The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:14-46 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. ¹⁶ From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.

¹⁷ Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” ¹⁹ The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰ Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. ²¹ As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” ²² Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³ And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. ²⁴ The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰ After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ ³² But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ³³ But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” ³⁴ Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ³⁵ Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

³⁶ Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸ Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

³⁹ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰ And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? ⁴¹ Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” ⁴³ Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵ Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

Today’s text says:  Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests  and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.   Over the past two thousand years Judas has been recognized as the one who betrayed Jesus, and he did it for thirty pieces of silver.  In Matthew 16:26 Jesus asks:  “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”   It’s often said that every person has a price. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Although I am sure we would all say there is no price that would cause us to betray Jesus or that we would exchange for our soul, we should look carefully at ourselves and recognize the things that we might prioritize over Jesus. How much or how little does it take for us to put Jesus aside? In Matthew 22:37 Jesus says:  "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'”    How many things does God compete with for our love?  The text says Judas: began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.  It is not enough that we are not looking for ways to betray Jesus, we must be vigilant; to be certain that we don’t betray Him when we’re not looking.

The text says:  Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.  Like Peter and the other disciples, our intentions are good. None of us want to deny Jesus, but again at times even though we don’t intend to, we all may deny Him in some way. Look again at what Jesus says regarding forfeiting our soul. In Luke 9:24-26 He says:  “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”   There is a high price to pay for being ashamed of Jesus.

What happens next in today’s text both explains why we fail and gives us the answer for how not to fail. It says:  Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.  Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”  And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”  And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”   We too have willing spirits because they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our flesh though is weak.  James 1:13-15 says:  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  We may easily say that we would not be tempted by a mere thirty pieces of silver as Judas was. We may not be tempted by the same things as our neighbor or our co-worker. It is often difficult to understand the temptation and sin of someone else because we are not tempted in the same way. Regardless though of what it is that tempts us, whether wealth or worry, whether addiction or immorality;whatever our own lust is, when we yield to it, it gives birth to sin and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; I acknowledge that my flesh is weak, and so I yield to the will of the Holy Spirit. I will watch and pray.   Do not lead me into temptation, but deliver me from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.   Amen.'