And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death, tarry ye here, and watch. Mark 14:34
In the distress of soul as the Saviour contemplated Golgotha, He asked His disciples, the three who were the closest to Him, to watch with Him. We read of the agony of His soul, the cry for deliverance, and His complete submission to the will of the Father. While the disciples could not have entered into His agony, they could have at least been with Him to provide some measure of companionship.
But they slept. They could not watch one hour. Despite Jesus’ frequent mentions of His upcoming betrayal and death, they did not realize the magnitude of the events that were only hours away. So the Lord had to bear the incomprehensible depths of sorrow alone. Compounding the greatness of His sorrow was His great loneliness.
Looking back on that event, we can see what was about to transpire. We might well say that had we been there, we would have watched with Him. I think not. But the Lord has given us an hour today to watch!
For what do we watch today? We watch the unfolding of the prophecies and types of the Old Testament as they are fulfilled in Emmanuel. We watch, through the words of Scripture, the life, sufferings, and death of our Saviour. We watch as the grave is unable to hold its prey and the glorious resurrection gives us hope that we will live forever with Him. And we watch for our Lord to once again come to the skies and call forth from this earthly scene His own.
As we gather to worship, let us remember that our Saviour longs for us to watch for one hour. – Jim MacIntosh