Eyes Open

""Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. "Couldn't you men keep watch with Me for one hour?" He asked Peter"- Matthew 26:40 (NIV).

Jesus didn't say, "Couldn't you men keep watch for one hour." This is the first time I contemplated the 'watch with Me' part of His question to Peter. Jesus didn't just want His followers to watch, but watch with Him. At first blush, you might think Jesus wasn't wanting to be alone, these His final hours, but I think He was thinking of them. They were about to go through a very traumatic event...and they were sleeping. They should have been watching for their own accord. We are never quite as anxious, fearful, or excited when it doesn't concern us or we think it's not pertinent to our well-being. But, when the shoe is on the other foot, sleep isn't going to pull us under its spell. In fact, sleep would be hard to find, just as it was for Jesus. Jesus had given them warnings that the the Shepherd would be struck and the sheep scattered (Matthew 26:31). Jesus had told Peter he would deny Him three times that night (v.34). Don't berate Peter. We are all "Peters." Jesus has warned us what is to come and we are to "watch and pray" (26:41). Watch and pray; or will we be found sleeping at our post, like Peter, and the other disciples? Jesus may seem slow in coming, but He IS coming. Don't let His return become a traumatic event, but, instead, a joyous gathering for those who have kept their faith alive...and their eyes open.