UN/Broken - Day 29

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Matthew 26:36-37

This week, we look at Matthew’s telling of Jesus in Gethsemane, in chapter 26, verses 36-46. The first verses describe Jesus looking for a private place to pray in his distress. In particular, he sought isolation with his trusted inner circle of Peter, James, and John.

Friends are essential for emotional support in times of stress. A study on men’s stress management and spirituality found that being around peers had beneficial effects (Houle et al., 2017). Further analysis uncovered two reasons for this: shared activity and being mutually inspired. As we read in the first of tomorrow’s verses, Jesus wanted them to keep watch with him, including sharing activities and being mutually inspired.

When men are sorrowful and troubled it can be counter-intuitive in mainstream American culture to look for support of friends, particularly other men. This may have also been the case in Jesus’s culture, as we will explore tomorrow. However, Jesus looking to his trusted inner circle for support is an excellent example for us.