A Place of Sorrow
Today's study takes place in a familiar place to the disciples - the Mount of Olives (Garden of Gethsemane, which means oil-press). This is a very important Passover night. Jesus comes to the garden to pray before He is arrested, tried, and condemned to die. The remaining 11 follow Jesus there after finishing the Passover meal.
In Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus tells the disciples that he is overwhelmed to the point of death. He tells them to stay here and keep watch with Him. His three closest disciples are there - Peter, James, and John - and they go with Him a little farther on. At a close distance they watch Jesus pray. While praying so intensely, Jesus sweats drops of blood. He asks the Father to take away His cup of suffering. Jesus concludes the prayer with not My will but Yours be done.
In Luke 22:45, these three fell asleep from the exhaustion of their own sorrow. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible states - And when he rose from prayer,.... The Syriac version reads, "from his prayer", having finished it; and the Persic and Ethiopic versions read, "from the place of prayer", or where he prayed: and was come to his disciples; to the three, which he had left about the distance of a stone's cast: he found them sleeping for sorrow; on his account; for he had signified unto them, how exceeding sorrowful he was; and they might perceive by his looks and gestures, the anxiety and distress of mind he was in, which must needs affect them; and besides, he had given them some intimations of his being to be betrayed by one of them, and of his sufferings and death, and speedy departure from them; and because of these things, sorrow had filled their hearts, and this had induced heaviness and sleep upon them;
Sorrow.... it is something no one wants. I have been through many sorrowful times in my life. It is painful and difficult. One of the sorrowful times was the loss of a loved one. Even as I type these words the memories bring tears to my eyes. I have empathy for others who are going through the loss of someone they love. I try to comfort them though at times there are no adequate words to say. Prayer is the answer when these sorrow-filled moments occur. Maybe that is why Jesus encouraged His disciples to pray.
In Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus tells the disciples that he is overwhelmed to the point of death. He tells them to stay here and keep watch with Him. His three closest disciples are there - Peter, James, and John - and they go with Him a little farther on. At a close distance they watch Jesus pray. While praying so intensely, Jesus sweats drops of blood. He asks the Father to take away His cup of suffering. Jesus concludes the prayer with not My will but Yours be done.
In Luke 22:45, these three fell asleep from the exhaustion of their own sorrow. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible states - And when he rose from prayer,.... The Syriac version reads, "from his prayer", having finished it; and the Persic and Ethiopic versions read, "from the place of prayer", or where he prayed: and was come to his disciples; to the three, which he had left about the distance of a stone's cast: he found them sleeping for sorrow; on his account; for he had signified unto them, how exceeding sorrowful he was; and they might perceive by his looks and gestures, the anxiety and distress of mind he was in, which must needs affect them; and besides, he had given them some intimations of his being to be betrayed by one of them, and of his sufferings and death, and speedy departure from them; and because of these things, sorrow had filled their hearts, and this had induced heaviness and sleep upon them;
Sorrow.... it is something no one wants. I have been through many sorrowful times in my life. It is painful and difficult. One of the sorrowful times was the loss of a loved one. Even as I type these words the memories bring tears to my eyes. I have empathy for others who are going through the loss of someone they love. I try to comfort them though at times there are no adequate words to say. Prayer is the answer when these sorrow-filled moments occur. Maybe that is why Jesus encouraged His disciples to pray.
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