As I am reading through the gospel of Christ Jesus, in three books, our beloved Savior gives His disciples a fair warning: "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation." (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38 and Luke 22:40 & 22: 46) I had a friend shine light on this scripture and I wish to share it with whoever reads this. It has been taught to us that whenever anything is repeated then it is relevant and should be remembered, this reading rule also applies to scripture.
Jesus commanded His disciples to pray against temptation before they were aware of what was about to happen. It is possible that His disciples believed they were about to have another normal night of sleep however the reality was that in a matter of moments, their Lord was about to be betrayed and arrested. Instead of being obedient to Jesus, their flesh grew weak and the disciples kept falling asleep (Matthew 26: 40-46; Mark 14:37-42). Then it dawned on me how often we decide to pray for strength WHILE we are being tempted but it is clear that we are to pray before temptation even presents itself. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us that the devil is prowling around seeking to kill and destroy us so we are to be sober-minded and vigilant. Later on in the passage of Jesus's arrest, we see what happens to those who does not pray before temptation presents itself. When the high priests and guards came for Jesus, His disciples were so confused and distorted it actually led to one of them chopping off the ear of a guard with his sword. In other words, he fell under the temptation of anger and frustration. Jesus then chastised the disciple saying, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you not think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" (Matthew 26:52-54) Then Jesus, being The Lord we are in love with, showed His grace and mercy by healing His persecutor by restoring his ear (Luke 22: 49-52).
A huge part of the difference in reactions between Jesus and His disciples are tied into their own self- confidence of their identity. Jesus knew whose He was therefore it always affected His responses. This is what He wants for us, to be completely confident in whose we are that it affects our words, thoughts, behavior and actions (John 17:20-26). This is a way of discerning the world's people from God's people. So let us pray beforehand, diligently, so when the time comes, we choose to not act of our flesh but instead with a clear mind and all spirit.
Jesus commanded His disciples to pray against temptation before they were aware of what was about to happen. It is possible that His disciples believed they were about to have another normal night of sleep however the reality was that in a matter of moments, their Lord was about to be betrayed and arrested. Instead of being obedient to Jesus, their flesh grew weak and the disciples kept falling asleep (Matthew 26: 40-46; Mark 14:37-42). Then it dawned on me how often we decide to pray for strength WHILE we are being tempted but it is clear that we are to pray before temptation even presents itself. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us that the devil is prowling around seeking to kill and destroy us so we are to be sober-minded and vigilant. Later on in the passage of Jesus's arrest, we see what happens to those who does not pray before temptation presents itself. When the high priests and guards came for Jesus, His disciples were so confused and distorted it actually led to one of them chopping off the ear of a guard with his sword. In other words, he fell under the temptation of anger and frustration. Jesus then chastised the disciple saying, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you not think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" (Matthew 26:52-54) Then Jesus, being The Lord we are in love with, showed His grace and mercy by healing His persecutor by restoring his ear (Luke 22: 49-52).
A huge part of the difference in reactions between Jesus and His disciples are tied into their own self- confidence of their identity. Jesus knew whose He was therefore it always affected His responses. This is what He wants for us, to be completely confident in whose we are that it affects our words, thoughts, behavior and actions (John 17:20-26). This is a way of discerning the world's people from God's people. So let us pray beforehand, diligently, so when the time comes, we choose to not act of our flesh but instead with a clear mind and all spirit.
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