Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 26:39
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt.]
39. went a little further ] The paschal full moon would make deep shadow for the retirement of Jesus.
O my Father ] St Mark has the Aramaic Abba as well as the Greek word for Father.
this cup ] See note, ch. Mat 20:22. Were these words overheard by the sons of Zebedee? If so, the thought of their ambition and of their Master’s answer would surely recur to them (ch. Mat 20:20-23).
not as I will ] In the “Agony,” as in the Temptation, the Son submits Himself to His Father’s will.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 39. Fell on his face] See Clarke on Lu 22:44. This was the ordinary posture of the supplicant when the favour was great which was asked, and deep humiliation required. The head was put between the knees, and the forehead brought to touch the earth-this was not only a humiliating, but a very painful posture also.
This cup] The word cup is frequently used in the Sacred Writings to point out sorrow, anguish, terror, death. It seems to be an allusion to a very ancient method of punishing criminals. A cup of poison was put into their hands, and they were obliged to drink it. Socrates was killed thus, being obliged by the magistrates of Athens to drink a cup of the juice of hemlock. To death, by the poisoned cup, there seems an allusion in Heb 2:9, Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, TASTED death for every man. The whole world are here represented as standing guilty and condemned before the tribunal of God; into every man’s hand the deadly cup is put, and he is required to drink off the poison-Jesus enters, takes every man’s cup out of his hand, and drinks off the poison, and thus tastes or suffers the death which every man otherwise must have undergone.
Pass from me] Perhaps there is an allusion here to several criminals standing in a row, who are all to drink of the same cup; but, the judge extending favour to a certain one, the cup passes by him to the next.
Instead of , going a little forward, many eminent MSS. have , coming a little forward-but the variation is of little moment. At the close of this verse several MSS. add the clause in Lu 22:43,
There appeared an angel, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mark saith, Mar 14:35,36, He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from, me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. Luke saith, Luk 22:41,42, He was withdrawn from them about a stones cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Here are three distinct forms of words, but all agreeing in one and the same sense. Matthew saith, He went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed. He at his first motion carried but three with him, Peter, James, and John; now he leaves them, but not far, Luke saith, about a stones cast.. Fervent prayer loves privacy, and Christ by this teacheth us that secret prayer is our duty. He fell on his face; Luke saith, he kneeled; he possibly at first kneeled, then fell on his face. We read in Scripture of sitting, standing, kneeling, and prostration used in prayer; the first and last rarely; standing and kneeling were the most ordinary postures. David prayed sitting in his house, 2Sa 7:18. Abraham fell on his face, Gen 17:17. So did Moses and Aaron, Num 16:22,45. Prostration was ordinarily used in great passions; hardly otherwise in prayer.
Saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Mark first tells us the sum of his prayer, then saith he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. Luke saith he said, If thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Lukes if thou be willing expounds Matthews if it be possible. A thing in itself may be possible which considered in its circumstances is not so: thus, as it is in Mark, all things are to God possible; but yet it is not possible for God to alter any thing which he hath decreed, or said shall come to pass; because God is not as man, one that can lie, or repent. But it will be objected, Did not Christ know that it was not possible? Did not he himself, Mat 26:54, say,
thus it must be? I answer, It is one thing what he knew as he was God, and of counsel with the Father; and another thing what he prayed for as man. Besides, our Saviours saying, if it be possible, doth not suppose that he knew it was possible; it signifieth no more than this, Father, my human nature hath an aversion from this heavy stroke, so as, if it were possible, it craves of thee a discharge from this curse: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. The first clause is but the expression of the natural (but not sinful) infirmity of his flesh; the latter a perfect resignation of his will to God. In the first he tells his Father what his natural flesh would crave, if it might consist with the will of God. In the second he begs that, whatsoever his flesh craved, yet the will of God might be done. And herein he sets us a perfect pattern for our prayers for deliverance from temporal evils, viz. with a submission to the will of God. By this our Saviour doth not declare himself ignorant or uncertain of the Divine will: only as, though the person that died was God man, yet the human nature only died; so, though the person that prayed was God man, yet he only prayed as he was man.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he went a little further,…. Luke says, Lu 22:41, “about a stone’s cast”, about fifty or sixty feet from the place where they were,
and fell on his face, and prayed; partly to show his great reverence of God, the sword of whose justice was awaked against him, the terrors of whose law were set in array before him, and whose wrath was pouring down upon him; and partly to signify how much his soul was depressed, how low he was brought, and in what distress and anguish of spirit he was, that he was not able to lift up his head, and look up. This was a prayer gesture used when a person was in the utmost perplexity. The account the Jews give of it, is this g,
“Mhynp le Nylpwnvk, “when they fall upon their faces”, they do not stretch out their hands and their feet, but incline on their sides.”
This was not to be done by any person, or at any time; the rules are these h:
“no man is accounted fit , “to fall upon his face”, but he that knows in himself that he is righteous, as Joshua; but he inclines his face a little, and does not bow it down to the floor; and it is lawful for a man to pray in one place, and to “fall upon his face” in another: it is a custom that reaches throughout all Israel, that there is no falling upon the face on a sabbath day, nor on feast days, nor on the beginning of the year, nor on the beginning of the month, nor on the feast of dedication, nor on the days of “purim”, nor at the time of the meat offering of the eves of the sabbath days, and good days, nor at the evening prayer for every day; and there are private persons that fall upon their faces at the evening prayer, and on the day of atonement only: they fall upon their faces because it is a time of supplication, request, and fasting.”
Saying, O my father; or, as in Mark, “Abba, Father”, Mr 14:36; “Abba” being the Syriac word he used, and signifies, “my father”; and the other word is added for explanation’s sake, and to denote the vehemency of his mind, and fervour of spirit in prayer. Christ prayed in the same manner he taught his disciples to pray, saying, “our Father”; and as all his children pray under the influence of the spirit of adoption, whereby they cry “Abba, Father”. God is the Father of Christ, not as man, for as such he was without father, being the seed of the woman, and made of a woman, without man; nor by creation, as he is the Father of spirits, of angels, and the souls of men, of Adam, and all mankind; nor by adoption, as he is the Father of all the chosen, redeemed, and regenerated ones; but by nature, he being the only begotten of the Father, in a manner inconceivable and inexpressible by us. Christ now addresses him in prayer in his human nature, as standing in this relation to him as the Son of God, both to express his reverence of him, and what freedom and boldness he might use with him; what confidence he might put in him; and what expectation he might have of being heard and regarded by him; and what submission and resignation of will was due from himself unto him.
