Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 14:37

"And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest thou not watch one hour?" — Mark 14:37 (ASV)

Returning to his disciples, Jesus found them sleeping. They were doubtless very tired; the hour was late, probably past midnight, and they had experienced some exciting events during the long day. Nevertheless, it was a critical time, and they were expected to be awake. Jesus singled out Peter probably because he was the one who had boasted of his fidelity to Jesus (v.31), but he could not watch for even one hour.

The verbs “watch” and “pray” are both plural imperatives and are addressed to all three disciples, not just Peter. The conquest of temptation can only come through these two actions. The human spirit might be willing to do what is right, but the human body is weak (here its weakness refers to the inability of the disciples to stay awake).