Mark 14:37-38 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Remember those boastful disciples? Going with Jesus to the death, drinking his cup, never denying, never abandoning? Well, talk is cheap. See, it’s not enough simply to be related to Jesus, one must be vigilant in his relationship to God. Watch and pray. The ESV does a little disservice here to certain readers because of English grammar. Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation, which makes it sound like the disciple’s prayer is to be “Lord, please help me not enter into temptation.” But, the Greek grammar means, “Watch and pray, so that, by watching and praying, you will not enter into temptation.” Some English translations do adjust the English accordingly. To the extent that you watch and pray, you will not enter temptation.
Watch and pray. Prayer, I have occasionally told young children, for the sake of simplicity, is simply talking with God. That’s underselling prayer. Prayer is the Christian’s primary means of relationship to God. Prayer is relating to God as Father, in humble, dependent faith. In order to overcome temptation, the disciples needed to be spiritual vigilant, but direct that vigilance to God in conversation, recognizing their absolute need for God, for apart from God, you have nothing.
Read the Psalms. This is exactly what the Psalmists do. Every psalm shows the psalmist relating to God in humble dependance. Every single one.
Because the spirit is willing. Meaning, the human spirit. The disciples showed great willingness to follow Christ to the death. But their flesh was too weak to sustain the words spoken in their spirit. Their spirit was writing checks their flesh couldn’t cash. This is because the flesh is weak. It’s debilitated. There’s no strength in it. It’s like a sickly, diseased man attempting to do a great feat of strength, his flesh will fail.
