The Prayer in Gethsemane

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and* pray.” 37 And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be distressed and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39 And going forward a little he fell down on his face, praying and saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”* 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, were you not able to stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!” 42 Again for the second time he went away and* prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will must be done.” 43 And he came again and* found them sleeping, ⌊for they could not keep their eyes open⌋. 44 And leaving them again, he went away and* prayed for the third time, saying the same thing again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let us go! Behold, the one who is betraying me is approaching!”

After this Jesus retreats with his disciples to Gethsemane (26:36–46), where he prays to his Father before his arrest. Verses 37–38 speak of an anguish so deep as to threaten Jesus’ life before he ever reaches the cross. Over against Peter’s threefold denial (v. 34) stand Jesus’ three petitions. Peter’s confidence (v. 35) needs no prayer; Jesus’ anxiety drives him to prayer.

The prospect of the cup (cf. 20:22–23) and abandonment by the Father (27:46) explains Jesus’ agony. Far from meekly resigning himself to the inevitable, God the Son pleads with God the Father to alter his plan. Yet the Son does not pit his will against the Father’s. By an act of his will he submits to the Father. The submitting (v. 39b) does not substitute for, but results from, the striving (v. 39a).

In the first petition (v. 39) the conditional clause is positive; in verses 42 and 44 it is negative, expressive of Jesus’ growing awareness that the cup will not be taken away until he has emptied it.

In his supreme agony, Jesus longs for support from the three men who, for all their blindness and self-centeredness, have become his dearest friends (vv. 37, 38). In verse 41 he warns them lest, amidst the approaching trial, they should be ensnared by the Evil One and prove disloyal to Messiah (cf. 6:13). Given the boasts of Peter (26:33–35) and the sons of Zebedee (20:22), the warning is noteworthy.