When Jesus Christ was about to face his death, he told His disciples to watch and pray, lest they fall into temptation.What are they to watch/ stay alert for if it's not to watch/ stay alert for Jesus Christ's second coming (Since Jesus hav'nt died yet at that time)?And if they are to pray for not going to enter into temptation, what temptations are Jesus' disciples facing at that time?This question have baffled me for quite a long time, 'why sleep ye? rise up and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.'
Who can answer this question?!
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It could have been the temptation of denial of Christ, as peter was warned just hours befor, the power that was merging upon them to arrest Christ no doubt brought fear to the hearts of all the Dicsiples, it could have been easy for them to fall to the powers working to suppress and destroy the work of Christ
quote{This question have baffled me for quite a long time, 'why sleep ye? rise up and pray, lest ye enter into temptation{quotestrongs concordance gives the following as one of the diffentions to the word sleep : to be indifferent to one's salvationChrist was soon going to be put to death for the salvation of all instead of praying and thanking God. they were sleeping i.e. showing indifferance to their salvation I believe Jesus was teaching all of us in this statement We wonder around taking care of our daily unimportant things all the while asleep at the wheel so to speak of to whats really important .He is teaching us to Wake up pray and thank God for our salvation,or we can be tempted into sin. It has nothing to do with how many hours a christain sleeps or anything to do with the devil having influence over us when we sleep.
Pay attention and stay close to Jesus. To fall asleep, is to drift away. We drift away by allowing the worldly pressures to pull us away from time with God and His word. If we don't feed ourselves spiritually on a daily basis, this drifting begins to occur and we "fall asleep". In my own life, if I don't spend time with God and His word on a daily basis, my thought life begins to drift. When this happens, I am more vulnerable to temptation. This is what those passages mean to me.
When the time comes to sacrifice all, it is neccesary to not fall for the temptation that we need not sacrifice all for the good news of Him who did the same and so follow in His example; justifying that need with the needs of the moment- that is, the needs of the flesh. Grace, we may or may not know, can be used by us against us when, as temptation arises, we allow our hearts to deceive us and by it use grace against us in our duty to resist sin and then allowing for the grace of God to rescue us after we do sin. I am not saying that grace is a bad thing, but God cannot be tempted, and we, if we allow ourselves to be deluded by temptation to sin against the will of our Father, knowing that we can and will be forgiven, can be led to a place where we abuse the grace of God. And this is not a place where we should abide. Jesus, knowing he would endure the sin of the world and pain of excrutiating death, among other spiritual pains, knew in fact he could call the angels of heaven to rescue Him, but rather entered into a place where prayer was needed to absolve Himself of the notion that He might sidestep that which was required. It was prayer that keep Him focused on the will of the Father, and that will led Him to suffering on the cross.This, in essence, was partial of what He spoke to His disciples, and might be one of the primary lessons to be learned by His words and example.
(snaggs;6185)
It could have been the temptation of denial of Christ, as peter was warned just hours befor, the power that was merging upon them to arrest Christ no doubt brought fear to the hearts of all the Dicsiples, it could have been easy for them to fall to the powers working to suppress and destroy the work of Christ
This might be true. Because Peter was the chiefest person who Christ gave the key to, yet Christ says even he would deny Him, therefore they're saddened very much by these words.Adding, because Christ also said earlier that one of them would betray Him during the sharing of bread and wine, yet they knew not exactly who Christ is talking about, all of them was thinking it might be themself.Therefore all of them must have been having an even deeper and more sorrowful heart at that moment (temptation to abandon Christ...very great, the greatest among mankind because they're the elite disciples who follow at Christ's side all the time) during the last hours before Christ's cruifixion.
It could have been the temptation of denial of Christ, as peter was warned just hours befor, the power that was merging upon them to arrest Christ no doubt brought fear to the hearts of all the Dicsiples, it could have been easy for them to fall to the powers working to suppress and destroy the work of Christ
This might be true. Because Peter was the chiefest person who Christ gave the key to, yet Christ says even he would deny Him, therefore they're saddened very much by these words.Adding, because Christ also said earlier that one of them would betray Him during the sharing of bread and wine, yet they knew not exactly who Christ is talking about, all of them was thinking it might be themself.Therefore all of them must have been having an even deeper and more sorrowful heart at that moment (temptation to abandon Christ...very great, the greatest among mankind because they're the elite disciples who follow at Christ's side all the time) during the last hours before Christ's cruifixion.
