Will you watch with me?


     Gethsemane was a place of crushing.  Here, in the agony of prayer, Jesus' sweat fell like great drops of blood and an angel from heaven came to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43).  Interfacing with the angel reinvigorated the Lord.  He would be strong enough now to face the lethally violent confrontation with the enemy of God. 
     The angel’s appearance to Jesus in His moment of extreme crisis is the first time this verb “to strengthen or invigorate” (Gk. enischuo) is used in the NT.  Properly, it means being strong enough to face necessary confrontation, that is, engage resistance.  In this case, Jesus resisted His own will and bowed before the will of His Father. Physical death was not averted, but neither was resurrection.
      When Jesus asked His closest friends, “Will you not watch with me one hour?” there is no doubt that the death knell was already ringing for Him.  He had made it very clear to all His disciples that His death was imminent. The selected disciples were willing to watch with their Lord, but their weak flesh overcame their spiritual resolve.  
      The question of what could have happened hangs in the air, unasked. Would Father God have needed to send an angel?  Is that the part the disciples could have played?  What a privilege that would have been.  As the old saying goes, "Coulda, woulda, shoulda..."



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