strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter

And in his divine goodness, he said to Peter: “So you could not watch one hour with me?” This word was intended to touch his heart and make him vigilant. For the devil made weigh on the soul of our adorable Savior all the terrifying consequences of his obedience even to death his pure and holy soul could only wish that the terrible hour of death would pass away from him, and on the other hand, his perfections could only make him agree to go to the end in the accomplishment of the will of his Father.Īfter praying, he returns to his disciples and finds them asleep. It was about in that supreme moment, to accept the cup of divine wrath that we had deserved, death which is the judgment of God. ”įor our Savior, in His perfect humanity, was overwhelmed by the thought of death which approached in all its horror and cast a rather terrifying shadow over His pure and holy soul. ” Then, having taken a few steps forward, he threw himself on her face, and prayed thus: “My Father, if it is possible, that this cup will go away from me! However, not what I want, but what you want. He then said to them: “My soul is sorrowful even to death stay here, and watch with me. When he got to Gethsemane with them, he said to them, “Sit here, while I go away to pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to experience sorrow and distress. This is why the Lord Jesus said to her: “Truly I say to you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” ” Poor disciple, because he did not know that his “me”, on which he was counting to show Jesus his great attachment, was going to set him on the path of the fall.

This is why he replies to Jesus: “When I should die with you, I will not deny you. For he would go before them to Galilee.įor his part, instead of distrusting himself, in order to look to God to achieve what his love suggested to him, Peter, although very attached to the Lord, relied solely on the love he had for him. But he, the good Shepherd who puts his life for his sheep, thinks of them and gives them a rallying point to find once death has been crossed and conquered, when he would be resurrected. The good shepherd had taken care of his sheep and called them by name, going before them for in order for them to have life, he had to die for them and be smitten in their stead.Īnd when these poor weak sheep, ignorant and fearful, would see the shepherd smitten, and be scattered like a afraid and forsaken flock. Strike the shepherd, and let the sheep scatter! And I will turn my hand to the weak ”(Zechariah 13.7).

Then he said: ‘I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’ And after singing the hymns, they came to the mountain of olive trees where, instead of letting himself be weighed down by the weight of all that awaited him, he made use of the time during which he walked towards Gethsemane, to warn his disciples of what would happen.įor Zechariah’s prophecy was about to be fulfilled: “Sword, rise up over my pastor And over the man who is my companion! Says the Lord of hosts. The Lord Jesus had just had his last meal with them in the place provided: When evening had come, he sat down to table with the twelve and instituted Holy Communion. He said to his disciples: “Tonight I will be a stumbling block for you for it is written: I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered: ”We read it in Mat 26.31.

Beloved, I am glad to share with you today about Gethsemane’s time, shortly before his arrest, betrayed by Judas Iscariot.

Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter