Give Honor Where Honor is Due

Read Matthew 26:36-45.
It is sad to find the disciples sleeping multiple times. We give them a hard time, and perhaps they deserve it.  However, they also deserve a bit more credit than they receive. Consider that for a week they have been following the very busy Master through Jerusalem during the days leading to Passover. If they were busy not listening to His teachings, they were likely answering private questions and defending Him.

Plus, in the past twenty four hours they would have heard these things (consider the effect this would have on anyone who has spent 3 years with the Master):

• “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:27-28).
• “Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered’” (Matt. 26:31).
• “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
• “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).
• “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe” (John 14:27-29).
• “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18).
• “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away” (John 16:7).
• “A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me” (John 16:16).
• “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. […] Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you (John 16:22).
• “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32).

We often think that when they fell asleep in the garden, the did so out of apathy. Did they not care enough for the Lord and His situation?

And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”​
Luke 22:41-46

They had fallen asleep from sorrow. We get this image that they were distressed with Him. Jesus prayed in His distress. But the disciples cried themselves to sleep. Is that acceptable? In some situations, maybe, but their job was to watch and pray with Him. 
They cared deeply for their Master. He had warned them what was coming. ​