Jesus was strengthened by an angel

JESUS WAS STRENGTHENED BY AN ANGEL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 22:43 43An angel from heavenappeared to him
and strengthened him.
The Weakened Christ Strengthened
BY SPURGEON
“And there appeared an angelunto Him from Heaven, strengthening
Him.”
Luke 22:43
I SUPPOSE thatthis incident happened immediately after our Lord’s first
prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. His pleading became so fervent, so
intense, that it forced from Him a bloody sweat. He was, evidently, in a great
agonyof fearas He prayed and wrestledeven unto blood. We are told, by the
writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that He “was heardin that He feared.” It
is probable that this angelcame in answerto that prayer. This was the
Father’s reply to the cry of His fainting Son who was enduring an infinity of
sorrow because ofHis people’s sin and who must, therefore, be Divinely
upheld as to His Manhood, lest He should be utterly crushed beneath the
terrible weightthat was pressing upon His holy soul.
Scarcelyhad our Saviorprayed before the answerto His petition came. It
reminds us of Daniel’s supplication and of the angelic messengerwho was
causedto fly so swiftly that as soonas the prayer had left the Prophet’s lips,
Gabriel stoodthere with the reply to it! So, Brothers and Sisters, whenever
your times of trial come, always take yourselves to your knees. Whatever
shape your trouble may take–if, to you, it should even seemto be a faint
representationof your Lord’s agonyin Gethsemane–putyourselves into the
same posture as that in which He sustained the greatshock that came upon
Him. Kneel down and cry to your Fatherwho is in Heaven, who is able to save

you from death, who will prevent the trial from utterly destroying you, who
will give you strength that you may be able to endure it and will bring you
through it to the praise of the glory of His Grace.
That is the first lessonfor us to learn from our Lord’s experience in
Gethsemane–the blessing ofprayer. He has bidden us pray, but He has done
more than that, for He has set us the example of prayer and, if example is, as
we are sure it is, far more powerful than precept, let us not fail to imitate our
Savior in the exercise ofpotent, prevalent, repeatedsupplication whenever
our spirits are castdown and we are in sore distress of soul. Possiblyyou have
sometimes said, “I feel so sorrowful that I cannotpray.” No, Brother, that is
the very time when you must pray. As the spices, whenbruised,give forth all
the more fragrance becauseofthe bruising, so let the sorrow of your spirit
cause it to send forth the more fervent prayer to the God who is both able and
willing to deliver you! You must express your sorrow in one way or another,
so let it not be expressedin murmuring, but in supplication! It is a vile
temptation, on the part of Satan, to keepyou awayfrom the Mercy Seatwhen
you have most need to go there–but do not yield to that temptation! Pray till
you canpray and if you find that you are not filled with the Spirit of
supplication, use whatevermeasure of the sacred bedewing you have–and so,
by-and-by, you shall have the baptism of the Spirit and prayer shall become to
you a happier and more joyful exercise than it is at present. Our Saviorsaid
to His disciples, “My soulis exceedinglysorrowful, even unto death,” yet then,
above all times, He was in an agony of prayer and, in proportion to the
intensity of His sorrow was the intensity of His supplication.
In our text, there are two things to note. First, our Lord’s weakness. .
1. First, then, let us meditate for a little while upon OUR LORD’S
WEAKNESS.
That He was exceedinglyweak is clearfrom the fact that an angelcame from
Heaven to strengthen Him, for the holy angels never do anything that is
superfluous. They are the servants of an eminently practicalGod who never
does that which it is unnecessaryfor Him to do. If Jesus had not needed
strengthening, an angelwould not have come from Heaven to strengthen Him.
But how strange it sounds, to our ears, that the Lord of Life and Glory should
be so weak that He should need to be strengthened by one of His own
creatures!How extraordinary it seems that He who is “very God of very
God,” should, nevertheless, whenHe appearedon earth as Immanuel, God
With Us, so completelytake upon Himself our nature that He should become
so weak as to need to be sustainedby angelic agency!This struck some of the
older saints as being derogatoryto His Divine dignity, so some manuscripts of

the New Testamentomit this passage–itis supposedthat the verse was struck
out by some who claimed to be orthodox, lest, perhaps, the Arians should lay
hold upon it and use it to bolster up their heresies. I cannotbe sure who
struck it out, but I am not altogethersurprised that they should have done so.
They had no right to do anything of the kind, for whatever is revealedin the
Scriptures must be true, but they seemedto shudder at the thought that the
Son of God should everhave been so weakenedas to need the support of an
angelic messengerto strengthenHim.
Yet, Brothers and Sisters, this incident proves the reality of our Savior’s
Manhood. Here you can perceive how fullyHe shares the weaknessofour
humanity–not in spiritual weakness,so as to become guilty of any sin–but in
mental weakness, so as to be capable of greatdepressionof spirit. And in
physical weakness,so as to be exhausted to the lastdegree by His terrible
bloody sweat. Whatis extreme weakness?It is something different from pain,
for sharp pain evidences atleastsome measure of strength, but perhaps some
of you know what it is to feelas if you were scarcelyalive–youwere so weak
that you could hardly realize that you were actuallyliving! The blood flowed,
if it flowed at all, but very slowlyin the canals of your veins–everything
seemedstagnantwithin you. You were very faint, you almost wishedthat you
could become unconscious, forthe consciousnessyouhad was extremely
painful. You were so weak and sick that you seemedalmostready to die. Our
Master’s words, “Mysoul is exceedinglysorrowful, even unto death,” prove
that the shadow of impending dissolution hung darkly over His spirit, soul
and body, so that He could truly quote the 22 nd Psalmand say, “You have
brought Me into the dust of death.” I think, Beloved, that you ought to be glad
it was so with your Lord, for now you can see how completely He is made like
His brethren in their mental depressionand physical weakness, as wellas in
other respects.
It will help you to getan idea of the true Manhood of Christ if you remember
that this was not the only time whenHe was weak. He, the Sonof Man, was
once a Babe and, therefore, all the tender ministries that have to be exercised
because ofthe helplessnessofinfancy were also necessaryin His case.
Wrapped in swaddling bands and lying in a manger, that little Child was, all
the while, the mighty God, though He condescendedto keepHis Omnipotence
in abeyance in order that He might redeem His people from their sins. Doubt
not His true Humanity and learn from it how tenderly He is able to
sympathize with all the ills of childhood and, all the griefs of boyhood which
are not so few or so small as some people imagine!

