Matthew 26:40-45
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.
44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
We want to follow Jesus, but sometimes we fail.
Jesus tells us to pray so we will not fall for temptations.
The Lord knows we want to obey Him but warns us our flesh is weak.
This account in these verses happened with His closest, most trusted disciples.
They had been with Him for three years of His ministry.
They witnessed firsthand Jesus' miracles.
They loved Him.
Yet, in this hour of His need, when Jesus asked for their support, they failed.
I don't say this to pick on them.
We are human and we fail at times.
Sometimes, we commit the same error repeatedly.
Just like they did here.
This doesn't mean they did not want to do better; it just means they were flawed humans.
Two quick things to take away from this.
Jesus did not disown them or condemn them, though He did reprimand them.
They were still His disciples.
His apostles.
Their failures did not mean they were hopeless or worthless.
It just meant they weren't perfect.
We need to try harder and not give up.
Yes, we're going to have failures.
But we can't let those failures stop us.
We must repent, accept the Lord's forgiveness, and make effort to change.
Do not become discouraged or quit.
Jesus did not give up on the apostles and He does not give up on us.
Don't ever give up on following the Lord.
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