If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; meaning not only the hour, as it is called in Mark, the present season and time of distress, and horror; but all his future sufferings and death, which were at hand; together with the bearing the sins of his people, the enduring the curse of the law, and the wrath of God, all which were ingredients in, and made up this dreadful bitter cup, this cup of fury, cursing, and trembling; called a cup, either in allusion to the nauseous potions given by physicians to their patients; or rather to the cup of poison given to malefactors the sooner to dispatch them; or to that of wine mingled with myrrh and frankincense to intoxicate them, that they might not feel their pain, see Gill “Mr 15:23”, or to the cup appointed by the master of the family to everyone in the house; these sorrows, sufferings, and death of Christ being what were allotted and appointed by his heavenly Father: and when he prays that this cup might pass from him, his meaning is, that he might be freed from the present horrors of his mind, be excused the sufferings of death, and be delivered from the curse of the law, and wrath of God; which request was made without sin, though it betrayed the weakness of the human nature under its insupportable load, and its reluctance to sufferings and death, which is natural; and yet does not represent him herein as inferior to martyrs, who have desired death, and triumphed in the midst of exquisite torments: for their case and his were widely different; they had the presence of God with them, Christ was under the hidings of his Father’s face; they had the love of God shed abroad in them, he had the wrath of God poured out upon him; and his prayer bespeaks him to be in a condition which neither they, nor any mortal creature were ever in. Moreover, the human nature of Christ was now, as it were, swallowed up in sorrow, and intent upon nothing but sufferings and death; had nothing in view but the wrath of God, and the curse of the law; so that everything else was, for the present, out of sight; as the purposes of God, his counsel and covenant, his own engagements and office, and the salvation of his people; hence it is no wonder to hear such a request made; and yet it is with this condition, “if it be possible”. In Mark it is said, “all things are possible unto thee”, Mr 14:36; intimating, that the taking away, or causing the cup to pass from him, was: all things are possible to God, which are consistent with the perfections of his nature, and the counsel of his will: and all such things, though possible in themselves, yet are not under such and such circumstances so; the removal of the cup from Christ was possible in itself, but not as things were circumstanced, and as matters then stood; and therefore it is hypothetically put, “if it be possible”, as it was not; and that by reason of the decrees and purposes of God, which had fixed it, and are immutable; and on account of the covenant of grace, of which this was a considerable branch and article, and in which Christ had agreed unto it, and is unalterable; and also on the score of the prophecies of the Old Testament, in which it had been often spoken of; and therefore without it, how should the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be? they would not have been the Scriptures of truth. Besides, Christ had foretold it himself once and again, and therefore consistent with the truth of his own predictions, it could not be dispensed with: add to all this, that the salvation of his people required his drinking it; that could not be brought about no other way in agreement with the veracity, faithfulness, justice, and holiness of God. This condition qualities and restrains the above petition; nor is it to be considered but in connection with what follows:
nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt; which shows that the request was far from being sinful, or contrary to piety to God, or love to men, or to true fortitude of mind; the pure natural will of Christ, or the will of Christ’s human nature, being left to act in a mere natural way, shows a reluctancy to sorrows, sufferings, and death; this same will acting on rational principles, and in a rational way, puts it upon the possibility the thing, and the agreement of the divine will to it. That there are two wills in Christ, human and divine, is certain; his human will, though in some instances, as in this, may have been different from the divine will, yet not contrary to it; and his divine will is always the same with his Father’s. This, as mediator, he engaged to do, and came down from heaven for that purpose, took delight in doing it, and has completely finished it.
g Gloss. in T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 34. 2. h Maimon. Hilch. Tephilla, c. 5. sect. 14, 15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He went forward a little ( ). As if he could not fight the battle in their immediate presence. He was on his face, not on his knees (McNeile).
This cup ( ). The figure can mean only the approaching death. Jesus had used it of his coming death when James and John came to him with their ambitious request, “the cup which I am about to drink” (Mt 20:22). But now the Master is about to taste the bitter dregs in the cup of death for the sin of the world. He was not afraid that he would die before the Cross, though he instinctively shrank from the cup, but instantly surrendered his will to the Father’s will and drank it to the full. Evidently Satan tempted Christ now to draw back from the Cross. Here Jesus won the power to go on to Calvary.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
39. And he went forward a little. We have seen in other passages, that in order to excite himself to greater earnestness of prayer, the Lord prayed in the absence of witnesses; for when we are withdrawn from the gaze of men, we succeed better in collecting our senses, so as to attend more closely to what we are doing. It is not, indeed, necessary — nay more, it is not always proper — that we should retire to distant corners whenever we pray; but when some great necessity urges us, because the fervor of prayer is more freely indulged when we are alone, it is useful to us to pray apart. And if the Son of God did not disregard this aid, it would be the greatest madness of pride in us not to apply it for our own advantage. Add to this, that when God alone is witness, as there is nothing then to be feared from ambition, the believing soul unfolds itself with greater familiarity, and with greater simplicity pours its wishes, and groans, and anxieties, and fears, and hopes, and joys, into the bosom of God. God allows his people to make use of many little modes of speaking, when they pray alone, which, in the presence of men, would savor of ostentation.
And fell on his face. By the very gesture of falling on the earth, Christ manifested his deep earnestness in prayer. For though kneeling, as our expression of respect and reverence, is commonly used in prayer, Christ, by throwing himself on the ground as a suppliant, placed himself in a pitiable attitude on account of the vehemence of his grief.
My Father, if it be possible. In vain do some persons labor to show that what is here described is not a prayer, but only a complaint. For my own part, while I own that it is abrupt, I have no doubt that Christ offered a prayer. Nor is it inconsistent with this, that he asks a thing that is impossible to be granted to him; for the prayers of believers do not always flow on with uninterrupted progress to the end, do not always maintain a uniform measure, are not always arranged even in a distinct order, but, on the contrary, are involved and confused, and either oppose each other, or stop in the middle of the course; like a vessel tossed by tempests, which, though it advances towards the harbor, cannot always keep a straight and uniform course, as in a calm sea. We must remember, indeed, what I lately mentioned, that Christ had not confused emotions, like those to which we are accustomed, to withdraw his mind from pure moderation; but, so far as the pure and innocent nature of man could admit, he was struck with fear and seized with anguish, so that, amidst the violent shocks of temptation, he vacillated—as it were—from one wish to another. This is the reason why, after having prayed to be freed from death, he immediately restrains himself, and, submitting to the authority of the Father, corrects and recalls that wish which had suddenly escaped him.
