Why was Yeshua keeping watch in the Garden of Gethsemane? I think He was keeping Torah! Here’s why…
A friend was here for a couple days last week and we were discussing Pesach observance. He explained that for the last 15 years he and his family have kept an all night vigil. My curiosity piqued, I asked, “Why? How did you arrive at that practice?”
“Exodus 12:42!,” he exclaimed. And, I reached for my Bible.
42 It is a night [a]to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, [b]to be observed [c]by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.
Interestingly, the word ‘shimmur,’ here twice translated as ‘observed,’ is never used anywhere else in the Tanak. It means ‘vigil.’ The night was to be observed as a vigil, keeping watch! The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon says, “1) night watch, watching, vigil.”
Yeshua, in the Garden of Gethsemane says, “…remain here and keep watch with Me,” and later asks, “You could not keep watch with Me even one hour?”
He was keeping watch! The question is, ‘why?’
While certainly He knew the significance of that night and was in final preparation for the violence about to come upon Him, was He ‘watching,’ and encouraging the disciples to ‘keep vigil’ because of the expectation in Exodus 12:42?
I’m not sure we can nail this down with full assurance, but we’d be on pretty solid footing understanding that He was ‘keeping vigil,’ exactly as we are commanded in Exodus!
What are your thought?
Shalom!
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11:3 Restoration 
I had recently read a similar post and it got my wheels turning as well. I think I am gonna give it a go even though I may be like the disciples and fall asleep….gonna try: http://www.setapartpeople.com/a-night-of-watching-a-study-of-exodus-1242
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Oh cool! Reading now… Nice to see a confirmation in thought! Thanks!
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Some of our group were planning to get up very early on the 15th to see the blood moon. Seems that if we just keep watch after the seder we’ll be on track.
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Ok, here goes. I may not have a clue of what I am talking about, but would you say that Jesus kept Torah after his death. In John 20:17 Jesus said do not touch me but later in verse 27 He says to touch the nail hole in His hand. The verse before it 26 make it a point to say after 8 days. I was thinking that Leviticus 15:13 say that after a man has a discharge (being crucified blood flowed from Jesus body) a man is clean after 8 days, Hope I have nor made an idoit of myself. What do you think?
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Interesting! Certainly worth mulling!
He does say, ‘…for I have not ascended to the Father…’ How might that play into it? I’ll have to go back and look at the larger context as well as Torah commands relative to the issue of blood and the with period.
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I think that is an excellent highlight Mike…never noticed it
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The path of the just is as ever increasing light, shining more and more unto that perfect day!
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