Daily Manna – January 30, 2016
Topic: From the beginning it was not so 75
Scripture: Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34)
Note: The three disciples who were with Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, slept on the job when they were supposed to be watching over their Master, praying with him through the toughest battle of his short earthly life and ministry. On all three occasions that Jesus checked on their readiness and alertness, on all three occasions, he found them compromised and negligent, displaying gross dereliction on duty.
The three disciples were all surprisingly dead asleep on duty. Yet these three disciples were the best prepared among his select disciples. They were there on merit because Jesus had spent quality time with these three. They had experienced the supernatural in a way never experienced by the other nine disciples. They were there with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration where the true identity of Christ was revealed to them as superior in person, position and purpose to both Moses and Elijah, who were representative icons for the law and the prophets respectively.
They had no excuse for failing miserably and recklessly, even after they had been prompted the first occasion by Christ on the need to stay awake, watching and praying for their own sake, so that they could escape unnecessary temptation. On the second and third occasions that Christ checked on them, finding them still asleep, he left them to continue sleeping. Coincidentally and unfortunately, it was the same time the disciples were sleeping that the deal for Christ’s betrayal was concluded by Judas.
Food for thought: Was it a coincidence that the betrayal deal succeeded at the same time that the disciples were sleeping? May Christ never give up on us, prompting us to pray.
Declaration: Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. (Matt 26:45)
© Author: Rev Fred Aboe