But it may be asked, How did he pray that the eternal decree of the Father, of which he was not ignorant, should be revoked? or though he states a condition, if it be possible, yet it wears an aspect of absurdity to make the purpose of God changeable. We must hold it to be utterly impossible for God to revoke his decree. According to Mark, too, Christ would seem to contrast the power of God with his decree. All things, says he, are possible to thee. But it would be improper to extend the power of God so far as to lessen his truth, by making him liable to variety and change. I answer, There would be no absurdity in supposing that Christ, agreeably to the custom of the godly, leaving out of view the divine purpose, committed to the bosom of the Father his desire which troubled him. For believers, in pouring out their prayers, do not always ascend to the contemplation of the secrets of God, or deliberately inquire what is possible to be done, but are sometimes carried away hastily by the earnestness of their wishes. Thus Moses prays that he may be blotted out of the book of life, (Exo 32:33😉 thus Paul wished to be made an anathema, (201) (Rom 9:3.) This, therefore, was not a premeditated prayer of Christ; but the strength and violence of grief suddenly drew this word from his mouth, to which he immediately added a correction. The same vehemence of desire took away from him the immediate recollection of the heavenly decree, so that he did not at that moment reflect, that it was on this condition, (202) that he was sent to be the Redeemer of mankind; as distressing anxiety often brings darkness over our eyes, so that we do not at once remember the whole state of the matter. In short, there is no impropriety, if in prayer we do not always direct our immediate attention to every thing, so as to preserve a distinct order. When Christ says, in the Gospel by Matthew, that all things are possible to God, he does not intend by these words to bring the power of God into conflict with unchangeable truth and firmness; but as there was no hope—which is usually the case when affairs are desperate—he throws himself on the power of God. The word ( ποτήριον) cup or chalice — as we have mentioned elsewhere — denotes the providence of God, which assigns to each his measure of the cross and of affliction, just as the master of a house gives an allowance to each servant, and distributes portions among the children.
But yet not as I will, but as thou wilt. We see how Christ restrains his feelings at the very outset, and quickly brings himself into a state of obedience. But here it may first be inquired, How was his will pure from all vice, while it did not agree with the will of God? For if the will of God is the only rule of what is good and right, it follows, that all the feelings which are at variance with it are vicious. I reply: Though it be true rectitude to regulate all our feelings by the good pleasure of God, yet there is a certain kind of indirect disagreement with it which is not faulty, and is not reckoned as sin; if, for example, a person desire to see the Church in a calm and flourishing condition, if he wish that the children of God were delivered from afflictions, that all superstitions were removed out of the world, and that the rage of wicked men were so restrained as to do no injury. These things, being in themselves right, may properly be desired by believers, though it may please God to order a different state of matters: for he chooses that his Son should reign among enemies; that his people should be trained under the cross; and that the triumph of faith and of the Gospel should be rendered more illustrious by the opposing machinations of Satan. We see how those prayers are holy, which appear to be contrary to the will of God; for God does not desire us to be always exact or scrupulous in inquiring what he has appointed, but allows us to ask what is desirable according to the capacity of our senses.
But the question has not yet been fully answered: for since we have just now said that all the feelings of Christ were properly regulated, how does he now correct himself? For he brings his feelings into obedience to God in such a manner as if he had exceeded what was proper. Certainly in the first prayer we do not perceive that calm moderation which I have described; for, as far as lies in his power, he refuses and shrinks from discharging the office of Mediator. I reply: When the dread of death was presented to his mind, and brought along with it such darkness, that he left out of view every thing else, and eagerly presented that prayer, there was no fault in this. Nor is it necessary to enter into any subtle controversy whether or not it was possible for him to forget our salvation. We ought to be satisfied with this single consideration, that at the time when he uttered a prayer to be delivered from death, he was not thinking of other things which would have shut the door against such a wish.
If it be objected, that the first movement, which needed to be restrained before it proceeded farther, was not so well regulated as it ought to have been, I reply: In the present corruption of our nature it is impossible to find ardor of affections accompanied by moderation, such as existed in Christ; but we ought to give such honor to the Son of God, as not to judge of him by what we find in ourselves. For in us all the affections of the flesh, when strongly excited, break out into rebellion, or, at least, have some mixture of pollution; but Christ, amidst the utmost vehemence of grief or fear, restrained himself within proper bounds. Nay more, as musical sounds, though various and differing from each other, are so far from being discordant, that they produce sweet melody and fine harmony; so in Christ there was a remarkable example of adaptation between the two wills, (203) the will of God and the will of man, so that they differed from each other without any conflict or opposition.
This passage shows plainly enough the gross folly of those ancient heretics, who were called Monothelites, (204) because they imagined that the will of Christ was but one and simple; for Christ, as he was God, willed nothing different from the Father; and therefore it follows, that his human soul had affections distinct from the secret purpose of God. But if even Christ was under the necessity of holding his will captive, in order to subject it to the government of God, though it was properly regulated, how carefully ought we to repress the violence of our feelings, which are always inconsiderate, and rash, and full of rebellion? And though the Spirit of God governs us, so that we wish nothing but what is agreeable to reason, still we owe to God such obedience as to endure patiently that our wishes should not be granted; (205) For the modesty of faith consists in permitting God to appoint differently from what we desire. Above all, when we have no certain and special promise, we ought to abide by this rule, not to ask any thing but on the condition that God shall fulfill what he has decreed; which cannot be done, unless we give up our wishes to his disposal.
It comes now to be inquired, what advantage did Christ gain by praying? The apostle, in writing to the Hebrews, says that he was heard ( ἀπὸ τὢς εὐλαβείας ) on account of his fear: for so ought that passage to be explained, and not, as it is usually explained, on account of his reverence, (Heb 5:7.) That would not have been consistent, if Christ had simply feared death; for he was not delivered from it. Hence it follows, that what led him to pray to be delivered from death was the dread of a greater evil. When he saw the wrath of God exhibited to him, as he stood at the tribunal of God charged with the sins of the whole world, he unavoidably shrunk with horror from the deep abyss of death. And, therefore, though he suffered death, yet since its pains were loosed — as Peter tells us, (Act 2:24,)—and he was victorious in the conflict, the Apostle justly says, that he was heard on account of his fear. Here ignorant people rise up and exclaim, that it would have been unworthy of Christ to be afraid of being swallowed up by death. But I should wish them to answer this question, What kind of fear do they suppose it to have been which drew from Christ drops of blood? (Luk 22:44) For that mortal sweat could only have proceeded from fearful and unusual horror. If any person, in the present day, were to sweat blood, and in such a quantity that the drops should fall to the ground, it would be reckoned an astonishing miracle; and if this happened to any man through fear of death, we would say that he had a cowardly and effeminate mind. Those men, therefore, who deny that Christ prayed that the Father would rescue him from the gulf of death, ascribe to him a cowardice that would be disgraceful even in an ordinary man.