Besides being thus an Infant and gradually growing in stature just as other
children do, our Lord Jesus was oftenvery weary. How the angels must have
wondered as they saw Him, who sways the scepterof universal sovereignty
and marshals all the starry hosts according to His will, as He, “being wearied
with His journey, sat thus on the well” at Sychar, waiting for the woman
whose soulHe had gone to win and, wiping the sweatfrom His brow and
resting Himself after having traveled over the burning acres ofthe land! The
Prophet Isaiahtruly saidthat “the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creatorof
the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary.” Thatis the Divine side of
His glorious Nature.“Jesus, therefore, being weariedwith His journey, sat
thus on the well.” That was the Human side of His Nature. Wereadthat “He
did eatnothing” during the forty days' temptation in the wilderness and, “He
afterwards hungered.” Have any of you ever known what it has been to suffer
the bitterness of hunger? Then remember that our Lord Jesus Christ also
endured that pang. He, whom we rightly worship and adore as “GodBlessed
Forever,” as the Son of Man, the MediatorbetweenGod and men, hungered!
And He also thirsted, for He said to the woman at the well, “Give Me to
drink.”
In addition to this, our Saviorwas often so weary that He slept, which is
another proof of His true Humanity. He was so tired, once, that He slept even
when the boat was tossing to and fro in a storm and was ready to sink. On one
occasionwe read that the disciples “took Him even as He was in the boat,”
which seems to me to imply even more than it says, namely, that He was so
worn out that He was scarcely able to getinto the boat, but, “they took Him
even as He was,” andthere He fell asleep. We know, moreover, that “Jesus
wept”–notmerely once, or twice, but many times. And we also know what
completes the proof of His Humanity–that He died. It was a strange
phenomenon that He, to whom the Fatherhas given, “to have life in Himself,”
should have been calledto pass through the gloomy shades ofdeath, that He
might in all points be made like unto His brethren and so be able to fully
sympathize with us! O you weak ones, look how weak your Lord became that
He might make you strong! We might read that familiar passage,“thoughHe
was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you, through His poverty,
might be rich,” in a slightly different way–“thoughHe was strong, yet for
your sakes He became weak, thatyou, through His weaknessmight be
strong.” Therefore, Beloved, “be strong in the Lord, and in the powerof His
might.”
What was the reasonfor the specialweakness ofour Savior when in the
Garden of Gethsemane? I cannotnow go fully into that matter, but I want you

to notice what it was that tried Him so severelythere. I suppose, first, it was
contactwith sin. Our Saviorhad always seenthe effects of sin upon others,
but it had never come home to Him so closelyas it did when He entered that
garden, for there, more than ever before, the iniquity of His people was made
to meet upon Him–and that contactarousedin Him a holy horror! You and I
are not perfectly pure, so we are not as horrified at sin as we ought to be, yet
sometimes we can say, with the Psalmist, “Horrorhas takenhold upon me
because ofthe wickedthat forsake Your Law.” But for our gracious Savior–
listen to the Inspired Words, they are none of mine–to be “numbered with the
transgressors,”must have been an awful thing to His pure and holy soul! He
seemedto shrink back from such a position and it was necessarythat He
should be strengthenedin order that He might be able to endure the contact
with that terrible mass of iniquity!
But He had, in addition, to bear the burden of that sin. It was not sufficient
for Him to come into contactwith it–but it is written, “The Lord has laid on
Him the iniquity of us all.” And as He beganto fully realize all that was
involved in His position as the greatSin-Bearer, His spirit seemedto droop
and He became exceedinglyweak. Ah, Sir, if you have to bear the burden of
your own sin when you appear before the Judgment Seatof God, it will sink
you to the lowestHell! But what must Christ’s agonyhave been when He was
bearing the sin of all His people? As the mighty mass of their guilt came
rolling upon Him, His Father saw that the Human souland the Human body
both needed to be upheld, otherwise they would have been utterly crushed
before the atoning work had been accomplished.
Contactwith sin and the bearing of sin’s penalty were reasonenoughto
produce the Savior’s excessive weakness inGethsemane, but, in addition, He
was conscious ofthe approachof death. I have heard some people saythat we
ought not to shrink from death, but I believe that in proportion as a man is a
goodman, death will be distasteful to him. You and I have become, to a large
extent, familiarized with the thought of death. We know that we must die–
unless the Lord should come soon–forallwho have gone before us have done
so–the seeds ofdeath are sownin us and, like some fell disease, they are
beginning to work within our nature. It is natural that we should expect to
die, for we know that we are mortal. If anybody were to tell us that we should
be annihilated–any reasonable andsensible man would be horrified at the
idea–forthat is not natural to the soul of man. Well, now, death was as
unnatural to Christ as annihilation would be to us! It had never come to be a
part of His Nature. His holy soul had none of the seeds of death in it and His
untainted body–which had never knownany kind of disease orcorruption,

but was as pure as when, first of all, “that holy thing” was createdby the
Spirit of God–thatalso shrank back from death! There were not in it any of
the things which make death natural and, therefore, because ofthe very
purity of His Nature, He recoiledat the approachof death and neededto be
especiallystrengthenedin order to meet “the lastenemy.”
Probably, however, it was the sense of utter desertionthat was preying upon
His mind and so produced that extremity of weakness. All His disciples had
failed Him and presently would forsake Him. Judas had lifted up his heel
againstHim and there was not one of all His professedfollowers who would
faithfully cleave to Him. Kings, princes, scribes and rulers were all united
againstHim–and of the people, there were none with Him. Worstof all, by the
necessityofHis expiatory Sacrifice and His Substitution for His people, His
Father, Himself, withdrew the Light of His Countenance from Him and, even
in the garden, He was beginning to feel that agonyof soul which, on the Cross,
wrung from Him that doleful cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken
Me?” And that sense ofutter loneliness and desertion, added to all that He
had endured, made Him so exceedinglyweak that it was necessarythat He
should be speciallystrengthened for the ordealthrough which He had still to
pass.
II. Now, in the secondplace, let us meditate for a little while upon OUR
LORD’S STRENGTHENING. “There appearedanangelunto Him from
Heaven, strengthening Him.”
It is night and there He kneels, under the olives, offering up, as Paul says,
“prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was
able to save Him from death.” While wrestling there, He is brought into such
a state of agony that He sweats greatdrops of blood and, suddenly, there
flashes before Him, like a meteor from the midnight sky, a bright spirit that
had come straight from the Throne of Godto minister to Him in His hour of
need.
Think of the condescensiononChrist’s part to allow an angelto come and
strengthen Him. He is the Lord of angelsaswellas of men. At His bidding,
they fly more swiftly than the lightning flash to do His will. Yet, in His
extremity of weakness, He was succoredby one of them! It was a wondrous
stoopfor the infinitely-great and ever-blessedChrist of God to consentthat a
spirit of His own creationshould appearunto Him and strengthen Him.
But while I admire the condescensionwhichpermitted one angelto come, I
equally admire the self-restraintwhichallowedonly one to come, for, if He
had so pleased, He might have appealed to His Fatherand He would at once

