Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?
Matthew 26:40-45
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
When Jesus asked the question, one cannot help hear the disappointment in His voice, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" After all, three times He went to His disciples to ask for prayer support, three times He prayed alone. This wasn't the only time the disciples apparently fell short of the expectations Jesus had for them.
On another occasion (Mark 8:14-21), Jesus and the disciples were crossing the lake and the disciples were bemoaning the fact that they had forgotten to bring along some bread. Jesus again makes no effort to hide His disappointment when He says, "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. "And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven." He said to them, "Do you still not understand?" When the disciples were unable to heal the boy who was tormented by an evil spirit, Jesus said, "O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?" (Matthew 17:17) After hearing a particularly difficult teaching of Jesus, some of the followers abandoned Him. Again, Jesus is obviously disappointed as He turns to the remaining few and asks, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" (John 6:67) And on at least three different occasions Jesus chided the disciples with the words "O ye of little faith." (Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 16:8) Now, near the end of His mission, He asks, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" Perhaps there are those who would fault Jesus for this way of treating His disciples. Doesn't it sound like He's putting them down? Is He belittling them in order to motivate them to step up and try harder? In His full humanity, Jesus feels the feelings of the disappointed, and honestly expresses those feelings to those who are close to him. No, He's not using "reverse psychology," or trying to make them feel bad to get them to want to do better. Unfortunately, there are many of our contemporaries who have employed these kinds of tactics. Military commanders and sports coaches have too often been very harsh with their comments, at times angrily yelling at soldiers and athletes, calling them names, trying to shame them into a higher level of performance. Even some parents have adopted this technique, calling their children "stupid," or saying such things as "you'll never amount to anything." They may have been well-meaning, but their strategy was wrong, and many adults today still struggle with feelings of inadequacy, or are still convinced that they can never do enough to please their father or mother. On the other side of the coin are those parents who are not willing to address, in any way, the wrong behavior or attitudes of their children for fear of damaging their self-esteem. They are like the mother sitting in the audience watching the eighth grade graduates march down the aisle to the beat of the school band playing a well-practiced version of "Pomp and Circumstance." "Look," she proudly exclaimed, "My son Johnny is the only one marching in step with the music!"
No we don't want to, as Paul instructed in Ephesians 6:4, "provoke our children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." At the same time, we must not overlook the unacceptable behaviors, and properly train them in the correct paths. This, in fact, is what Jesus is attempting to do with His disciples. Besides our noting in this story where Jesus was calling attention to the disciples apparent lack of motivation to pray, there are a few more observations we can make from this passage. 1) The NIV inserts the word "men" in the text where Jesus addresses his slumbering disciples. Obviously that's correct because all of them were men, at least in this group of the eleven (although there were also women included in the larger disciple band). It would be unfortunate for us to pass up this opportunity to remind the men of today that prayer is a manly thing to do. Tradesmen and professional men alike were included among Jesus' disciples, and they all were encouraged to "watch and pray" - and so are we. Certainly men are happier when they are busy at work, but there comes a time when "doing" stops and "praying" starts. Notice too that the word "watch" is included - men are called upon to watch over the flock, like a good shepherd would do his sheep. 2) That Jesus prayed the same prayer for a third time shows that He realized He was all alone in this. Perhaps the first and second time He spoke with the men, He still had a hope that they would respond, but when He went back to His lonely spot for the third time, it certainly was clear to Him, He was all alone in this. The message for us is that while it is a good thing to ask others to pray with us, we also need to be ready to pray alone - that no one is available to pray with us does not exempt us from doing the hard work of prayer.