If it be objected, that the fear which I am describing arises from unbelief, the answer is easy. When Christ was struck with horror at the divine curse, the feeling of the flesh affected him in such a manner, that faith still remained firm and unshaken. For such was the purity of his nature, that he felt, without being wounded by them, those temptations which pierce us with their stings. And yet those persons, by representing him not to have felt temptations, foolishly imagine that he was victorious without fighting. And, indeed, we have no right to suppose that he used any hypocrisy, when he complained of a mortal sadness in his soul; nor do the Evangelists speak falsely, when they say that he was exceedingly sorrowful, and that he trembled
(201) “ A desiré d’estre separé de Christ ;” — “desired to be separated from Christ.”
(202) “ Avec ceste condition de souffrir la mort;” — “on this condition of suffering death.”
(203) “ Les deux volontés.”
(204) Μονοθελὢται is compounded of μόνος, one, and θέλω, I will. The Monothelite heresy sprung up in the Seventh Century, and is fully detailed by our ecclesiastical historians. Its leading tenet was, that Christ had not one will as God, and another will as Man. — Ed.
(205) “ Que nos souhaits ne vienent point à loeur issue, quand ainsi luy plaist;” — “that our wishes should not succeed, when it so pleases Him.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(39) He went a little farther.St. Luke adds (Luk. 22:41) about a stones cast. The eight were left, we may believe, near the entrance of the garden; the three, apart by themselves, further on; the Master, still further, by Himself. The three heard the words that came from His lips as with a half-consciousness which revived afterwards in memory, but they were then numbed and stupefied with weariness and sorrow. It was now near the dawning of the day, and their eyes had not closed in sleep for four-and-twenty hours.
If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.We shrink instinctively from analysing or commenting on the utterances of that hour of agony. But, happily, words are given us where our own words fail. Thus it was, we are told, that He learned obedience by the things that He suffered (Heb. 5:8). He had spoken before to the very disciples who were now near Him of the cup which His Father had given Him to drink (Mat. 20:23). Now the cup is brought to His lips, and His human will at once shrinks from it and accepts it. The prayer which He had taught His disciples to use, Lead us not into temptation, is now His prayer, but it is subordinated to that other prayer, which is higher even than it, Thy will be done. In the prayer If it be possible we recognise, as in Mar. 13:32, the natural, necessary limits of our Lords humanity In one sense with God all things are possible, but even the Divine Omnipotence works through self-imposed laws, in the spiritual as in the natural world, and there also ends cannot be obtained except through their appointed and therefore necessary means. God might have redeemed mankind, men have rashly said, without the sufferings and death of the Son of Man, but the higher laws of the Divine Government made such a course, if we may venture so to speak, morally impossible.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
39. And he went a little further Luke says, “He went about a stone’s cast.” So that there were three divisions of the little band: there were the eight disciples; the three chosen ones; and, at the distance of a “stone’s throw,” the suffering Saviour. While he suffers they slumber.
And prayed The disciples were entreated to watch with our Lord, but not to pray with him or for him. That work he does alone, and asks no participation. They cannot pray his prayer. He may intercede for them, not they for him. Saying The disciples could not have heard this prayer. The distance was too great, and they were even unable to keep awake. They must have learned the truth from our Lord’s own explanations of his sufferings after his resurrection. See Luk 24:27; Luk 24:32.
O my Father This prayer has three distinct points: the appeal, the deprecation, and the resignation.
The purpose of recording this prayer is great. It contains a profound lesson, how under affliction the sufferer may innocently writhe under the pain, may ask to be delivered, up to the point of the divine will. But at that point, however deep the agony, the resignation must be absolute. Father However near the paternity of God, it still leaves him the right and the reason to inflict upon us terrible sorrows. Yet true faith looks up, even to his frowning face, with a filial claim. If it be possible The possibility here meant presupposes that the solid plans of redemption must be undisturbed. If, without lifting up these foundations, it be possible. This cup What was this cup? Not the crucifixion; but the present supernatural agonies of the garden. For, as his sorrows were greater than his strength, they opened up before him a just and true fear that a complete catastrophe, even to unknown depths of failure, could result. Those terrible results lay as dregs at the bottom of the cup. And as Paul says, (Heb 5:7) He was saved in that he feared. From that fearful and inevitable break-down which he justly feared, and could escape only by obtaining supplicated aid, he was saved. But was this failure truly possible? Not only possible but surely certain, but for the power of this same faithful prayer, and for the true spirit in which the Redeemer offered it. O how narrow was the pass of danger through which our Jesus trod to his and our redemption! Pass from me Saint Paul truly says that this prayer was heard. Causes were bearing down upon this lonely victim, as sure to crush as the rail-car would the shrinking infant lying on its track. Before the dregs of the cup were reached, the draught attained its limit! So God shall temper our trial to our strength, and our strength to our trial, if but the earnest prayer be put forth and the deep submission be retained. Not as I will His own individual will was but a wish, which could not be wrong so long as it existed in complete submission to God’s will. To sacrifice our own preferences, in order that our wills may be one with God’s, is true resignation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” ’
Then He moved on further and, falling on His face He prayed. His attitude of prayer emphasises the desperateness of the situation. He had never as far as they knew prayed in this attitude before. ‘My Father.’ It is a prayer from Son to Father, from the One Who is alone known of the Father, to the Father Whom He knows so well (Mat 11:25-27). It is the intimacy of the Godhead. ‘If it be possible.’ In His mind the question is still open. He is aware from the Old Testament prophecies of the depth of suffering ahead. The only question is, is it necessary? ‘Let this cup pass from Me.’ The cup is a regular Old Testament symbol for suffering and reception of wrath. In Isa 51:17; Isa 51:22; Jer 25:15; Rev 14:10 it is the cup of the Lord’s anger, the cup of the righteous wrath of God against sin, and it is the one that He is being called on to drink to the full. But in the past such a cup had been taken out of the hand of His people once God had felt that they had drunk enough (Isa 51:22) and Jesus possibly hoped that this might now be possible for Him. ‘Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’ But only if it was within the will of His Father. He had no hesitation about doing His Father’s will. All He wanted to be sure of was, that what He was about to endure really was His Father’s will. For a full hour He prayed, and had still not reached certainty. What He was to face was not, He knew, an anguish to be entered into lightly. And the agony in His soul continued unrelenting.