have sent to Him “more than twelve legions of angels.” No, He did not make
such a request. He rejoicedto have one to strengthen Him, but He would not
have any more. Oh, what matchless beauties are combined in our blessed
Savior! You may look on this side of the shield and you will perceive that it is
of pure gold. Then you may look on the other side of it, but you will not
discoverthat it is brass, as in the fable, for it is goldall through! Our Lord
Jesus is “altogetherlovely.” What He does, or what He refrains from doing
equally deserves the praises of His people.
How could the angelstrengthen Christ? That is a very natural enquiry, but it
is quite possible that when we have answeredthat question as well as we can,
we shall not have given a full and satisfactoryreply to it. Yet I can conceive
that, in some mysterious manner, an angelfrom Heaven may have actually
infused fresh vigor into the physical constitution of Christ. I cannot positively
affirm that it was so, but it seems to me a very likely thing. We know that God
can suddenly communicate new strength to fainting spirits and, certainly, if
He willed it, He could thus lift up the drooping head of His Son and make Him
feel strong and resolute again.
Perhaps it was so, but, in any case, it must have strengthenedthe Saviorto
feel that He was in pure company. It is agreatjoy to a man who is battling for
the right againsta crowd who love the wrong, to find a comrade by his side
who loves the Truth of God as he loves it. To a pure mind, obliged to listen to
the ribald jests of the licentious, I know of nothing that is more strengthening
than to get a whisper in the earfrom one who says, “I, too, love that which is
chaste and pure, and hate the filthy conversationof the wicked.” So, perhaps,
the mere factof that shining angelstanding by the Savior’s side, or reverently
bowing before Him, may in itself have strengthened Him.
Next to that, was the tender sympathy which this angelic ministration proved.
I can imagine that all the holy angelsleantoverthe battlements of Heaven to
watchthe Savior’s wondrous life. And now that they see Him in the garden
and perceive, by His whole appearance, andHis desperate agony, that death is
drawing to Him, they are so astonishedthat they crave permission that at
leastone of their number shall go down to see if He cannotcarry succorto
Him from His Father’s house above. I can imagine the angels saying, “Did we
not sing of Him at Bethlehem when He was born? Did not some of us minister
to Him when He was in the desert and among wild beasts, hungry after His
long fast and terrible temptation? Has He not been seenof angels all the while
He has been on earth! Oh, let some one of us go to His relief!” And I can
readily suppose that Godsaid to Gabriel, “Your name means, The Strength of
God–go and strengthenyour Lord in Gethsemane,”“And there appeared an

angelunto Him from Heaven strengthening Him.” And I think that He was
strengthened, at leastin part, by observing the sympathy of all the heavenly
host with Him in His seasonofsecretsorrow. He might seemto be alone as
Man, but as Lord and King, He had on His side an innumerable company of
angels who waited to do His will–and here was one of them, come to assure
Him that He was not alone, after all.
Next, no doubt, our Saviorwas comforted by the angel’s willing service. You
know, dear Brothers and Sisters, howa little act of kindness will cheerus when
we are very low in spirit. If we are despisedand rejectedof men. If we are
desertedand defamed by those who ought to have dealt differently with us,
even a tender look from a child will help to remove our depression!In times of
loneliness it is something even to have a dog with you, to lick your hand and
show you such kindness as is possible from him. And our blessedMaster, who
always appreciatedand still appreciates the leastservice rendered to Him–for
not a cup of coldwater, given to a disciple in Christ’s name, shall lose its
reward–was cheeredby the devotion and homage of the ministering spirit that
came from Heaven to strengthen Him! I wonder if the angelworshipped Him–
I think that He could do no less and it must have been something to worship
the blood-red Son of God. Oh, that any of us could have paid Him such
homage as that! The time for such specialministry as that is now over, yet my
faith seems to bring Him back here, at this moment, just as if we were in
Gethsemane. I adore You, blessedeternalGod–nevermore Godlike than
when You did prove Your perfect Manhoodby sweating greatdrops of blood
in the awful weaknessofYour depressionin the Garden of Sorrow!
Perhaps, too, the angel’s presence comfortedand strengthenedthe Savioras
being a sort of foretaste of His final victory. What was this angel but the
pioneer of all the heavenly host that would come to meet Him when the fight
was over? He was one who, in full confidence of His Lord’s victory, had flown
before the rest to pay homage to the conquering Son of God, who would tread
the old dragon beneath His feet!You remember how, when Jesus was born,
first there came one angelwho beganto speak ofHim to the shepherds, “and
suddenly there was with the angela multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill
toward men.” The first angelhad, as it were, stolena march upon his
brethren, and gotthere before them, but, no soonerwas the wondrous news
proclaimed through Heaven’s streets, than every angelresolvedto overtake
him before his messagewas completed!So, here again is one that had come as
an outrider to remind His Lord of His ultimate victory–and there were many
more afterwards to come with the same glad tidings–but, to the Savior’s

heart, that angel’s coming was a tokenthat He would lead captivity captive
and that myriads of other bright spirits would crowd around Him and cry,
“Lift up your heads, O you gates;and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors;
that the King of Glory, fresh from His blood-red shame, may enter into His
heavenly and eternal inheritance!”
Yet once more, is it not very likely that this angelbrought the Saviora
messagefrom Heaven? The angels are generallyGod’s messengers, so they
have something to communicate from Him and, perhaps, this angel, bending
over the Savior’s prostrate form, whisperedin His ear, “Be of goodcheer.
You must pass through all this agony, but You will thereby save an
innumerable multitude of the sons and daughters of men who will love and
worship You and Your Fatherforever and forever. He is with You even at this
moment. Though He must hide His face from You because ofthe
requirements of justice that the Atonement may be complete, His heart is with
You and He loves You always.” Oh, how our Lord Jesus must have been
cheeredif some such words as these were whispered into His ears!
Now, in closing, let us try to learn the lessons ofthis incident. Beloved
Brothers and Sisters, you and I may have to pass through greatgriefs–
certainly ours will never be so greatas those of our Divine Master–butwe
may have to follow through the same waters. Well, at such times, as I have
already said, let us resortto prayer and let us be content toreceive comfort
from the humblest instrumentality. “Thatis too simple an observation,” you
say. It is a very simple one, but it is one that some people have need to
remember. You remember how Naamanthe Syrian was healedthrough the
remark of a little captive girl and, sometimes, greatsaints have been cheered
by the words of very little people. You remember how Dr. Guthrie, when he
was dying, wanted “a child’s hymn”? It was just like he–great, glorious,
simpleminded child-man that he was. He said what you and I must sometimes
have felt that we needed–a child’s hymn–a child’s joyful song to cheerus up in
our hour of depressionand sorrow!
There are some people who seemas if they would not be converted unless they
can see some eminent minister. Even that will not suit some of them–they need
a specialrevelationfrom Heaven. They will not take a text from the Bible–
though I cannotconceive of anything better than that–but they think that if
they could dream something, or if they could hear words spokenin the coolof
the evening by some strange voice in the sky, then they might be converted.
Well, Brothers and Sisters, if you will not eat the apples that grow on trees,
you must not expect angels to come and bring them to you! We have a more
sure word of testimony in the Bible than we can have anywhere else. If you