3) Another important observation from this story is the concern Jesus demonstrated toward His disciples. In the end, it wasn't so much about Jesus feeling lonely and in need of support. The main reason they needed to pray was because if they didn't, they would succumb to temptation - and of course in the end that's exactly what did happen. Jesus wanted them to understand that just having a willing spirit, having good intentions, was not sufficient, the flesh also needed to be strengthened. Evidently He believed that it would be through prayer that this strength would come, and as a result they would be able to stand in the hour of trial. 4) But one of the most significant observations from this passage is that the cup of suffering wasn't taken from Jesus just because He prayed. This is a lesson His disciples, and we also, need to learn. Did you ever wonder how this prayer of Jesus, the words He prayed, ever got into print? If He prayed alone, who could have known what was said? Obviously, though He removed Himself from them, He didn't pray a silent prayer, and they were close enough, and still awake enough, to hear His desperate plea. We remember another time when this happened - disciples eavesdropping on the praying Master, and then asking Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11) . In this Garden hideaway prayer, I'm sure Jesus wanted his disciples to hear so they could learn to pray as He prayed. In this case, the hope is that we would pray this same prayer, to pray to be free from suffering, but ultimately express a willingness for the will of the Father to be done. In other words, there are times when the cup of affliction must be drunk. Allow me to share a story which comes from ancient history.
Not long after they settled on their African estates and began to frequent the salons of Carthage, the more intellectual among them began to wonder aloud if perhaps their new religion, Christianity, might be blamed for the disaster they had suffered. After all, the argument ran, Rome had been immune from capture for fully eight hundred years; but now, just two decades after the formal end of the public worship of the pagan gods (commanded by the emperor Theodosius in 391), the city had fallen to the barbarians. Perhaps it was true what pagans had said, that the new Christian God, with ideas about turning the other cheek and holding worldly empires in low esteem, was not an efficient guardian of the best interests of the ruling class. Most of the people who indulged in these idle speculations were themselves Christian. The "paganism" of these people did not represent a revival of ancient religion, but only the persistence of the ancient notion that religion is a bargain you strike with the gods in order to preserve your health, wealth, and complacency. Marcellinus, a friend and imperial commissioner, asked Augustine to respond to these issues. Augustine knew that it was more than a question of why Rome fell; here were Christians who still did not know what Christianity was about, how it differed from the Roman religions it had replaced. His response was a masterpiece of Christian apologetics, "The City of God." In Book 1, Chapter 8, this is what Augustine explained: "Wherefore, though good and bad men suffer alike, we must not suppose that there is no difference between the men themselves, because there is no difference in what they both suffer. For even in the likeness of the sufferings, there remains an unlikeness in the sufferers; and though exposed to the same anguish, virtue and vice are not the same thing." Augustine then illustrated this by using several metaphors: fire causes gold to glow brightly, but the same fire causes chaff to smoke; a threshing instrument beats the straw small, but cleanses the grain. In the same way, he pointed out, "the same violence of affliction proves, purges, clarifies the good, but damns, ruins, exterminates the wicked. And thus it is that in the same affliction the wicked detest God and blaspheme, while the good pray and praise. So material a difference does it make, not what ills are suffered, but what kind of man suffers them. For, stirred up with the same movement, mud exhales a horrible stench, and ointment emits a fragrant odor." When Jesus asked Peter and the others the question, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" if He had waited for their answer, their excuse probably would have been, "C'mon Jesus, we're way too tired to pray. We've had a long, hard day, we just completed a big meal which caused this drowsiness, and besides, the conversation around the table was very depressing." If Jesus confronted us with the reality of our own prayerlessness, I wonder, what would be our excuse?
"I prefer to talk with someone I can see." "I didn't get an answer the last time I prayed." "I've got enough of my own problems, I can't take on anyone else's." We also might use the "I'm too tired" line, or "You don't understand the stress I'm already under, I can't handle another requirement that would take up more of my time." It's a shame that we place prayer along side other activities competing with our time. It would be like planning to build a house and saying, "Should I build a foundation or put on vinyl siding?" Prayer is the foundation for all other activities. A while ago someone compiled a list of excuses that people use for not going to church, and applied them to another important area of life. The list could be called "Top Ten Reasons Not To Wash."