MickinEngland
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(lastsecman;6181)
...What are they to watch/ stay alert for if it's not to watch/ stay alert for Jesus Christ's second coming (Since Jesus hav'nt died yet at that time)
I've always assumed it to simply mean never drop your guard against Satan..Here are some verses on the same theme-"Put on the full armour of God against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11-18 )"The devil prowls round like a roaring lion" (1 Pet 5:8 )"Don't give the devil a foothold" (Eph 4:27)"Resist the devil and he'll flee from you" (James 4:7)Jesus said to Peter - "Satan wanted to sift you" (Luke 22:31)"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12)Satan is very cunning, he was portrayed very well in the film 'Passion of the Christ' as a sly shadowy figure lurking in the background, quietly watching and planning..Here he is in the film -
...What are they to watch/ stay alert for if it's not to watch/ stay alert for Jesus Christ's second coming (Since Jesus hav'nt died yet at that time)
I've always assumed it to simply mean never drop your guard against Satan..Here are some verses on the same theme-"Put on the full armour of God against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11-18 )"The devil prowls round like a roaring lion" (1 Pet 5:8 )"Don't give the devil a foothold" (Eph 4:27)"Resist the devil and he'll flee from you" (James 4:7)Jesus said to Peter - "Satan wanted to sift you" (Luke 22:31)"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12)Satan is very cunning, he was portrayed very well in the film 'Passion of the Christ' as a sly shadowy figure lurking in the background, quietly watching and planning..Here he is in the film -
(MickinEngland;35665)
I've always assumed it to simply mean never drop your guard against Satan..Here are some verses on the same theme-"Put on the full armour of God against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11-18 )"The devil prowls round like a roaring lion" (1 Pet 5:8 )"Don't give the devil a foothold" (Eph 4:27)"Resist the devil and he'll flee from you" (James 4:7)Jesus said to Peter - "Satan wanted to sift you" (Luke 22:31)"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12)Satan is very cunning, he was portrayed very well in the film 'Passion of the Christ' as a sly shadowy figure lurking in the background, quietly watching and planning..Here he is in the film -
That's not Satan. He is not a human, but rather he is going to be dressed up as an angel of light claiming to be Christ in the future. He is only a true angel of darkness.JagLovest thou in Christ Yahshua, Lord and Saviour of the world.
I've always assumed it to simply mean never drop your guard against Satan..Here are some verses on the same theme-"Put on the full armour of God against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11-18 )"The devil prowls round like a roaring lion" (1 Pet 5:8 )"Don't give the devil a foothold" (Eph 4:27)"Resist the devil and he'll flee from you" (James 4:7)Jesus said to Peter - "Satan wanted to sift you" (Luke 22:31)"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12)Satan is very cunning, he was portrayed very well in the film 'Passion of the Christ' as a sly shadowy figure lurking in the background, quietly watching and planning..Here he is in the film -
That's not Satan. He is not a human, but rather he is going to be dressed up as an angel of light claiming to be Christ in the future. He is only a true angel of darkness.JagLovest thou in Christ Yahshua, Lord and Saviour of the world.
(gibby;6195)
Pay attention and stay close to Jesus. To fall asleep, is to drift away. We drift away by allowing the worldly pressures to pull us away from time with God and His word. If we don't feed ourselves spiritually on a daily basis, this drifting begins to occur and we "fall asleep". In my own life, if I don't spend time with God and His word on a daily basis, my thought life begins to drift. When this happens, I am more vulnerable to temptation. This is what those passages mean to me.
I also agree with this. Jesus said to them when they arrived in Gethsemane, "Stay here and keep watch". I.e. to remain alert, on Jesus's side, and watchful for approaching danger. As so often in the bible, sayings have multiple layers, and this just as aptly applies to us today. The temptation here is surely to drift away, as gibby said, almost unnoticeably, like falling asleep. Although our spirit is ready to stay with Jesus in principle, our minds and hearts are easily led astray if we are not forever mindful and alert to the dangers. This is one of the reasons why community is so important in Christianity.
Pay attention and stay close to Jesus. To fall asleep, is to drift away. We drift away by allowing the worldly pressures to pull us away from time with God and His word. If we don't feed ourselves spiritually on a daily basis, this drifting begins to occur and we "fall asleep". In my own life, if I don't spend time with God and His word on a daily basis, my thought life begins to drift. When this happens, I am more vulnerable to temptation. This is what those passages mean to me.
I also agree with this. Jesus said to them when they arrived in Gethsemane, "Stay here and keep watch". I.e. to remain alert, on Jesus's side, and watchful for approaching danger. As so often in the bible, sayings have multiple layers, and this just as aptly applies to us today. The temptation here is surely to drift away, as gibby said, almost unnoticeably, like falling asleep. Although our spirit is ready to stay with Jesus in principle, our minds and hearts are easily led astray if we are not forever mindful and alert to the dangers. This is one of the reasons why community is so important in Christianity.
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