will not be convertedby that Word, it is a greatpity–it is much more than a
pity, it is a greatsin! If your Lord and Mastercondescendedto receive
consolationfrom an angel whom He had Himself created, you ought to be
willing to gathercomfort from the feeblestspeechof the poorestperson–from
the leastof the people of God when they try to cheeryou.
I have known an old professorsayof a young minister, “It is no use for me to
hear him, for he has not had the experience that I have had, so how can he
instruct or help me?” O Sirs, I have known many old saints getmore comfort
out of godly boys than they did from those of their own age!God knows how,
out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, to perfectpraise and I have never
heard that He has done that out of the mouths of old men! Why is that?
Becausethey know too much! But the children do not know anything and,
therefore, out of their mouths the praise of God is perfect. So let us never
despise God’s messengers, howeverhumble they may be.
The next lessonis while you should be thankful for the leastcomforter, yet, in
your times of deepestneed, you mayexpectthe greatestcomforters to come to
you. Let me remind you that an angelappeared to Josephwhen Herod was
seeking Christ’s life. Then, later, angels appearedto Christ when the devil had
been tempting Him. And now, at Gethsemane, whenthere was a peculiar
manifestation of diabolicalmalice, for it was the hour of the powers of
darkness–then, whenthe devil was loose and doing his utmost againstChrist–
an angel came from Heaven to strengthen Him. So, when you are in your
heaviesttrials, you shall have your greateststrength. Perhaps you will have
little to do with angels till you get into deep trouble and then shall the promise
be fulfilled, “He shall give His angels charge overyou, to keepyou in all your
ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot againsta
stone.” Theyare always ready to be your keepers, but, in the matter of
spiritual strengthening, these holy spirits may have little to do with some of
you until you stand foot to foot with Apollyon and have to fight stern battles
with the Evil One himself. It is worthwhile to go through rough places to have
angels to bear you up! It is worthwhile to go to Gethsemane if there we may
have angels from Heavento strengthenus! So, be of goodcomfort, Brothers
and Sisters, whateverlies before you. The darkeryour experience is, the
brighter will be that which comes out of it. The disciples feared as they
entered the cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration, but when they had passed
right into it, they saw Jesus, Moses, andElijah in Glory! O you who are the
true followers ofChrist, fearnot the clouds that lowerdarkly over you, for
you shall see the brightness behind them and the Christ in them! And your
spirits shall be blessed.

But if you are not believing in Christ, I am indeed grievedfor you, for you
shall have the sorrow without the solace–the cupof bitterness without the
angel–the agony, and that forever, without the messengerfrom Heaven to
console you! Oh, that you would all believe in Jesus!God help you so to do for
Christ’s sake!Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Self-surrender
Luke 22:42 (latter part)
W. Clarkson
Not my will, but thine, be done. These words are suggestive as wellas
expressive. Theysuggestto us -
I. THE ESSENTIALNATURE OF SIN. Where shall we find the root of sin?
Its manifold fruits we see around us in all forms of irreligion, of vice, of
violence. But in what shall we find its root? In the preference of our own will
to the will of God. If we trace human wrong-doing and wrong-being to its
ultimate point, we arrived that conclusion. It is because menare not willing to
be what God createdthem to be, not willing to do what he desires them to do;
it is because they want to pursue those lines of thought and of action which he
has forbidden, and to find their pleasure and their portion in things which he
has disallowed, - that they err from the strait path and begin the course which
ends in condemnation and in death. The essenceofall sin is in this assertionof
our will againstthe will of God. We fail to recognize the foundation truth that
we are his; that by every sacredtie that can bind one being to another we are
bound, and we belong to him from whom we came and in whom we live, and
move, and have our being. We assume to be the masters of our own lives and
fortunes, the directors of our own selves, of our own will; we say, "My will,
not thine, be done." Thus are we radically wrong; and being radically wrong,

the issues ofour hearts are evil. From this fountain of error and of evil the
streams of sin are flowing; to that we trace their origin.
II. THE HOUR AND ACT OF SPIRITUAL SURRENDER. Whendoes the
human spirit return to God, and by what act? Thathour and that act, we
reply, are not found at the time of any intellectual apprehension of the truth.
A man may understand but little of Christian doctrine, and yet may be within
the kingdom of heaven; or, on the other hand, he may know much, and yet
remain outside that kingdom. Nor at the time of keensensibility; for it is
possible to be moved to deep and to fervent feeling, and yet to withhold the
heart and life from the Supreme. Nor at the time of associationwith the visible
Church of Christ. It is the hour at which and the act by which the soul
cordially surrenders itself to God. When, in recognitionof the paramount
claims of God the Divine Father, the gracious Saviorofmankind, we yield
ourselves to God, that for all the future he may lead and guide us, may employ
us in his holy service;when we have it in our heart to say, "Henceforththy
will, not ours, be done;" - then do we return unto the Lord our God, and then
does he count us among the number of his own.
III. THE HIGHEST ATTAINMENT OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR. When
do we reachour highest point? Not when we have fought our fiercestbattle, or
have done our most fruitful work, or have gainedour clearestand brightest
vision of Divine truth; but when we have reachedthe point in which we can
most cheerfully and most habitually say, after Christ our Lord, "Notmy will,
but thine, be done;" when under serious discouragementoreven sad defeat,
when after exhausting pain or before terrible suffering, when under heavy
loss or in long-continued loneliness, or in prospectof early death, we are
perfectly willing that God should do with us as his own wisdomand love
direct. - C.

Biblical Illustrator
The mount of Olives.
Luke 22:39-46
The mount of Olives
James Hamilton.
The mountains are Nature's monuments. Like the islands that dwell apart,
and like them that give asylum from a noisy and irreverent world. Many a
meditative spirit has found in their silence leisure for the longestthought, and
in their Patmos-like seclusionthe brightest visions and largestprojects have
evolved; whilst by a sort of overmastering attractionthey have usually drawn
to themselves the most memorable incidents which variegate our human
history. And, as they are the natural haunts of the highestspirits, and the
appropriate scenes ofthe most signal occurrences, so they are the noblest
cenotaphs.
I. OLIVET REMINDS US OF THE SAVIOUR'S PITY FOR SUCH AS
PERISH(see Luke 19:37-44). Thattear fell from an eye which had lookedinto
eternity, and knew the worth of souls.
II. THE MOUNT OF OLIVES REMINDS US OF THE REDEEMER'S
AGONY TO SAVE.
III. The Mount of Olives is identified with the supplications and intercessions
of Immanuel, and so suggests to us the Lord Jesus as THE GREAT
EXAMPLE IN PRAYER.
1. Submission in prayer. In praying for His people, the Mediator's prayer was
absolute:"Father, I will." But in praying for Himself, how alteredwas the
language!"Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless,
not as I will, but as Thou wilt."
2. Perseverancein prayer. The evangelisttells that there was one prayer
which Jesus offeredthree times, and from the Epistle to the Hebrews 5:7, we
find that this prayer prevailed.
3. The best preparation for trial is habitual prayer. Long before it became the
scene ofHis agony, Gethsemane had been the Saviour's oratory. "He ofttimes
resortedthither."