The point here is not that Jesus was afraid to die, even by the terrible torture of crucifixion. The cup that He was being called on to drink went much deeper than that. It had to do the antithesis between holiness (total set apartness to God) and sin (being totally apart from and cut off from God). It had to do with experiencing everything that was the very opposite of what He was, experiencing what was contrary to His whole Being. He was to be ‘made sin for us, He Who knew no sin’ (2Co 5:21). He was the One to Whom the very thought of sin was totally abhorrent, and He was to be drenched in the filth of mankind. His very soul revolted at the idea. But if necessary He was willing to see it through.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The first prayer:
v. 39. And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.
v. 40. And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one hour?
v. 41. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Leaving even His favorite disciples, though near the place where He was going, He felt constrained to be all alone with the horrors of death and hell, with the realization of the unquenchable wrath of God upon the sins of the world which He had taken upon Him. As the vicar, the representative of sinful mankind, damnation stared Him in the face. He throws Himself down upon His face in the dust, and from a heart full of the anguish of terrible suffering His prayer is wrung: Father, if it be possible, let this cup, literally, go along past Me, but by no means as I will, but as Thou wilt. The cup of excruciating torture, of death on the cross, was before His eyes, and His weak human nature shrinks back from its terrors. For death is an unnatural condition, it destroys the life which God has created, it tears asunder the bond between body and soul which was tied by God. If therefore there is any possibility of carrying out the work of salvation without being obliged to endure the sum total of all punishments upon sin, without draining the cup of God’s wrath to the very dregs, He begs to be given leave to choose that easier way. The counsel of God, to which He Himself had agreed, that redemption for the lost and condemned sinners would have to be gained through suffering and death, had become obscured in His human consciousness. What deep humiliation! And yet, there was not the slightest hint of objecting and murmuring in His prayer. By all means, in every way, the will of the heavenly Father should be carried out. “How, then, does Christ pray? This is a useful and necessary instruction, which we ought to follow gladly and not forget. Our dear Lord Jesus prays that God should take the cup from Him, and expects, as the only-begotten Son, nothing but good from the Father. And yet He adds these words: Not as I will, but as Thou wilt. Do thou the same way. If thou art in tribulation and suffering, be careful not to think that God for that reason is thy enemy; turn to Him, as a child to his father (for since we believe on Christ, He wants to accept us as sons and coheirs of Christ), cry to Him for help, say: O Father, behold what things are happening to me here and there; help me for the sake of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ. Now we should, in all matters pertaining to the body, place our will under God’s will; for, as Paul says, we know not how to pray as we ought. Then it is often also highly necessary that God keep us in cross and distress. Now, since God alone knows what is good and useful for us, we should place His will ahead, and our will after, and prove our obedience in patience. ” Returning to His disciples after His prayer, the Lord found them asleep. They were unable to stand the test of the great strain; human nature demanded rest. The greatness and depth of the revelation unfolding before their eyes was too much for their feeble flesh. Reproachfully Jesus addresses Himself to Peter, in an effort to rouse him: So, then, you could not watch with Me for even one hour, after all the protestations of a short hour before. He urges them all to maintain a state of watchfulness, and for that reason to pray lest they fall into temptation, for the weakness of the flesh would be only too apt to overcome the strength of the spirit, be it never so willing. It is in the hours of bitter and severe trial, when the weakness of the flesh is ready to give up the hard fight, that prayerful watchfulness, together with unwavering trust in God’s power, will maintain the strength of the spirit to keep the faith.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 26:39. And fell on his face The human nature of our Lord being now burdened beyond measure, he found it necessary to retire, and to pray that if it was possible, or consistent with the salvation of the world, he might be delivered from the sufferings which were then lying on him; for, that it was not the fear of dying on the cross, which made him speak and pray in the manner here related, is evident from this consideration, that to suppose it, would be to degrade our Lord’s character infinitely: make his sufferings as terrible as possible, clothe them with all the aggravating circumstances imaginable, yet, if no more were included in them than the pains of death, for Jesus,whose human nature was strengthened far beyond the natural pitch, by its union with the Divine,to have shrunk at the prospect of it, would shew a weakness to which many of his followers were strangers, who encountered more terrible deaths without the least emotion. Our Lord first kneeled and prayed, as St. Luke tells us, Luk 12:41 then, in the vehemence of his passion, he fell on his face, and spake the words recorded both by St. Matthew and St. Mark; in the mean time his prayer, though most fervent, was accompanied with expressions of the utmost resignation. See Macknight and Calmet.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 26:39 . ] belongs to : after He had gone forward a short distance . For comp. Xen. Cyrop . iv. 2. 6 ( ); Hist. Gr . vii. 2. 13 ( ).
] The article was not necessary before . (in opposition to Fritzsche, who takes as meaning there ). Comp. Mat 11:10 , Mat 17:6 , and elsewhere. Winer, p. 116 [E. T. 152]. Bengel appropriately observes: “ in faciem , non modo in genua ; summa demissio.”
] ethical possibility according to the divine purpose. Similarly the popular expression is to be understood, according to the sense in which Jesus uses it, as implying the necessary condition of harmony with the divine will.
] i.e. this suffering and death immediately before me. Comp. Mat 20:22 .
, . . .] The wish, to which in His human dread of suffering He gave utterance, that, if possible, He should not be called upon to endure it ( , Chrysostom), at once gives place to absolute submission, Joh 5:30 ; Joh 6:38 . The word to be understood after ( ) is not , but, as corresponding with the (not , observe), , or , in which the petitioner expresses his final determination . It may be observed further, that the broken utterance is in keeping with the deep emotion of our Lord.
For , which, so far as the essential meaning is concerned, is identical with the relative pronoun, comp. Hermann, ad Hom. h. in Cer . 172.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt .
Ver. 39. And he went a little farther ] Amat secessum ardens oratio. St Luke saith he was violently withdrawn from them, about a stone’s cast, and there he kneeled down and prayed, for farther he could not go, through earnest desire of praying to his heavenly Father, Luk 22:41 . . Illud desiderium precandi eum incessit, ut illum quodam modo truderet.
And fell on his face ] He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope, Lam 3:29 . This and the like humble gestures in God’s service do at once testify, and excite inward devotion.
Let this cup pass ] In the time of execution, they gave the malefactor a cup of wine, mingled with myrrh, Mar 15:23 , to stupify his senses, and so to mitigate his pains. Hence the word calix or cup is put here and elsewhere for death itself, which, being terrible to nature, is therefore here with strong crying and tears deprecated by our Saviour, Heb 5:7 . This was natural in him, and not sinful in us, so it do not degenerate into that which is carnal fear of death.
Nevertheless not as I will, but, &c. ] Here Christ doth not correct his former request (for then there should have been some kind of fault in it), but explieateth only on what condition he desired deliverance, and becometh “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” Phi 2:8 , crying out, “not as I will, but as thou wilt,” which shows that he had a distinct human will from the will of his Father, and so was very man as well as God. And here Aristotle, that great philosopher, is clearly confuted. For he denies that a magnanimous man can be exceeding sorrowful for anything that befalls him. a Our Saviour (his Church’s stoutest champion) was exceeding sorrowful even to the death; and yet of so great a spirit, that he yields up himself wholly to God. Magnus est animus, qui se Deo tradidit; pusillus et degener, qui obluctatur, saith Seneca. He is a brave man that trusts God with all.
a . Arist. Eth.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
39. ] (Matt., Mark) Luke, who in this description is the more precise. ., I cannot help thinking, implies something more than mere removal from them something of the reluctance of parting.
