A Disciple Is Vigilant

Last week we began to look at what a disciple does, and we saw that a disciple follows Jesus wherever he may lead. Today, we come to a second action that the disciple is called to take, though often this doesn’t seem like much of an action at all. Today I want you to understand that a disciple is called to be vigilant by waiting for the return of Christ and being watchful of the works of Satan. To see this, let’s read Matt. 26:36-46. From this text I want you to see the purposes of vigilance and the practices of vigilance.

First, I want you to notice the purposes of vigilance. This passage covers the famous scene of Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane just before he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. There is so much that could be said about this passage, but I want to focus on Jesus’s interactions with his disciples. Jesus knows what is coming. He has told his disciples on multiple occasions (as we saw last week from Matt. 16) that he is going to go to Jerusalem, be crucified, and rise again. He’s sat at the last supper with his betrayer, Judas, identified him, and sent him away to do what God had purposed for him to do. Now, there is nothing left to do, but wait. Oh the dread that Jesus must have faced, to purpose this very moment, to set all of the wheels into motion, to know the pain that he would bear, the rejection he would carry, and the sorrow his dearest friends would face. In this moment, there is nothing left to do but watch and wait for that terrible moment that would change the course of time forever.

In that waiting, he calls his disciples to do the same. There are two purposes for which Jesus calls his disciples to be vigilant. First, Jesus calls his disciples to watch for the end. In verse 38, he says, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with me.” It’s important to catch that he is not calling them to serve as watchmen for the mob, but to watch “with me.” He is calling them to watch for the timing of God when he will accomplish the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Jesus and the defeat of Satan on the cross.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples to “watch” six different times, and all six deal with the coming of his kingdom. Three of them are right here in our passage, but the other three are found in Matt. Chapters 24-26. In 24:42-43, he tells his disciples to “stay awake” (which is the same Greek word as “watch” here), because they do not know the hour of the Lord’s second coming. In Matt. 25, he tells a parable about 10 virgins who waited on their bridegroom. They were to keep their lamps lit and patiently watch for their Lord. Five grew impatient and allowed their lamps to burn out, but five remained faithful. Jesus warns, in verse 13, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means to watch with patience for his return. We wait with anticipation for the day when all things are made new. We wait with hope for the day when God will right very wrong and bring justice and peace. Waiting means that we hold loosely to this world. Certainly, we fight injustice, but we do so recognizing that it is only in the return of Christ that true justice will come. Yes, we pursue peace, but we do so knowing that it is only when Christ’s kingdom comes in its fulness that we can have real, lasting peace.

Second, Jesus calls his disciples to watch for evil. In verse 41, Jesus rebukes them for having failed to watch by saying, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Jesus knows that the next two days will wreck his disciples. They will flee in fear. The chief among them, Peter, will deny his Lord three times. They will be tempted to abandon the faith altogether, to give up on this way of discipleship. So, Jesus calls them to watch and pray that they may not fall into temptation.

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means that we are vigilant against the attacks of Satan. 1 Pet. 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Being watchful of Satan’s attacks means that we aren’t naïve little children, but wise and mature. It means that we know the truth of God’s word and we stand boldly on it. It means that we are able to identify false teaching, compromise, and deception, and to call it what it is.

These are the purposes of vigilance, but you might be wondering what exactly we do in our vigilance. For that, let’s consider my second point: the practices of vigilance. I want to show you two practices of vigilance from our text. The first is the practice of prayer. Notice, twice (v. 36, 41), Jesus calls his disciples to prayer as they watch with him. Now, from an earthly way of thinking, it might seem that vigilance and prayer would be opposed to each other. Vigilance, after all, requires watching, attentiveness, defensiveness; and prayer is none of those things. Vigilance implies control, and prayer implies a letting go of control. But, for the disciple of Jesus, prayer is an act of watchfulness. Prayer admits that God is in control and will bring things to pass in his own time. Prayer is a submission to the will of God, and a willingness to wait for him to work. Prayer is the belief that God is able and willing to defend his people and keep his promises. Paul says, in Col. 4:2, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

The second practice of vigilance is sobermindedness. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus calls his disciples to watch and pray, but all they can stand to do is sleep. If they had fully comprehended what was about to happen, they would have anxiously watched and prayed, but because they were more concerned about the here and now, they fell asleep. They should have been sober and focused. The disciple of Christ is called to be sober. 1 Thes. 5:6 says, “So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” People who are consumed by the cares of this world are like those who walk around asleep or drunk. They don’t see the truth staring them in the face: that judgment is coming, they stand condemned, and they need to repent and trust in Christ. Instead, they live as if they will never die, even as death swirls around them. But, the disciple is called to be awake and sober. We are not distracted by the cares of this world. We are not drunk on the allurements of this passing age. Our minds are set on Jesus. 

Friend, judgment is coming. You can pretend like it will never happen, but the day is coming. Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. When he does, will he find you drunk and asleep, distracted by the cares of this world, or will he find you awake and sober, watching for his return? Won’t you repent of your sins and follow him today?

Brothers and sisters, as disciples we are called to the vigilance of prayer and soberness. It has been my experience that Christians aren’t so great at watchful waiting. When we see the evil in this world, when we see signs that point to the return of Christ, there is a strong tendency to want to do something. We have to get out the vote or correct every wrong or pass new laws. Now certainly, there is a time for voting, correction, and laws, but what concerns me is that it seems that we find more use in those practices than in the practices that our Lord has called us to. When we see evil, we are to pray. When we see oppression, we are to pray. When we see deception and totalitarianism, we are to pray. May we stay awake, watching and praying as we wait on the Lord.