IV. The Mount of Olives recalls to us THE SAVIOUR'S AFFECTION FOR
HIS OWN. I fear that the love of Christ is little credited even by those who
have some faith in His finished work, and some attachment to His living
person.
(James Hamilton.)
Being in an agony
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
J. Marchant.
Jesus commencedHis sacredPassionin the garden for these reasons:
I. BECAUSE HE INTENDED TO OBSERVE A PIOUS CUSTOM.
1. It was His custom, after He had preachedand wrought miracles, to retire
and betake Himself to prayer.
2. It should be our custom, too, to recollectourselves in prayer, especially
when the day's work is over.
II. BECAUSE CHARITY AND OBEDIENCE URGED HIM.
1. Charity towards the master of the house, who, having left the supper-room
at His disposal, should not be molestedby the seizure of Jesus.
2. Love and obedience to His heavenly Father.
III. IN ORDER TO FULFIL THE TYPE OF DAVID. When Absalom had
revolted againsthis father, David and the people went over the brook Kedron,
and they all wept with a loud voice. Christ went over the same brook now,
accompaniedby His faithful friends.
IV. AS SECONDADAM HE WOULD MAKE SATISFACTION IN A
GARDEN FOR THE SIN OF THE FIRST ADAM WHICH HAD BEEN
COMMITTEDIN A GARDEN.
(J. Marchant.)
Gethsemane
J. T. Higgins.
Now let us look at this scene ofpain and agonyin the lifo of Christ, and see
what lessons it supplies to us. And I remark —
I. IT WAS SOLITARY SUFFERING. "He was removedfrom them." He was
alone. How weird and sombre the word! How it throbs with painful life I And

does not your experience substantiate the same thing? What a recitalyou
could give of pain, and sorrow, and heartache, and stern conflict you have
borne and sustained in solitude into which your dearestearthly friend must
not enter. But I remark further that this scene in the life of Jesus was one of
—
II. INTENSE SUFFERING. It is an hour of supreme agony! The betrayer is at
hand, the judgment hall, the mockery, the ribald jeers of the populace, the
desertionof His friends, the false charges ofHis enemies, the shame and pain
of the cross are just before Him. The bitterness of death is upon Him.
III. EARNEST PRAYER. "He prayed the more earnestly." What! Christ
pray? Did He need the help of this provision of the Infinite Father to meet the
exigencies ofsinful dependent man? Yes, the Man Jesus neededto exercise
this gift. It was the human Christ that was suffering. Prayer is an
arrangementin the economyof infinite wisdom and goodness to meet the
daily needs of Human lives. But see again, in this time of great suffering there
is —
IV. DEVOUT SUBMISSION TO THE DIVINE WILL. "Nevertheless notMy
will, but Thine, be done." Christ hero reveals a force and beauty of character
of the highest and most perfect kind. When a man can be thus brought to put
himself into harmony with the Divine plan and purpose, so as to say in true
submission and surrender, "Thy will be done," he gets to the very heart of the
saint's "higherlife" on earth; this is about as fall a "sanctification" as canbe
attained this side heaven. This is one of the grandest, the greatest, and
hardest, yet the sweetestandmost restful prayers I know. "Thy will be done."
This prayer touches all things in human life and history from centre to
circumference, nothing is left outside its sweepand compass. It is the life of
heaven lived on earth — the soul entering into deep and abiding sympathy
with the characterand will of God, and going out in harmony with the Divine
plan to "do and suffer" all His righteous will. What are some of the lessons
suggestedby this suffering scene in the life of Christ?
1. Every true man has his Gethsemane. It may be an "olive garden," where is
everything to minister to the senses,and meet the utmost cravings of the
human heart so far as outer things are concerned. Or, it may be out on the
bleak unsheltered moor, where the cutting winds and blinding storm of
sicknessand poverty chill to the very core of his nature: or in any of the
intermediate states of life, but come it does.
2. To pass through Gethsemane is a Divine arrangement, a part of God's plan
for perfecting human lives. Christ was there not merely because it was His

"wont" or habit, but as part of a Divine plan. He was drawn thither by unseen
forces, and for a set or definite purpose. It was just as much the will of God as
was any other actor scene of His life.
3. To pray for the cup to pass from us should always be subject to Christ's
condition, "If it be Thy will."
4. God everanswers true prayer, but not always in the way we ask. Ofthis we
may be sure, that He will either lift us from the Gethsemane ofsuffering, or
strengthen us to bear the trial
5. In greatsuffering, submission to the Divine will gains strength for the
greatertrial beyond.
6. I learn, finally, this grand lesson, that I would by no means miss — that in
all, above, and beyond, and through all, the Lord God reigns.
(J. T. Higgins.)
Jesus in Gethsemane
S. L. B. Speare.
I. Upon the very threshold of our lessonlies the weighty truth: WOE'S
BITTEREST CUP SHOULD BE TAKEN WHEN IT IS THE MEANS OF
HIGHEST USEFULNESS. Wastedsuffering is the climax of tragedy. Many
broken hearts would have lived could it have been clearthat the crushing woe
was not fruitless. Unspeakable the boon if earth's army of sufferers could rest
on the knowledge that their pain was service.
II. FROM OUR LORD'S EXAMPLE WE LEARN THE HELPFULNESS IN
SORROW OF RELIANCE UPON HUMAN AND DIVINE
COMPANIONSHIP COMBINED,
III. OUR LORD'S CRUCIAL OBEDIENCEIN THE GARDEN AGONY
REFLECTS THE MAJESTYOF THE HUMAN WILL AND ITS POSSIBLE
MASTERYOF EVERY TRIAL IN PERFECTOBEDIENCE TO THE
DIVINE WILL. However superhuman Jesus'suffering, He was thoroughly
human in it. He had all our faculties, and used them as we may use ours. It is
no small encouragementthat the typical Man gives us an example of perfect
obedience, ata costunknown before or since. In the mutual relations of the
human and Divine wills all merit is achievedand all characterconstructed.
IV. JESUS'SOUL COULD HAVE BEEN "SORROWFULEVEN UNTO
DEATH" ONLY AS HIS SUFFERINGS WERE VICARIOUS.

V. GETHSEMANE'SDARKNESS PAINTS SIN'S GUILT AND RUIN IN
FAITHFUL AND ENDURING COLOUR. It is easyto think lightly of Sin.
VI. GETHSEMANE THROWS PORTENTOUS LIGHT UPON THE WOE
OF LOST SOULS.
VII. OUR LESSON GIVES TERRIBLE EMPHASIS TO THE FACT AND
SERIOUSNESS OF IMPOSSIBILITIES WITHGOD. Our Lord's agonized
words, " If it be possible," establishthe rigidity and absoluteness of
governmental and spiritual conditions. God's will and plans are objective
realities;they have definite and all-important direction and demands.
(S. L. B. Speare.)
The will of God the cure of self-will
E. B. Pusey, D. D.
Awful in its bliss, more awful yet is the will in its decay. Awful powerit is, to
be able for ourselves to choose God;terrible to be able to refuse Him. We
have felt, many of us, the strangeness ofthe power of will in children; how
neither present strength, nor persuasion, nor love, nor hope, nor pain, nor
punishment, nor dread of worse, nor weightof authority, can, for a time, bend
the determined will of a little child. We are amazed to see a power so strong in
a form so slight and a mind so childish. Yet they are faint pictures of ourselves
wheneverwe have sinned wilfully. We marvel at their resisting our wisdom,
knowledge, strength, counsel, authority, persuasiveness. Whatis every sinful
sin but a resistance ofthe wisdom, power, counsel, majesty, eloquent
pleadings of Almighty God in the sinner's soul? What is it, but for the soul
which He hath made, to will to thwart His counselwho hath made it, to mar
His work, to accuse His wisdom of foolishness, His love of want of tenderness,
to withdraw itself from the dominion of God, to be another god to itself, a
separate principle of wisdomand source of happiness and providence to itself,
to order things in its ownway, setting before itself and working out its own
ends, making self-love, self-exaltation, self-gratification, its object, as though it
were, at its will, to shape its ownlot as much as if there were no God. Yea, and
at last, it must will that there be no God. And in its worst decay, it
accomplishes whatit wills, and (awful as it is to say) blots God out of its
creation, disbelieving that He is, or will do as He has said, or that He will
avenge. Whoeverwills that God wills not, so far dethrones God, and sets up
his ownwill to dispute the almightiness and wisdom of the eternal God. He is
a Deicide. It matters not wherein the self-will is exerted, in the very least
things or the greatest. Antichrist will be but the full unhindered growth of

