Jesus' Followers : Let Him Down

After Jesus and His friends arrived at the garden of olive trees called Gethsemane, Jesus told His followers, “Stay here while I go over there to pray.” Then He took Peter, James and John a little further away to pray with Him. Jesus’ heart was heavy with sadness and pain.

He told them, “My soul is deeply sad, so sad it feels like I will die. Stay with Me. Stay awake and alert with Me.”

Then Jesus went on a little ways and got down on the ground and prayed, “Abba, Daddy, if at all possible, please let Me not have to do this painful thing. But it’s not about what I want, but what You want!”

When Jesus returned to His followers, He found them all sleeping. That was hurtful to Jesus. He woke them up, saying, “Couldn’t you have at least stayed awake with Me for one hour? Stay alert and pray so that you’ll not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the mind and body are weak.”

Then Jesus went off a little ways again and prayed, “Abba, Daddy, if there’s any possible way, let Me not have to go through this painful thing. But whatever You want to happen, let that be what happens!”

When Jesus came back to His disciples, they had fallen asleep again. This time He just sadly left them sleeping and went back to pray again.

He asked His Dad the same thing just one more time. His heart and body were in so much pain that He started sweating blood.

After that Jesus went to His followers again and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It’s time. The Son of Man is going to be given over into the hands of sinners. Get up, let’s go. The one who turned against Me is coming.”

And just then, there came Judas! And he wasn’t alone. There were soldiers, religious leaders, lanterns, torches and weapons.

Jesus knew everything that was about to happen to Him, so He stepped up and asked the soldiers and the officers of the chief priests and law experts, “Who are you looking for?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I‘m the one you want,” Jesus said, “so you can let the others here go.”

But Peter didn’t want these soldiers to take Jesus, so he rushed forward and attacked one of the soldiers with his sword, cutting off the man’s ear!

But Jesus told him, “Oh no, no, Peter. Put away your sword! Whatever My Father asks Me to do, I Do!”

“Don’t you know that I could call out to My Father and He would send Me thousands upon thousands of angels if I asked? But if I did that, then how could the scriptures be fulfilled? The seers of long ago all said this would happen.“

Did you know?

Jesus knew there was something way bigger going on. Way bigger than just that moment. This was the beginning of the fulfillment of the ages.

Do you want to know something else? For any of us who become a follower of Jesus, we’ll find this to be true at times in our lives too. So often there will be painful things — clear choices to help fulfill God’s dream and purposes for our lives and for the world. Clear choices to See Bigger than just that moment or just our feelings. It might even involve painful things that we could get out of, but we say, “In order to fulfill Your Purposes and see Your Dream Come True, I’m doing what my Daddy asks.”

Then Jesus reached out and healed the soldier’s cut ear.

But the soldiers still tied Jesus up and took Him away.

Then all Jesus’ friends — those who had followed Him day after day for more than three years — ran away and left Jesus.

Peter tried to watch what was happening to Jesus from a distance. But before the night was over, three times people asked Peter, “Aren’t you this man Jesus’ follower?”

And three times Peter said, “No! I’m not.” “I don’t even know Him!” “I told you I didn’t know Him.” And as he was still saying this, the rooster crowed again, and right then, Jesus turned and looked straight at Peter. Everything had happened just as Jesus said. Peter had denied he even knew Jesus. Then Peter went out and cried bitterly.

Jesus’ friends had let Him down.