The distance would be very small, not above forty or fifty yards. Hence the disciples might well catch the leading words of our Lord’s prayers, before drowsiness overpowered them. Luke has however only , which is not so full as our account.
. ] Stier finely remarks: ‘This was in truth a different prayer from that which went before, which John has recorded.’ But still in the same spirit, uttered by the same Son of God and Redeemer of men. The glorifying ( Joh 17:1 ) begins with suffering, as the previous words, , might lead us to expect. The ‘power over all flesh’ shews itself first as power of the conflicting and victorious spirit over his own flesh , by virtue of which He is ‘one of us.’
Mark expresses the substance of the prayer, and interprets by . Luke’s report differs only in verbal expression from Matthew’s. In the address, we have here and in Luke in Mark . In all, and in the prayer itself, there is the deepest feeling and apprehension in the Redeemer’s soul of his Sonship and the unity of the Father the most entire and holy submission to His Will. We must not for a moment think of the Father’s wrath abiding on Him as the cause of his suffering. Here is no fear of wrath, but, in the depth of his human anguish, the very tenderness of filial love.
The variation in Mark and Luke in the substance of the prayer, though slight, is worthy of remark.
= , = . All these three find their union in one and the same inward feeling. That in the text expresses, ‘If, within the limits of Thy holy Will, this may be;’ that in Mark, ‘All things are (absolutely) possible to Thee Thou canst therefore but not what I will, but what Thou wilt :’ that in Luke, ‘If it be Thy Will to remove, &c. (Thou canst): but not my will, but Thine be done.’ The very words used by our Lord, the Holy Spirit has not seen fit to give us shewing us, even in this solemn instance, the comparative indifference of the letter , when we have the inner spirit . That our Lord should have uttered all three forms of the prayer, is not for a moment to be thought of; and such a view could only spring out of the most petty and unworthy appreciation of the purpose of Scripture narrative.
] as we should say of a threatening cloud, ‘It has gone over .’
But what is the or , of which our Lord here prays that it may pass by? Certainly, not the mere present feebleness and prostration of the bodily frame: not any mere section of his sufferings but the whole the betrayal, the trial, the mocking, the scourging, the cross, the grave, and all besides which our thoughts cannot reach. Of this all, his soul, in humble subjection to the higher Will, which was absolutely united and harmonious with the Will of the Father, prays that if possible it may pass over. And this prayer was heard see Heb 5:7 on account of His pious resignation to the Father’s will, or on the ground of it, so that it prevailed He was strengthened from Heaven. He did indeed drink the cup to the dregs but He was enabled to do it, and this was the answer to his prayer.
] The Monothelite heresy, which held but one will in the Lord Jesus, is here plainly convicted of error. The distinction is clear, and marked by our Lord Himself. In His human soul , He willed to be freed from the dreadful things before Him but this human will was overruled by the inner and divine purpose the Will at unity with the Father’s Will.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 26:39 . , a little space, presumably near enough for them to hear ( cf. Luk 22:41 ). , on His face, not on kness, summa demissio (Beng.). , Father! Weiss in Markus-Evang. seems to think that the one word Abba was all the three heard, the rest of the prayer being an expansion and interpretation by the evangelist. But if they heard one word they could hear more. The prayer uttered in such a state of distress would be a loud outburst ( cf. , Heb 5:7 ), at once , therefore before the disciples had time to fall asleep or even get drowsy. ., this cup (of death). , etc., howbeit not as I wish, but as Thou, expressively elliptical; no doubt spoken in a calmer tone, the subdued accent suggestive of a change of mood even if the very words did not distinctly reach the ear of the three. Grotius, from theological solicitudes, takes = , “vellem” (“more Hebraeorum, qui neque potentialem neque optativum modum habent”).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 26:39-41
39And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mat 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed” The beautiful contemporary pictures of Jesus kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane by a rock are moving, but inaccurate. The Greek text here asserts that He was completely prostrate in agony and distress, even to the point of physical death, during these moments. It has often been asked what terrified Jesus so much. Some have speculated that it was the fear of physical death, or His fear that the disciples could not lead the Church. Jesus, who had known intimacy with the Father moment by moment, was on the verge of having to experience the last great aspect of human lostness-a breach of fellowship with God. It was this breach of fellowship and having to carry the burden of sin for all people of all time that terrified the Son. If we can see this kind of intense anguish on the part of Jesus of Nazareth, the unique Son of God, how awesome and destructive must separation from fellowship with God really be!
“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” There are several extremely important aspects to this phrase. From Mark’s parallel we understand that He used the Aramaic term “Abba,” which referred to an intimate, family relationship. It is often translated “Daddy.” In a few brief hours this will change to “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (cf. Mat 27:46). The phrase “if it is possible” (first class conditional sentence) is found in the Markan parallel (cf. Mar 14:36) in the phrase “all things are possible.” The slight variation between Mat 26:35; Mat 26:42 and the variation between the Gospels do not minimize the fact that, from Mat 26:44, we realize that Jesus prayed the same prayer three times.
The concept of “the cup” in biblical usage reflected an Old Testament symbol for the destiny of a person, usually in the sense of the judgment of God (cf. Psa 75:8; Isa 51:17; Isa 51:22; Jer 25:15-16; Jer 25:27-28). The cup of judgment that God had prepared for rebellious mankind was consumed to the dredges by the innocent Son of God (cf. 2Co 5:21; Gal 3:13).
“yet not as I will, but as You will” The pronouns “I” and “You” are in the emphatic position in the Greek. This, combined with the use of first class and Third class conditional sentences in Mat 26:42, shows us the intent of the Son in His prayer. Though His human nature cries out for deliverance, His heart is set on fulfilling the will of the Father in substitutionary atonement (cf. Mar 10:45).
Mat 26:40 “And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping” Before we are too quick to condemn the disciples, let’s note that in Luk 22:45 the phrase, “they were asleep from sorrow,” describes that they were unable to bear the pain of Jesus’ prophecy about His own death and their subsequent scattering. Though Jesus longed to have human fellowship and intercession at this time of ultimate crisis in His life, He had to face this moment alone, and He faced it for all believers!
Mat 26:41 “keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation” These are both present imperatives. There must be constant vigil! Temptation is an ongoing reality (cf. Mat 4:11; Luk 4:13; Romans 7).