self-will. Such was the deep disease ofself-will, to cure which our goodLord
came, in our nature, to fulfil the leather's will, to will to suffer what the Father
willed, to "empty Himself and become obedient unto death, and that the death
of the Cross."And since pride was the chief source ofdisease in our corrupted
wills, to heal this, the eternalSon of God came as now from His everlasting
glory, and, as a little Child, fulfilled His Father's will. And when He entered
on His ministry, the will of His Father was the full contentment, refreshment,
stay, reward, of His soul, as Man. And then, whereas the will of God is done
either by us, in active obedience, or on us and in us by passive obedience or
resignationin suffering, to suffer the will of God is the surest, deepest, safest,
way to learn to do it. Forit has leastof self. It needeth only to be still, and it
reposethat once in the loving will of God. If we have crippled ourselves, and
cannot do greatthings, we can, at least, meekly bear chastening, hush our
souls and be still. Yet since, in trials of this soul, the soulis often perplexed by
its very suffering, it may be for your rest, when ye shall be called to God's
loving discipline of suffering, to have such simple rules as these.
1. It is not againstthe will of God even strongly to will if it should be His will,
what yet may prove not to be His will. Entire submissionto the will of God
requireth absolutely these two things. Wholly will whatsoeverthou knowest
God to will; wholly rejectwhatsoeverthou knowestGodwilleth not. Beyond
these two, while the will of God is as yet not clearunto thee, thou art free. We
must indeed, in all our prayers, have written, at leastin our hearts, those
words spokenby. our dear Lord for us, "Notas I will, but as Thou." We shall,
in whatever degree Godhath conformed our will to His, hold our will in
suspense, evenwhile yet uncertain, ready to follow the balance of His gracious
will even while we tremblingly watch its motions, and our dearestearthly
hopes, laid therein, seemready gradually to sink, for the rest of this life, in
dust (2 Samuel 16:10). And so thou, too, whatever it be which thou willest, the
health and life of those thou lovest as thine own soul, the turning aside of any
threatened scourge ofGod, the healing of thine aching heart, the cleansing
awayof harassing thoughts or doubts entailed upon thee by former sin, or
coldness, ordryness, or distraction in prayer, or deadness of soul, or absence
of spiritual consolation, thou mayest without fearask it of God with thy whole
heart, and will it wholly and earnestly, so that thou will therein the glory of
God, and, though with sinking heart, welcome the will of God, when thou
knowestassuredlywhat that will is.
2. Noragain is it againstthe will of God that thou art bowed down and
grieved by what is the will of God. And even when the heaviness is for our
own private griefs, yet, if it be patient, it, too, is according to the will of God.

For God hath made us such as to suffer. He willeth that suffering be the
healthful chastisementof our sins.
3. Then, whateverthy grief or trouble be, take every drop in thy cup from the
hand of Almighty God. Thou knowestwellthat all comes from God, ordered
or overruled by Him. How was the cup of thy Lord filled, which He drank for
thee?
4. Again, no trouble is too small, wherein to see the will of God for thee. Great
troubles come but seldom. Daily fretting trials, that is, what of thyself would
fret thee, may often, in God's hands, conform thee more to His gracious will.
They are the dally touches, whereby He traces onthee the likeness ofHis
Divine will. There is nothing too slight wherein to practise oneness with the
will of God. Love or hate are the strength of will; love, of the will of God; hate,
of the will of devils. A weak love is a weak will; a strong love is a strong will.
Self-will is the antagonistof the will of God; for thou weft formed for God. If
thou wert made for thyself, be self thy centre;if for God, repose thyself in the
will of God. So shalt thou lose thy self-will, to find thy better will in God, and
thy self-love shall be absorbedin the love of God. Yea, thou shalt love thyself,
because Godhath loved thee; take care for thyself, because thou art not thine
own, but God careth for thee; will thine own good, because andas God willeth
it. "Father, nevertheless, notas I will, but as Thou." So hath our Lord
sanctifiedall the natural shrinkings of our lowerwill. He vouchsafedto allow
the natural will of His sacredManhoodto be "amazedand very heavy" at the
mysterious sufferings of the cross, to hallow the "mute shrinking" of ours,
and guide us on to His all-holy submission of His will.
(E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Christ's preparation for death
J. Flavel.
1. The prayer of Christ. In a praying posture He will be found when the
enemy comes;He will be takenupon His knees. He was pleading hard with
God in prayer, for strength to carry Him through this heavy trial, when they
came to take Him. And this prayer was a very remarkable prayer, both for
the solitariness ofit, "He withdrew about a stone's cast" (verse 41)from His
dearestintimates — no earbut His Father's shall hear what He had now to
say — and for the vehemency and importunity of it; these were those strong
cries that He poured out to God in the days of His flesh (Hebrews 5:7). And
for the humility expressedin it: He fell upon the ground, He rolled Himself as
it were in dust, at His Father's feet.

2. This Scripture gives you also an accountof the agonyof Christ, as well as of
His prayer, and that a most strange one;such as in all respects neverwas
known before in nature.
3. You have here His relief in this His agony, and that by an angel dispatched
post from heaven to comfort Him. The Lord of angels now needed the comfort
of an angel.Itwas time to have a little refreshment, when His face and body
too stoodas full of drops of blood as the drops of dew are upon the grass.
1. Did Christ pour out His soul to God so ardently in the garden, when the
hour of His trouble was at hand? Hence we infer that prayer is a singular
preparative for, and relief under, the greatesttroubles.
2. Did Christ withdraw from the disciples to seek Godby prayer? Thence it
follows that the company of the best men is not always seasonable. The society
of men is beautiful in its season, andno better than a burden out of season. I
have read of a goodman, that when his stated time for closet-prayerwas
come, he would sayto the company that were with him, whateverthey were,
"Friends, I must beg your excuse for a while, there is a Friend waits to speak
with me." The company of a goodman is good, but it ceasesto be so, when it
hinders the enjoyment of better company. One hour with Godis to be
preferred to a thousand days' enjoyment of the best men on earth.
3. Did Christ go to God thrice upon the same account? Thence learnthat
Christians should not be discouraged, though they have soughtGod once and
again, and no answerof Peace comes. If Goddeny you in the things you ask,
He deals no otherwise with you than He did with Christ.
4. Was Christ so earnestin prayer that He prayed Himself into a very agony?
Let the people of God blush to think how unlike their spirits are to Christ, as
to their prayer-frames. Oh, what lively, sensible, quick, deep, and tender
apprehensions and sense ofthose things about which He prayed, had Christ!
Though He saw His very blood starting out from His hands, and His clothes
dyed in it, yet being in an agony, He prayed the more earnestly. I do not say
Christ is imitable in this; no, but His fervour in prayer is a pattern for us, and
serves severelyto rebuke the laziness, dulness, torpor, formality, and stupidity
that is in our prayers. Oh, how unlike Christ are we! His prayers were
pleading prayers, full of mighty arguments and fervent affections. Oh, that
His people were in this more like Him!
5. Was Christ in such an agonybefore any hand of man was upon Him merely
from the apprehensions of the wrath of God with which He now contested?
Then surely it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, for
our God is a consuming fire.

