Mark 14 37

Mark 14:37 kjv

And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?

Mark 14:37 nkjv

Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?

Mark 14:37 niv

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Couldn't you keep watch for one hour?

Mark 14:37 esv

And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?

Mark 14:37 nlt

Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Couldn't you watch with me even one hour?

Mark 14 verses

Mark 14 37 Meaning

Mark 14:37 portrays Jesus in Gethsemane, burdened by immense sorrow, returning to find His chosen disciples—Peter, James, and John—asleep instead of watching with Him. The verse highlights the profound disconnect between Jesus' spiritual agony and His closest followers' physical and spiritual lethargy. He specifically addresses Peter, calling him "Simon," and confronts their inability to remain awake and watchful for even a short period, contrasting it with the overwhelming spiritual battle Jesus Himself was facing. This act of finding them asleep underscores their failure to provide support and their general lack of spiritual vigilance despite prior warnings.

Mark 14 37 Context

Mark 14:37 takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, just after the Last Supper. Jesus, fully aware of His impending arrest, trial, and crucifixion, has brought Peter, James, and John—His inner circle—to be with Him in His deepest hour of spiritual anguish. He explicitly asks them to "watch" and remain awake while He goes a short distance to pray. The narrative presents Jesus' raw human vulnerability and intense wrestling with the Father's will concerning the cross. In contrast to Jesus' profound agony and earnest prayer, the disciples fall asleep, signifying a lack of spiritual comprehension, vigilance, and commitment at a critical moment. This sets the stage for their later abandonment of Jesus and Peter's denial, illustrating the stark reality of human weakness even among devoted followers when faced with spiritual trials. The scene foreshadows the need for divine strength and the ongoing human struggle against spiritual complacency.

Mark 14 37 Word analysis

• And (καὶ - kai): A simple conjunction connecting Jesus' return to finding the disciples. It implies continuity of the unfolding narrative, directly following Jesus' profound prayer.
• He came (ἔρχεται - erchetai): Present tense for vividness and immediacy, characteristic of Mark's Gospel. It depicts Jesus actively seeking out His disciples to share His burden, not passively waiting.
• and finds (καὶ εὑρίσκει - kai heuriskei): Again, present tense, emphasizing the abrupt and unfortunate discovery. The act of "finding" implies a search and a revelation of their condition.
• them (αὐτοὺς - autous): Refers specifically to Peter, James, and John, the three disciples Jesus had taken further into the garden. They were given a special proximity to His suffering.
• sleeping (καθεύδοντας - katheudontas): A participle indicating an ongoing state or action. Their sleep was a physical reality, but also symbolized spiritual drowsiness, a lack of readiness and responsiveness.
• And He said (καὶ λέγει - kai legei): Present tense, immediate and direct. Jesus' response is not one of anger, but of sorrow and bewilderment.
• to Peter (τῷ Πέτρῳ - tō Petrō): Singled out, possibly as the group's spokesman and one who had made strong assertions of loyalty (Mk 14:29, 31). Mark often highlights Peter's strengths and failures.
• Simon (Σίμων - Simōn): This is significant. Jesus usually refers to him as "Peter" (Petros), his divinely given new name meaning "Rock." Reverting to "Simon" might subtly point back to his unredeemed, natural man's weakness or lack of spiritual rock-like steadfastness in this moment. It could be a tender, yet sobering, address highlighting his spiritual regression or immaturity despite his leadership position.
• Are you asleep (καθεύδεις - katheudeis)?: A direct, poignant question expressing disbelief and disappointment. This is not the participle like earlier, but a direct verbal question, focusing on Peter's specific state.
• Could you not watch (οὐκ ἰσχύσατε γρηγορῆσαι - ouk ischysate grēgorēsai)?: This is a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, emphasizing their surprising inability. "Ischysate" implies "to be strong enough," "to have power." It asks: "Did you not have the strength/power to watch?"
• one hour (μίαν ὥραν - mian hōran): Highlights the brevity of the request. Their failure was not over an extended period but a mere sixty minutes, emphasizing their deep-seated spiritual fatigue or unpreparedness.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "And He came and finds them sleeping": This phrase starkly contrasts Jesus' agony and intense prayer with the disciples' passive slumber. It highlights the vast chasm between divine commitment and human weakness, and the isolation Jesus faced in His suffering.
• "And He said to Peter, 'Simon, are you asleep?'": Addressing Peter by his former name "Simon" (rather than Peter/Rock) is a powerful, perhaps subtle, way Jesus exposes the disparity between Peter's bold proclamations of loyalty and his present inability to watch. It suggests a temporary spiritual regression to his natural, less-transformed self, vulnerable to weakness.
• "Could you not watch one hour?": This rhetorical question underlines the simplicity of the task given to them (just one hour of watchfulness) versus the profound implications of their failure. It's not a mere physical nap, but a failure of spiritual vigilance at a critical hour, setting the stage for subsequent denial and abandonment.

Mark 14 37 Bonus section

The repeated motif of the disciples' inability to stay awake (seen also in the Transfiguration in Lk 9:32) is a recurring illustration of human limitations and their struggle to fully grasp the spiritual intensity of Jesus' mission. Gethsemane itself, meaning "oil press," symbolizes the intense pressure Jesus endured, squeezing out His deepest anguish and resolve. The disciples' slumber stands in stark contrast to this intense spiritual "pressing" of the Son of God. This also points to the necessary solitude of Christ's atoning work; He alone could bear the weight of sin and God's wrath. While He sought human companionship, the spiritual battle was His to fight alone, relying solely on the Father. Their sleep wasn't merely tiredness; it was a failure to enter into and truly support Him in prayer during the pinnacle of His spiritual suffering leading up to the crucifixion.

Mark 14 37 Commentary

Mark 14:37 is a pivotal verse, encapsulating the profound contrast between the suffering Christ and His weak, though well-intentioned, disciples. Jesus' return from fervent prayer, filled with "great sorrow" (Mk 14:34), to find His closest companions asleep, reveals a poignant truth about the human condition: the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. His question, addressed to Peter but implicitly to all three, highlights the shocking brevity of their assigned watch ("one hour") and their failure to even maintain that. The use of "Simon" instead of "Peter" for Simon Bar-Jonah is a masterstroke of tender rebuke, calling him back to his original state of human fallibility rather than the steadfastness associated with his new name, Peter (Rock).

This scene is a sober reminder that even those intimately close to Christ can succumb to spiritual lethargy, especially in moments of intense spiritual warfare. The "sleep" of the disciples is not just physical; it is symbolic of their lack of spiritual awareness and vigilance against temptation, despite Jesus' clear warnings (Mk 13:33-37, Mk 14:34). It underscores the solitary nature of Jesus' path to the cross and His unwavering commitment to the Father's will, in stark contrast to His followers' frailty.

Practically, this verse serves as a perpetual warning against spiritual apathy and encourages believers to:

• Pray continuously: Like Jesus, we must rely on prayer for strength, especially during trials.
• Be vigilant: We must watch against spiritual sleepiness, which makes us vulnerable to temptation and dulls our sensitivity to God's presence and leading.
• Recognize our weakness: It humbles us to realize that apart from divine grace and strength, we, too, can falter at critical moments, much like Peter and the disciples.