There have been several theories as to what “temptation” referred in this context
1. to the disciples sleeping instead of praying
2. to the disciples desertion of Jesus in Mat 26:56
3. to Peter’s denial in Mat 26:69-75
4. to governmental or religious trials (cf. Mat 5:10-12; Joh 9:22; Joh 16:2)
The term “temptation” (peirasmos) had the connotation of “to tempt or try with the goal of destruction” (see Special Topic at Mat 4:1, cf. Mat 6:13; Luk 11:4; Jas 1:13). It is often contrasted with another Greek term for test (dokimazo) which had the connotation of “to try or tempt with a view toward strengthening.” However, these connotations are not always present in every context. Theologically it can be said that God does not test or tempt His children to destroy them but He does provide opportunities for spiritual growth through trials (cf. Gen 22:1; Exo 16:4; Exo 20:20; Duet. Mat 8:2; Mat 8:16; Matthew 4; Luke 4; Heb 5:8). However, He always provides a way through (cf. 1Co 10:13).
“the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” This was the self-confession of Jesus who knows fully our humanity and its weaknesses (cf. Heb 4:15). And, knowing us, He loved us and died for us (cf. Rom 5:8) and now intercedes for us (cf. Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; Heb 9:24; 1Jn 2:1). Hallelujah!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
will = am willing. See App-102.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
39.] (Matt., Mark) Luke, who in this description is the more precise. ., I cannot help thinking, implies something more than mere removal from them-something of the reluctance of parting.
The distance would be very small, not above forty or fifty yards. Hence the disciples might well catch the leading words of our Lords prayers, before drowsiness overpowered them. Luke has however only , which is not so full as our account.
.] Stier finely remarks: This was in truth a different prayer from that which went before, which John has recorded. But still in the same spirit, uttered by the same Son of God and Redeemer of men. The glorifying (Joh 17:1) begins with suffering, as the previous words, , might lead us to expect. The power over all flesh shews itself first as power of the conflicting and victorious spirit over his own flesh, by virtue of which He is one of us.
Mark expresses the substance of the prayer, and interprets by . Lukes report differs only in verbal expression from Matthews. In the address, we have here and in Luke -in Mark . In all, and in the prayer itself, there is the deepest feeling and apprehension in the Redeemers soul of his Sonship and the unity of the Father-the most entire and holy submission to His Will. We must not for a moment think of the Fathers wrath abiding on Him as the cause of his suffering. Here is no fear of wrath,-but, in the depth of his human anguish, the very tenderness of filial love.
The variation in Mark and Luke in the substance of the prayer, though slight, is worthy of remark.
= , = . All these three find their union in one and the same inward feeling. That in the text expresses, If, within the limits of Thy holy Will, this may be;-that in Mark, All things are (absolutely) possible to Thee-Thou canst therefore-but not what I will, but what Thou wilt:-that in Luke, If it be Thy Will to remove, &c. (Thou canst): but not my will, but Thine be done. The very words used by our Lord, the Holy Spirit has not seen fit to give us-shewing us, even in this solemn instance, the comparative indifference of the letter, when we have the inner spirit. That our Lord should have uttered all three forms of the prayer, is not for a moment to be thought of; and such a view could only spring out of the most petty and unworthy appreciation of the purpose of Scripture narrative.
] as we should say of a threatening cloud, It has gone over.
But what is the or , of which our Lord here prays that it may pass by? Certainly, not the mere present feebleness and prostration of the bodily frame: not any mere section of his sufferings-but the whole-the betrayal, the trial, the mocking, the scourging, the cross, the grave, and all besides which our thoughts cannot reach. Of this all, his soul, in humble subjection to the higher Will, which was absolutely united and harmonious with the Will of the Father, prays that if possible it may pass over. And this prayer was heard-see Heb 5:7- -on account of His pious resignation to the Fathers will, or on the ground of it, so that it prevailed-He was strengthened from Heaven. He did indeed drink the cup to the dregs-but He was enabled to do it, and this was the answer to his prayer.
] The Monothelite heresy, which held but one will in the Lord Jesus, is here plainly convicted of error. The distinction is clear, and marked by our Lord Himself. In His human soul, He willed to be freed from the dreadful things before Him-but this human will was overruled by the inner and divine purpose-the Will at unity with the Fathers Will.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 26:39. , on His face) not only on His knees[1147]-the deepest humiliation.[1148]- , My Father) Jesus prays as a Son.- , if it is possible) cf. Mat 26:53, from which verse it also appears how promptly and perfectly Jesus surrendered Himself to the will of the Father.- , the cup) offered by the Father, brimful with the whole draught of suffering.-, I will) This Will of Jesus that the cup might pass away from Him, was not absolute without reference to His Fathers Will. Cf. the latter part of Joh 21:18.[1149]
[1147] Which Luke records.-V. g.
[1148] Such as occurs in His history, nowhere else.-V. g.
[1149] Where Peters flesh is represented as not willing ( ) that which his spirit would be willing to bear. The not-willingness is not absolute without reference to Gods will and glory. His flesh would wish to escape, only if so were Gods will.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
cup
The “cup” must be interpreted by our Lord’s own use of that symbol in speaking of His approaching sacrificial death Mat 20:22; Joh 18:11. In view of Joh 10:17; Joh 10:18 He could have been in no fear of an unwilling death. The value of the account of the agony in the Garden is in the evidence it affords that He knew fully what the agony of the cross would mean when His soul was made an offering for sin, Isa 53:10, in the hiding of the Father’s face. Knowing the cost to the utmost, he voluntarily paid it.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
and fell: Gen 17:3, Num 14:5, Num 16:22, 1Ch 21:16, Eze 1:28, Luk 17:16, Act 10:25, Rev 19:10
and prayed: Mar 14:35, Mar 14:36, Luk 22:41, Luk 22:42, Heb 5:7
O my Father: Mat 26:42, Joh 11:41, Joh 12:27
if: Mat 24:24, Mar 13:22
let: Mat 20:22, Joh 18:11
not: 2Sa 15:26, Joh 5:30, Joh 6:38, Joh 12:28, Joh 14:31, Rom 15:1-3, Phi 2:8
Reciprocal: Gen 22:7 – My father Lev 9:24 – they shouted Num 16:45 – And they Num 20:6 – they fell Deu 3:26 – the Lord 2Sa 22:7 – my distress Neh 8:6 – with their faces Job 1:20 – fell Psa 18:4 – sorrows Psa 20:1 – hear Psa 31:14 – Thou Psa 42:6 – my God Psa 89:26 – Thou Isa 50:5 – General Eze 46:2 – he shall worship Mat 6:7 – repetitions Mat 7:21 – my Mat 26:36 – while Mar 10:38 – drink of the Act 16:25 – prayed Act 18:21 – if God Act 21:14 – The will Rom 15:3 – Christ 2Co 12:8 – I besought 1Pe 3:17 – if Rev 14:10 – into
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN
And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed. let this cup pass from Me.
Mat 26:39
Why was our Blessed Lord in such distress? It is not sufficient to say that it was because of physical fear. What was it that caused Him such anguish of heart and mind?
