Which Disciples Fell Asleep While Jesus Pray?

When Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before his crucifixion, he took three of his disciples with him. However, as he prayed, they fell asleep. This event is recorded in the Bible in Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, and Luke 22:39-46.

According to Matthew’s account, Jesus took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, with him. He asked them to stay and keep watch while he went further into the garden to pray.

However, when he returned after praying for an hour, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” (Matthew 26:40).

Mark’s account also mentions Peter, James, and John as the disciples who accompanied Jesus to the garden. Mark writes that Jesus told them his soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mark 14:34).

He asked them to stay and keep watch while he prayed. However, when Jesus returned from praying three times during which his prayer became more intense each time), he found them sleeping each time.

In Luke’s account, it is mentioned that Jesus withdrew from his disciples about a stone’s throw away from them and knelt down in prayer. After praying earnestly for some time he went back towards his disciples but found them sleeping because of their grief (Luke 22:41-45).

It is interesting that all three accounts mention Peter as one of the sleeping disciples. This is significant because Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples and was later appointed as a leader in the early Christian church.

The fact that all three accounts include this detail suggests that it was an embarrassing incident for Peter and the other disciples who were present at the time.

In conclusion, it was Peter along with James and John who fell asleep while Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. This event, while embarrassing for the disciples, serves as a reminder of our own tendencies to fall asleep spiritually when we should be alert and watchful.