quietness of the garden allowed the looming path of suffering to take the forefront. Sorrowful and troubled in verse 37 are words that mean sad, stressed, anxious, and troubled. The word sorrowful in verse 38 is an even more intense, deep grief. Jesus’ should was as heavy as it could be, to the point of death. He faced more than the executioner. Before him was the weight of the sins of the world and separation from the Father.
Perhaps in this story more than any other recorded in the Gospels we see the humanity of Jesus. Jesus needed his three closest disciples to support him by watching. What would they watch? Watching can be interpreted as spiritual alertness. The disciples need to have their senses alert so that they would be ready for what was about to come. In modern terms, we might say that they needed their spiritual batteries full.
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