129. Thursday after First Sunday in Lent.
Keep our eyes awake, O God. Amen.
Matthew 26, 45-48. 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. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
❦
The disciples were unable to keep awake. A peculiar drowsiness was upon them. What; is even Peter unable to watch? Can he not watch one hour with the Lord? Alas! Peter, who wanted to give his life for him, cannot forego one hour’s sleep for him. — Do ye still sleep? saith the Lord; the hour is at hand when the shepherd shall be smitten and the sheep scattered, now that the time when you are to be sifted breaks in upon you. Yes, they did not let him wake them; they fell asleep at the very time when he, in his burning love and care for them, struggled vehemently and suffered the agony of death for their sake. Let another, then, rouse them from their sleep. — When we also, who now believe in the Lord Jesus, are so heavy with sleep that his love and suffering and the faithful work of his Spirit in our heart cannot keep us awake, he finds it necessary to let the tempter come upon us, with the result that we either wake up and repent, or remain thrown down like bits of the wreck after a storm. — Judas was awake while the others slept. How powerful a sermon is preached by this fact! See, there he comes. He should have been a leader in the army of light, and now he leads the mob of Satan, which is advancing for the purpose of seizing Christ. And this man was one of Jesus’ disciples! What an opportunity for the devil to taunt the Lord; to wound and maltreat him, who loved so ardently and was so full of zeal for the good, the true, and the honor of God! And yet he does not denounce his flock. Even Judas would have found mercy had he repented and turned from his wickedness. And it is by reason of the Lord’s long-suffering patience and fidelity that he has saved all the disciples, excepting only that son of perdition, and has rescued thousands and millions from the clutches of the sneering enemy, in spite of the fact that all of us are so wretchedly sleepy. This is the kind of Savior of whom we were in need, one who would suffer all this, and endure us, and pray for us, when we are offended because of him. Such a Savior we needed, and such a Savior we have. Praise be to God!
By thy grace, Lord Jesus, and by the power of thy Spirit, which since the day of Pentecost reigns in thy church, will we watch and obtain victory over the devil; by thy grace, by that alone. — Thou shalt keep us in thine eye and hand, and never relax thy hold on us; this we believe and know, and it is our strength and our joy. Amen.
Watch! ’tis your Lord’s command;
And while we speak he’s near;
Mark the first signal of his hand,
And ready all appear.
Oh, happy servant he,
In such a posture found!
He shall his Lord with rapture see,
And be with honor crowned.