I. The hour and the power of darkness.In the first place, it was both the hour and the power of darkness. The expression darkness surely alludes to Satan and to his emissaries. The enemies of God and man were allowed to have their way for the time being. The Son of God was almost in the very grip of the devil.
II. The consciousness of mans sin.Secondly, there was the consciousness that the vast majority of mankind loved the things which He hated, and would not accept salvation and the holiness it carried with it.
III. He bare the sin of many.Thirdly, the real meaning of the agony lies in the work the Messiah had to do in saving sinners. The real key to our Lords agony is in Isaiah 53 To apply the language of Isaiah 53. To any human being, or to any nation, as the Jews do, is out of the question. Our Blessed Master was our Substitute. He loved me, and gave Himself for me, and bore this agony for my sake.
IV. What is our attitude?After studying the agony, we should, as a consequence, have a horror of sin. If there is no sympathy with Jesus in his agony, sin is not understood, and if there is no sympathy with Jesus in His agony, there is no gratitude towards Him, no love for Him.
Canon MCormick.
Illustration
In one of the finest passages in the English language, Cardinal Newman, before he left the Church of England, referred to the agony in the most eloquent terms. Taking the ideas that are conveyed to us in this chapter, he said that our Blessed Lord had all the sin of the whole world laid upon Him. All the lies, all the adulteries, all the murders, all the selfishness, all the cruelty, all the sins that the human mind could imagine were heaped upon Him, until, as it were, they reached up to heaven, and that He had to bear the punishment that was due to these sins. The idea is a marvellous idea.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
6:39
Having asked the three disciples to tarry and watch, Jesus wished to be alone with his Father and hence went a little farther away from them before beginning his prayer. He prayed that this cup might pass from him if it was the will of his Father. A common error in the comments heard today is to apply this cup to the suffering and death on the cross. Jesus rebuked Peter for thinking he could rescue him from that cup (Joh 18:11), saying that the cup of death was necessary to fulfill the scripture. He certainly would not ask the Father, then, to save him from it. No, the cup to which he referred was this cup, meaning the present agony through which he was going. That cup of agony is forcefully described in Luk 22:40-44. Jesus only asked that he be spared the terrible nervous agitation which he was at that time enduring. But it was not God’s will to spare his Son even that much, so he was compelled to go through with it, until his agony brought out the great drops of sweat that was likened to thickened blood.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 26:39. And he went forward a little. About a stones cast (Luk 22:41), since that seems to refer to this second withdrawal. Into the Holy of Holies He goes alone. Luke, a physician, gives more vivid statements.
Fell on his face. Luke: kneeled down. Kneeling and prostration were scarcely distinguished in the east.
If it is possible. Mark (Mar 14:36): Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; Luke (Luk 22:42): if thou be willing. The bitterness of this cup was so great, that He desired its removal, but even this desire was subordinated to the holy will of His Father.
This cup. (Comp. chap. Mat 20:22.) All His sufferings, including the specific sorrow of that hour. Hope of relief remains in our anguish; but He foreknew all. All the predictions our Lord had previously made and the events of the same evening, show that it was not merely a fear of death.
Pass away from me. God answered the prayer by giving Him strength to drink it. The removal of the suffering was not possible. The sorrows were necessary, not for Him, but for us.
Not as I will, but as thou wilt. In this real struggle, His will was still fixed in its obedience to that of His Father. As the God-man He foreknew all the bitterness of the cup, and His human will desired relief, but that will was overruled by the Divine purpose, which coincided with His Fathers will and led to submission.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 26:39. And he went a little further Luke says, He was withdrawn from them about a stones cast, so that the apostles could still both see and hear him; and fell on his face It seems he first knelt down, Luk 22:41, and then, as the ardour of his soul increased, prostrated himself on his face to the ground, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible That is, if it be consistent with the salvation of the world; let this cup Of bitterness and terror, pass from me And it did pass from him soon; for when he cried unto God with strong cries and tears, he was heard in that which he feared, Heb 5:7. God took away the terror and severity of that inward conflict. That it was not the fear of dying on the cross which made our Lord speak and pray in the manner here related, is evident from this, that to suppose it would be to degrade his character infinitely. Suppose his sufferings to be as terrible as possible, clothe them with all the aggravating circumstances imaginable; yet if no more was included in them than the pains of death, inasmuch as his human nature was strengthened far beyond the natural pitch by its union with the divine, for Jesus to have shrunk at the prospect of them, would have shown a weakness which many of his followers were strangers to, encountering more terrible deaths without the least emotion. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt Here we see, that though his prayer was most fervent, yet it was accompanied with due expressions of entire resignation.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, {s} let this {t} cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt].
(s) Let it pass me, and not touch me.
(t) That is, which is at hand, and is offered and prepared for me: an idiom which the Hebrews use for the wrath of God, and the punishment he sends. See Geneva “Mat 20:22”.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus’ prostrate posture reflected the intense anguish He felt. He addressed God as "My Father" (cf. Mat 6:9). This title stresses the intimacy that Jesus felt with God (cf. Mar 14:36). This is the only time, according to the Gospels, that Jesus addressed God this way. In view of the limits that His incarnation involved, Jesus may not have known if another way to provide redemption existed (cf. Mat 24:36), though this seems unlikely.
"We are here in full view of the deepest mystery of our faith: the two Natures in One Person. Both Natures spake [sic] here, and the ’if it be possible’ of St. Matthew and St. Mark is in St. Luke ’if Thou be willing.’" [Note: Edersheim, The Life . . ., 2:540.]
In one sense God can do anything, but in another sense He binds Himself to certain courses of action because of His own purposes. Jesus was asking for a release from having to undergo the outpouring of God’s wrath for humankind’s sins on the cross (cf. Mat 4:1-11; Mat 16:21-23). [Note: See Hagner, Matthew 14-28, p. 785.] Notwithstanding, He wanted something more than that. Above all else He wanted His Father’s will to happen. He submitted to suffering and death if this was the only way to provide salvation, but He requested another solution if possible. The "cup" is an Old Testament figure for suffering and death under the wrath of God (cf. Mat 26:27; Mat 20:22-23; Psa 11:6; Psa 75:7-8; Isa 51:17; Isa 51:22; Jer 25:15-16; Jer 25:27-29; et al.). [Note: See C. E. B. Cranfield, "The Cup Metaphor in Mark xiv. 36 and Parallels," Expository Times 59 (1947-48):137-38.]
This is an excellent model prayer when we do not know the will of God specifically. We can request our preference, as Jesus did, but we should also submit our preference to the will of God, whatever that may be (cf. Mat 6:10). This does not make prayer meaningless because sometimes our preferences will be within God’s will. He may not give us what we want without our requesting it (cf. Jas 4:2). If our preference is outside God’s will, denying our request will be a positive answer to our prayer if what we want supremely is His will.