Matthew 26:36-46

Mat 26:36-46 The King beneath the Olive-trees

Here we come to the Holy of Holies of our Lord's life on earth. This is a mystery like that which Mo3es saw when the bush burned with fire, and was not consumed. No man can rightly expound such a passage as this; it is a subject for prayerful, heart-broken meditation, more than for human language. May the Holy Spirit graciously reveal to us all that we can be permitted to see of the King beneath the olive-treas in the garden of Gethsemane!

36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. Our Lord directed eight of his disciples to keep watch either outside or near the entrance of Gethsemane, "the olive-press." This garden had been Christ's favourite place for private prayer, and it was well selected as the scene of his last agonizing supplication.

"'Twas here the Lord of life appeared, And sigh'd, and groan'd, and pray'd, and fear'd;

Bore all incarnate God could bear, With strength enough, and none to spare."

37, 38. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. The three disciples who had been with him on the Mount of Transfiguration were privileged to be nearer to him than the rest of their brethren; but even they must not be actually with him. His sorrow was so great that he must bear it alone; and there was also that Scripture to be fulfilled, "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me." Yet would he have his three choicest companions near him, that he might derive such slight solace from their presence as they could convey to him. They had never before seen their Lord overwhelmed with Atlantic billows of sorrow like those that rolled in upon him as he began to be sorrowful and very heavy. He was bowed down as if an enormous weight rested on his soul, as indeed it did. This was the soul-travail, the soul-offering for sin, which was completed on the cross; and well might he say, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful,even unto death" The sorrow of his soul was the very soul of his sorrow; his soul was full of sorrow, until he seemed to reach the utmost limit of endurance, and to be at the very gate of death. In such dire distress he needed faithful friends at hand, so he said to Peter, James, and John, "Tarry ye here, and watch with me.'* He must bear alone the awful burden of his people's sin; but his disciples might show their sympathy with him by watching at a respectful distance, and adding their poor prayers to his mighty wrestlings. Alas! they did not prize the privilege Christ gave them: have not we been too much like them when our Saviour has bidden us watch with him?

39. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, 0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Was he heard? Yes, verily, and especially in that which was the very pith and marrow of his prayer: "Not as I will, but as thou wilt" This was the vital part of his petition, its true essence; for much as his human nature shrank from the "cup", still more did he shrink from any thought of acting contrary to his Father's will. Christ's sense of Sonship was clear and undimmed even in that dark hour, for he began his prayer with the filial utterance, "O my Father."

40. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and. saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

We cannot tell how long he had been wrestling alone in prayer; but it was long enough for the disciples to fall asleep. Peter had constituted himself the spokesman of the company, therefore to him our Lord addressed his gentle rebuke, which was meant also for his companions: "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?'" According to Mark 14:37, the question was put personally to Peter, "Simon, sleepest thou?" It was bad enough for James and John to be slumbering instead of watching; but after all Peter's boasting, it seemed worse in his case. He who had made the loudest protestations of devotion deserved to be the most blamed for his unfaithfulness.

41. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed, is willing, "but the flesh is weak.

It was truly kind on Christ's part to find an excuse for his weak and weary disciples; it was just like him to say anything that he could in their praise even though they had slept when they ought to have watched. Yet he repeated the command, "Watch," for that was the special duty of the hour; and he added, "and pray," for prayer would help them to watch, and watching would aid them in praying. "Watching and praying were enjoined for a special purpose: "that ye enter not into temptation." He knew what sore temptations were about to assail them, so he would have them doubly armed by—

"Watching unto prayer."

42. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except 1 drink it, thy will be done.

These calm, simple words scarcely convey to our minds a full idea of the intense agony under which they were uttered. Luke mentions that our Saviour, in his second supplication, "prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." The tension upon his whole frame became so great that his life seemed oozing away through every pore of his body; and he was so weak and faint, through the terrible strain, that he might well fear that his human nature would sink under the awful trial, and that he would die before his time. Yet even then he recognized his Sonship: "0 my Father! " and he absolutely surrendered himself to his Father's will: "Thy will be done."

43, 44. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words

Great sorrow produces different results in different persons. In the Saviour's case, it aroused him to an awful agony of earnestness in prayer; in the disciples' case, it sent them to sleep. Luke says that they were "sleeping for sorrow." Their Master might find an excuse for their neglect; but oh! how they would blame themselves afterwards for missing that last opportunity of watching with their wrestling Lord! As he could get no comfort from them, he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Those who teach that we should pray but once, and not repeat the petition that we present to the Lord, cannot quote our Saviour's example in support of their theory, for thrice on that dread night he offered the same supplication, and oven used the same language. Paul, also, like his Master, "besought the Lord thrice" that the "thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan," might depart from him.

45, 46. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

I do not think Jesus was speaking ironically when he said, "Sleep on now, and take your rest:" but that he allowed them to take a little sleep while he sat by, and watched. Not long did he sit, or did they sleep; for through the olives he could see the glare of the approaching torches, and the stillness of the night was broken by the tramping and shouting of the rabble throng that had come to arrest him. He gently wakened his drowsy disciples by saying, "Rise, let us be going:" adding words that must have struck terror to their sorrowing hearts: "Behold, he is at hand that doth betray me." The crushing in "the olive-press "was over. The long looked-for "hour "of betrayal had come; and Jesus went calmly forward, divinely strengthened to meet the terrible trials that yet awaited him ere he could fully accomplish the redemption of his chosen people.