6. Did Christ meet death with such a heavy heart? Let the hearts of Christians
be the lighter for this when they come to die. The bitterness of death was all
squeezedinto Christ's cup. He was made to drink up the very dregs of it, that
so our death might be the sweeterto us.
(J. Flavel.)
The agonyin Gethsemane
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. Meditating upon the agonizing scene in Gethsemane we are compelled to
observe that our Saviour there endured a grief unknown to any previous
period of His life, and therefore we will commence our discourse by raising
the question, WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE PECULIAR GRIEF OF
GETHSEMANE?Do you suppose it was the fear of coming scorn or the dread
of crucifixion? was it terror at the thought of death? Is not such a supposition
impossible? It does not make even such poor cowards as we are sweatgreat
drops of blood, why then should it work such terror in Him? Readthe stories
of the martyrs, and you will frequently find them exultant in the near
approachof the most cruel sufferings. The joy of the Lord has given such
strength to them, that no cowardthought has alarmed them for a single
moment, but they have gone to the stake, orto the block, with psalms of
victory upon their lips. Our master must not be thought of as inferior to His
boldest servants, it cannotbe that He should tremble where they were brave. I
cannot conceive that the pangs of Gethsemane were occasionedby any
extraordinary attack from Satan. It is possible that Satan was there, and that
his presence may have darkenedthe shade, but he was not the most
prominent cause ofthat hour of darkness. Thus much is quite clear, that our
Lord at the commencementof His ministry engagedin a very severe duel with
the prince of darkness, and yet we do not read concerning that temptation in
the wilderness a single syllable as to His soul's being exceeding sorrowful,
neither do we find that He "was sore amazedand was very heavy," nor is
there a solitary hint at anything approaching to bloody sweat. Whenthe Lord
of angels condescendedto stand foot to foot with the prince of the power of the
air, he had no such dread of him as to utter strong cries and tears and fall
prostrate on the ground with threefold appeals to the GreatFather. What is it
then, think you, that so peculiarly marks off Gethsemane and the griefs
thereof? We believe that now the Fatherput Him to grief for us. It was now
that our Lord had to take a certaincup from the Father's hand. This removes
all doubt as to what it was, for we read, "It pleasedthe Lord to bruise Him,

He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin."
"The Lord hath made to meet on Him the iniquity of us all." Yet would I
exhort you to consider these griefs awhile, that you may love the Sufferer. He
now realized, perhaps for the first time, what it was to be a sin bearer. It was
the shadow of the coming tempest, it was the prelude of the dread desertion
which He had to endure, when He stoodwhere we ought to have stood, and
paid to His Father's justice the debt which was due from us; it was this which
laid Him low. To be treated as a sinner, to be smitten as a sinner, though in
Him was no sin — this it was which causedHim the agonyof which our text
speaks.
II. Having thus spokenof the cause of His peculiar grief, I think we shall be
able to support our view of the matter, while we lead you to consider, WHAT
WAS THE CHARACTER OF THE GRIEF ITSELF? Trouble of spirit is
worse than pain of body; pain may bring trouble and be the incidental cause
of sorrow, but if the mind is perfectly untroubled, how well a man canbear
.pain, and when the soul is exhilarated and lifted up with inward joy, pain of
body is almost forgotten, the soul conquering the body. On the other hand the
soul's sorrow will create bodily pain, the lowernature sympathizing with the
higher.
III. Our third question shall be, WHAT WAS OUR LORD'S SOLACE IN
ALL THIS? He resortedto prayer, and especiallyto prayer to God under the
characterof Father. In conclusion:Learn —
1. The real humanity of our Lord.
2. The matchless love of Jesus.
3. The excellence and completeness ofthe atonement.
4. Last of all, what must be the terror of the punishment which will fall upon
those men who rejectthe atoning blood, and who will have to stand before
God in their own proper persons to suffer for their sins.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Gethsemane
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. Come hither and behold THE SAVIOUR'S UNUTTERABLE WOE. We
cannot do more than look at the revealedcauses ofgrief.
1. It partly arose from the horror of His soulwhen fully comprehending the
meaning of sin.

2. Another deep fountain of grief was found in the fact that Christ now
assumedmore fully His official position with regardto sin.
3. We believe that at this time, our Lord had a very clearview of all the shame
and suffering of His crucifixion.
4. But possibly a yet more fruitful tree of bitterness was this — that now His
Father beganto withdraw His presence from Him.
5. But in our judgment the fiercestheat of the Saviour's suffering in the
garden lay in the temptations of Satan. "This is your hour and the power of
darkness." "The prince of this world cometh."
II. Turn we next to contemplate THE TEMPTATION OF OUR LORD.
1. A temptation to leave the work unfinished.
2. Scripture implies that our Lord was assailedby the fear that His strength
would not be sufficient. He was heard in that He feared. How, then, was He
heard? An angelwas sent unto Him strengthening Him. His fear, then, was
probably produced by a sense of weakness.
3. Possibly, also, the temptation may have arisen from a suggestionthat He
was utterly forsaken, I do not know — there may be sterner trials than this,
but surely this is one of the worst, to be utterly forsaken.
4. We think Satanalso assaultedour Lord with a bitter taunt indeed. You
know in what guise the tempter can dress it, and how bitterly sarcastic he can
make the insinuation — "Ah! Thou wilt not be able to achieve the redemption
of Thy people. Thy grand benevolence willprove a mockery, and Thy beloved
ones will perish."
III. Behold, THE BLOODYSWEAT. This proves how tremendous must have
been the weightof sin when it was able so to crush the Saviour that He
distilled drops of blood I This proves, too, my brethren, the mighty powerof
His love. It is a very pretty observationof old Isaac Ambrose that the gum
which exudes from the tree without cutting is always the best. This precious
camphire-tree yielded most sweetspices whenit was wounded under the
knotty whips, and when it was piercedby the nails on the cross;but see, it
giveth forth its best spice when there is no whip, no nail, no wound. This sets
forth the voluntariness of Christ's sufferings, since without a lance the blood
flowed freely. No need to put on the leech, or apply the knife; it flows
spontaneously.
IV. THE SAVIOUR'S PRAYER.
1. Lonely prayer.