2. None of my friends wash. 3. I was forced to as a child. 4. People who make soap are only after your money. 5. People who wash are hypocrites - they think they are cleaner than everyone else. 6. There are so many different kinds of soap, I can't decide which one is best. 7. I used to wash, but it got boring, so I stopped. 8. The bathroom is never warm enough in the winter or cool enough in the summer. 9. I'll start washing when I get older and dirtier. 10. I wash on special occasions like Christmas and Easter. What are our excuses not to be praying as Jesus taught us to pray? Conclusion: As with any other church in existence today, Crossroads Church began in a prayer meeting. During its 65 year history, our church has had its share of both valleys and mountains. After the initial prayer meetings in the home of Alice Anderson, the next high point came when the church occupied the property which is now the parking lot for the First Union Bank at the corner of Route 94 and Orchard Street. According to the town historian, Marrion E. Wood, during the summer ". . . a tent was set up and revival meetings held every night for a week or two. The services usually lasted a couple of hours and the music could be heard all over downtown Hamburg. As the hour grew late the congregation grew more fervent; loud "amens" could be heard echoing down the block. By day the tent was used to conduct the Vacation Bible School which lasted for a two-week period. Bible School always seemed to be well attended by children from the Hamburg community as well as from the church." When the size of the congregation became too large for the three story house on the corner, the first section of land where the present church stands was purchased with money from the sale of the corner lot. With very limited resources, using lumber taken from another church building and with lots of volunteer hours, the first church was built. Then came the first valley experience when the pastor left town because his daughter had been molested by a church member. In the late 60s and early 70s the next high point was realized as the congregation recovered and grew - first the parsonage was built and then the sanctuary where we now worship. But when there was a pastoral change, and the church was left with an oppressive debt load, there came another valley experience for the church. A third peak was realized in the late 80s and early 90s. Not only was the church filling up again, even having two services on Sunday morning, but two daughter churches were established with people and funds from Crossroads. Then came another plunge as the church became embroiled in a dispute that seemed to have no other resolution other than a very harmful split - large numbers of people left the congregation and sent it into a downward spiral which lasted several years. And here we are, poised and eager to see another climb. The question is, where do we begin? How do we find our new vision, and determine our ministry strategy for this time and place? The only answer I can suggest is a very old answer, we must begin with prayer. This is how the first church got its start in a Jerusalem "Upper Room" prayer meeting which lasted 10 days. When persecution threatened to derail it, the early Christians went back to the prayer room (Acts 4:24-31); the call to expand throughout the Gentile world of the Roman Empire came out of a prayer meeting (Acts 13:1-3); when leaders were needed, the tactic was the same, call for prayer and fasting (Acts 14:23). We are aware that there are those who would say, "But praying is the Pastor's job. He should, like Moses, go up the mountain, talk with God, and then come down and tell us what God said." While this may be the way of the Old Testament, it's not the way of the New, which is more accurately characterized by the words of James in Acts 15:28, "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and us." How will it be possible for the "us" to find out what the Lord wants for His church, Crossroads Church, in Hamburg, Sussex County, New Jersey? By "us" doing the praying. The question I leave you with is similar to that first asked by Jesus of His disciples, "Will you watch with me one hour?"
Matthew 26:40-45 1. What examples can be found where Jesus expressed disappointment in His disciples? (John 14:8,9; Mark 8:14-21; Matthew 17:17; John 6:67; Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 16:8) 2. What is the danger of using "put-downs" as a motivational technique? 3. Does the avoidance of angrily scolding of our children mean we should not address wrong behavior and attitudes? If not, what is the better way to address them? 4. What particular hindrances must men overcome to be faithful to the Lord's request to pray? 5. According to Jesus' example, if no one is available to pray with you, what should you do? 6. What was an important reason Jesus wanted His disciples to "watch and pray" in the Garden? 7. Why do you suppose Jesus didn't remove Himself further from His disciples so that they would not be able to hear Him pray? If this is a teaching prayer, what was the lesson? 8. How did Augustine use fire, threshing instruments and the stirring of mud to point out the difference between the sufferings of the good and the wicked? 9. If they had verbalized them, what excuses would the disciples have made for not praying? 10. What is an important distinction between the activity of prayer as compared with all other time consuming activities? 11. During the formation years of the Christian church of the first century, how did prayer play a part? 12. Why is the "Moses Method" (the leader alone hearing from God, then relaying the message to the people) no longer appropriate for the New Testament church?  - - Return to Top of this Page  - Email a Link to this Page
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