Jesus' Enduring Faith

This morning I am continuing my reflections on the happenings right before Jesus' passion, death and resurrection.  Today is Holy Thursday, and often the main focus is the Last Supper, and rightly so, for that event and the conversations and prayers that occurred then are key elements to our faith.  This morning through, I am going to spend some time reflecting on the beginning of Jesus' passion, which starts in the Garden prior to His betrayal.  All four of the Gospels have accounts of this, but I am going to use the one found in Matthew 26:36-46 NIV:

[36] "Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” [37] He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. [38] Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

[39] Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

[40] Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. [41] “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

[42] He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” [43] When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. [44] So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

[45] Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. [46] Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”


The first thing that ran through my mind this morning, as I was reading through the different accounts of Jesus' time in the garden, was that Jesus was clearly sorrowful about what was to come, but also was sorrowful about leaving His disciples and the 12.  This group of men were His closest companions, and HE knew the impact that His coming passion and death would have on them.

Lately, I have been really seeing and reflecting on His love for and compassion towards His followers.  Jesus had come to reveal the Father, and these were the men that He had chosen and entrusted with all He had shared and taught. He came to restore the ability to have relationship with the Father, and His Gospel was founded on relationships - ours with God and ours with each other.  Thus, His relationships with these men were the bonds that united them, gave them purpose, and set their destinies in place.  As a representative of the Father, and as man, Jesus knew the great grief that would soon overwhelm them.

The second thing that struck me was the weakness of the Peter, James and John.  These were his closest companions amongst the 12, and He had just spoken of their coming abandonment of Him, and now mere hours later they fail to do what He asks, for them to keep watch with Him.  I am sure as the next events unfolded they beat themselves up over and over again about their inability to stay awake during their last hours with Jesus.  I am just so aware of our human frailty, our weakness and inability, and yet Jesus was entrusting the Church into their hands, so clearly He had a better perspective.

This gives me encouragement that in the midst of my own weakness and frailty, that the Lord has a different perspective about me, and it is not affected by my failures or sin.  He knows who I am, and knows who I become, and all that I will ever accomplish.  He still chooses me as a companion, and even thought I fail in what He asks me to do, He does not lose faith in me.  I am reminded of something Paul wrote that basically says that exact thing.  Here is Paul's take on that topic found in 2 Timothy 2:13 NIV:  "if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

Lord, thank You for Your enduring faith in me, Your enduring faith in the Church.  Even though we are weak and frail, You are strong! 

Amen!