Mat 26:37-40 | KingComments | STEP | The place where the Lord comes with His disciples is expressly mentioned: Gethsemane. That means ‘olive press’. He designates a place for His disciples to sit down. They may rest. He goes to fight the toughest prayer battle ever. He takes three disciples further into the garden: Peter, the principal, and the two sons of Zebedee, these are John and James. John and James are not specifically named, but referred to as “the two sons of Zebedee”. In Matthew 20 they are not mentioned by name either, to emphasize their parentage there too ( ). Because of their parentage, they ask for things that do not belong to them. It will soon become apparent that because of their parentage they cannot keep watch with the Lord either. As He goes further, He sees what awaits Him and that makes Him grieved and distressed. He makes them partakers of His grief, but not of His fear, and appeals to their compassion. He asks them to keep watch with Him at the place where they have now arrived. Then He also leaves the three disciples behind. The last bit, “a little beyond”, he goes alone. No one can follow this distance. Then He falls on His face. He sees before Him the full horror of what awaits Him on the cross. What happens here is described in Hebrews 5 ( ). The Lord does not drink the cup here, but this is what He sees. On the cross He drank the cup filled with the wrath of God when He was made sin for us and forsaken by God, which He felt in the depths of His soul. It is impossible that He could desire to come into contact with sin. It was a horror to His soul. It is His perfection that He asks the Father to let that cup pass Him by. Equally perfect is His submission to the will of the Father. If we were to be saved, if God was to be glorified in Him Who had taken our cause upon Himself, the cup could not pass Him by. After this prayer He stands up and goes to those who He asked to keep watch with Him. They have fallen asleep. His prayer didn’t last that long, did it? However, they have no awareness of the seriousness of what awaits their Lord. They have their own thoughts about everything that is connected to Him. The Lord gently reprimanded Peter for his false self-confidence, and reminded him of his weakness. But Peter is too filled with himself to take advantage of it. He awakens from his sleep, but his self-confidence is not shaken. A sadder experience is needed to cure him. While the soul of the Lord is so busy with the horror of the sins that He will have to bear, and with the horror of God’s judgment over them, He thinks of the wellbeing of the disciples. He tells them to keep watch and pray with themselves in mind. He no longer asks them to think of Him. He knows that it is not their unwillingness. Their spirit is willing, but they have still oh such little awareness of the weakness of the flesh. We do nothing other than look at the Lord with admiration here. We see His fear of the cup which He has not yet drunk, but experiencing a foretaste of that which He sees ahead of Him as He presents it to His Father. We see how He then turns in complete peace to His disciples and then returns to the same terrible spiritual battle that frightens His soul. That He prays again is proof even more of His perfection and the perfect abhorrence He has of sin. He is not looking for a way out, of not having to drink the cup. He follows the will of God. He does not seek the consent of the Father, as if He did not know what His will was. It is not about asking Him if He could be dismissed from His task, but He as Man seeks the complete support of His Father. Again He rises from prayer and comes to His disciples whom He finds asleep again. They are not able to keep watch with Him. He doesn’t wake them up this time. He leaves them. He is also Divinely perfect in His dependence. Therefore, once again, for the third time, he prays. He is not looking for other words. He seeks to bring the whole weight of what awaits Him to His Father. After He has fought the battle, there is perfect peace. He goes to His disciples and tells them that they can now continue to sleep, that is, that they no longer have to keep watch. He oversees the future and goes to meet it in perfect peace. He is ready to do the great work. He perfectly knows every facet of everything that awaits Him. The first aspect is imminent. It is no surprise to Him that Judas is coming, whom He tellingly points out as “the one who betrays Me”.

‏ Matthew 26:37-40

Gethsemane

The place where the Lord comes with His disciples is expressly mentioned: Gethsemane. That means ‘olive press’. He designates a place for His disciples to sit down. They may rest. He goes to fight the toughest prayer battle ever.

He takes three disciples further into the garden: Peter, the principal, and the two sons of Zebedee, these are John and James. John and James are not specifically named, but referred to as “the two sons of Zebedee”. In Matthew 20 they are not mentioned by name either, to emphasize their parentage there too (Mt 20:20). Because of their parentage, they ask for things that do not belong to them. It will soon become apparent that because of their parentage they cannot keep watch with the Lord either.

As He goes further, He sees what awaits Him and that makes Him grieved and distressed. He makes them partakers of His grief, but not of His fear, and appeals to their compassion. He asks them to keep watch with Him at the place where they have now arrived.

Then He also leaves the three disciples behind. The last bit, “a little beyond”, he goes alone. No one can follow this distance. Then He falls on His face. He sees before Him the full horror of what awaits Him on the cross. What happens here is described in Hebrews 5 (Heb 5:7). The Lord does not drink the cup here, but this is what He sees. On the cross He drank the cup filled with the wrath of God when He was made sin for us and forsaken by God, which He felt in the depths of His soul.

It is impossible that He could desire to come into contact with sin. It was a horror to His soul. It is His perfection that He asks the Father to let that cup pass Him by. Equally perfect is His submission to the will of the Father. If we were to be saved, if God was to be glorified in Him Who had taken our cause upon Himself, the cup could not pass Him by.

After this prayer He stands up and goes to those who He asked to keep watch with Him. They have fallen asleep. His prayer didn’t last that long, did it? However, they have no awareness of the seriousness of what awaits their Lord. They have their own thoughts about everything that is connected to Him. The Lord gently reprimanded Peter for his false self-confidence, and reminded him of his weakness. But Peter is too filled with himself to take advantage of it. He awakens from his sleep, but his self-confidence is not shaken. A sadder experience is needed to cure him.

While the soul of the Lord is so busy with the horror of the sins that He will have to bear, and with the horror of God’s judgment over them, He thinks of the wellbeing of the disciples. He tells them to keep watch and pray with themselves in mind. He no longer asks them to think of Him. He knows that it is not their unwillingness. Their spirit is willing, but they have still oh such little awareness of the weakness of the flesh.

We do nothing other than look at the Lord with admiration here. We see His fear of the cup which He has not yet drunk, but experiencing a foretaste of that which He sees ahead of Him as He presents it to His Father. We see how He then turns in complete peace to His disciples and then returns to the same terrible spiritual battle that frightens His soul.

That He prays again is proof even more of His perfection and the perfect abhorrence He has of sin. He is not looking for a way out, of not having to drink the cup. He follows the will of God. He does not seek the consent of the Father, as if He did not know what His will was. It is not about asking Him if He could be dismissed from His task, but He as Man seeks the complete support of His Father.

Again He rises from prayer and comes to His disciples whom He finds asleep again. They are not able to keep watch with Him. He doesn’t wake them up this time. He leaves them. He is also Divinely perfect in His dependence. Therefore, once again, for the third time, he prays. He is not looking for other words. He seeks to bring the whole weight of what awaits Him to His Father.

After He has fought the battle, there is perfect peace. He goes to His disciples and tells them that they can now continue to sleep, that is, that they no longer have to keep watch. He oversees the future and goes to meet it in perfect peace. He is ready to do the great work. He perfectly knows every facet of everything that awaits Him. The first aspect is imminent. It is no surprise to Him that Judas is coming, whom He tellingly points out as “the one who betrays Me”.