April 2nd 2012

Have you ever wondering why the disciples couldn’t stay awake in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Read Matthew 26:36-46 and journal your thoughts

This part of the story has always seemed strange to me; I mean why couldn’t these guys just stay awake? I mean if their Rabbi is stressed out enough to the point where his sweat “was like drops of blood” (Luke 22:44 NASB) you would think something major was going on. You would think they would be at least a bit on edge. So why couldn’t they stay awake?

To help us answer this question, let’s look at it from another point of view. Think about Thanksgiving morning, getting up early preparing everything for this sacred (in the sense that everything has to be perfect) meal. You run around a hot kitchen going from one piece of the meal to another, trying to get everything just right. Finally everything is ready, and you can sit down for a few minutes and enjoy this meal you’ve worked so hard on. But this is short lived, because as soon as the meal is over there is the tedious and overwhelming task of doing the dishes. Finally there comes that moment when everything is done and you can finally sit down. Before long, you are out. It is easy to blame it on the tryptophan but in reality you’ve been so busy your body has just had enough.

Now, put yourself in a first century Jewish setting, think about working not with the modern conveniences we have today, but with ancient cooking tools. Think about cooking a whole lamb (bigger than a turkey) and making matzah bread from scratch. Think about all the other parts of the Passover meal.

Now imagine it’s late, the traditional Passover wouldn’t end until about midnight. It’s dark, late, and you are full from the feast (not to mention 4 large cups of wine). You’ve been on your feet working all day on this massive meal and you finally have a chance to sit down (Side note: they had also been traveling the days just before the last supper). Of course you would fall asleep! Your body is done, and there is nothing on earth that is going to keep you awake!

**NOTE: All the journals this week were inspired and heavily influenced by Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. I cannot recommend this book enough!

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