2. Humble prayer.
3. Filial prayer.
4. Persevering prayer.
5. Earnestprayer.
6. The prayer of resignation.
V. THE SAVIOUR'S PREVALENCE. His prayers did speed, and therefore
He is a goodIntercessorforus. "How was He heard?"
1. His mind was suddenly rendered calm.
2. God strengthenedHim through an angel.
3. God heard Him in granting Him now, not simply strength, but a real
victory over Satan.Ido not know whether what Adam Clarke supposes is
correct, that in the garden Christ did pay more of the price than He did even
on the cross;but I am quite convincedthat they are very foolish who getto
such refinement that they think the atonement was made on the cross, and
nowhere else at all. We believe that it was made in the garden as well as on the
cross;and it strikes me that in the garden one part of Christ's work was
finished, wholly finished, and that was His conflict with Satan. I conceive that
Christ had now rather to bear the absence of His Father's presence and the
revilings of the people and the sons of men, than the temptations of the devil. I
do think that these were over when He rose from His knees in prayer, when
He lifted Himself from the ground where He marked His visage in the clay in
drops of blood.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The agonyof Christ
J. Burns, D. D.
I. THE PERSONOF THE ILLUSTRIOUS SUFFERER.
1. The dignified essentialSonof God.
2. Truly and properly the Sonof Man. Had our nature, body, soul.
II. THE AGONY WHICH HE ENDURED.
1. The agony itself.
(1)Deep, intense mental suffering.
(2)Overwhelming amazement and terror.
2. The cause of Christ's agony. It arose —

(1)From the pressure of s world's guilt upon Him.
(2)From the attacks ofthe powers of darkness.
(3)From the hiding of the Divine countenance.
3. The effects of the agony. He fell to the ground, overwhelmed, prostrated,
and sweatas it were, greatdrops of blood.
III. THE PRAYER WHICH HE OFFERED."He prayed more earnestly."
Observe —
1. The matter of His prayer. It was for the removal of the cup (verse 42). As
man, He had a natural aversionto pain and suffering.
2. The spirit of His prayer was that of holy submission, devout resignation.
3. The manner of His prayer.
4. The intensity of His prayer. The success ofHis prayer.Application:
1. Learn the amazing evil of sin.
2. The expensiveness ofour redemption.
3. The sympathy of Christ (Hebrews 4:15).
4. The necessityof resignationto the will of God.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The Saviour's bloody sweat
J. Marchant.
I. THE CAUSES OF THE BLOODYSWEAT.
1. A vehement inward struggle.
(1)On the one hand He was seizedby fear and horror of His passionand
death.
(2)On the other hand He was burning with zealfor the honour of God and
redemption of men.
(3)How greatwill be the anguish of the sinner at the sight of everlasting death
and the endless pains of hell!
2. The representationof all the sins of the past, present, and future.
3. The considerationthat His passionwould prove useless to so many.
II. THE MANNER OF HIS SWEATING BLOOD.
1. He sweatblood in the strict sense ofthe word.

(1)Natural blood.
(2)In a natural way.
2. He was full of sorrow.
3. He fell upon His face.
(J. Marchant.)
The witness to the power of prayer
Canon Knox Little.
I. AN ACT OF REAL PRAYER IS GREAT, POWERFUL, AND
BEAUTIFUL; a spirit in an energyof pure, subdued, but confident desire,
rising up and embracing, and securing the aid of the mighty Spirit of God. If
we can believe the power of prayer, we may put forth the force of the soul and
perform that act. How then can we learn that power? My answeris, From
Christ. Everywhere Christ is the Representative Man. This in two senses.
1. He is human nature in sum and completeness as it ought to be. To see
humanity as God imagedand loved it, to see humanity at its best, we must see
our Master.
2. And Christ represents to us perfect human conduct. To see how to act in
critical situations we must study Christ. In critical situations? Yes! there is the
difficulty, there also the evidenced nobleness of a lofty human character. I
need hardly say(for you know who Christ was)the most critical moments in
human history were the moments of the Passion. Oh, perfect example! Oh,
severe and fearful trial! Christ knelt alone amidst the olives, in the quiet
garden, in the lonely night, and Dear, His weary, sleepyfollowers. It is a
simple scene, but Christ's spirit was in action. What was the significance of
the act? It was very awful. It was an "agony," a life-struggle, a contest. Much
was involved in that moment of apparent quietude, of realstruggle; but one
lessonat any rate is important. Examine it. Here we have a witness to the
powerof prayer.
II. THE AGONY WAS LITERALLY A CONTEST. Whatwas the nature of
the struggle? It was a contestwith evil; of that we are certain, although the
depth and details are wrapped in mystery. Anyhow the struggle was with a
force of which, alas!we ourselves know something. No one can live to the ago
of five-and-twenty, and reflectwith any degree of seriousnessonhimself or on
the world around him, without knowing that evil is a fact. We find its cruel
records in the blood-stainedpages of history. We listen, and amidst whatever

heavenly voices, still the wailof its victims is echoing age afterage down the
"corridors of time." Our own faults and follies will not efface themselves from
the records of memory; in the brightness of the flaring day of life they may
fade into dim and shadowyoutline, but there are times of silence — on a sick-
bed, in the still house at midnight, in the open desolationof the lonely sea —
when they rise like living creatures, spectralthreateners, orblaze their
unrelenting facts in characters offire. Their force was not realized in the
moment of passion. But consciencebides its time, bears its stern,
uncompromising witness when passionis asleepordead. Sin is a matter of
experience. It has withered life, in fact, in history, with the deathly chill and
sadness ofthe grave. Somehow allfeel it, but it is prominent and stern before
the Christian. He can never forget, nor is it well he should, that we are in a
world in which, when God appearedin human form, He was subjected to
insult and violence by His creatures. Thatis enough. That is, without
controversy, the measure of the power, the intensity of evil. If there is to be a
contestwith evil, it is clearly a contestwith a serious enemy.
III. HOW CAN WE THROW BACK SO FIERCE A POWER? THE
ANSWER BROADLY IS, RELIGION. Religionis a personalmatter; it must
hold a universal empire over the being of eachof us; it must rouse natural
forces only by being in possessionofsupernatural power. Brothers, to possess
a religion which can conquer sin we must follow our Masterin the severity of
principle, of conviction, of unflinching struggle. The external scene of His trial
was simple, but He fought, and therefore conquered. Certainly He fought with
evil, "being in an agony."
IV. "FOUGHT WITH EVIL." "What do you mean?" you ask. Evil! Is evil a
thing, an object, like the pyramids of Egypt, or the roaring ocean, oran
advancing army? Evil is the actof choice of a createdwill. It is the rejection
by the creature of the laws of life laid down, not as tyrannical rules, but as
necessarytruths, by the Creator. Evil takes three active forms, so says
Scripture, so we have learned in the Catechism:the accumulatedforce of bad
opinion, that is "the world"; or the uncertain revolt of our own corrupt
desires, that is "the flesh"; or a living being wholly surrendered to hatred of
the Creator, that is "the devil." Think of the last. You realize the severity of
the contestin remembering that you fight with a fiend. Satan is a person. In
this is he like ourselves. Ofman it is said "he has thoughts of himself." This is
true of Satan; he can think of himself, he can purpose with relentless will, he
can plan with unparalleled audacity. There are three specific marks of his
character—
1. He is inveterate in his hatred of truth, lie is a liar.

2. He is obstinate in his abhorrence of charity, pure intention, and self-
sacrificing devotion. He is a murderer.
3. He shrinks from the open glory of goodness.He is a coward. To "abide in
the truth," to "love good," and "love one another with a pure heart
fervently," and to have holy fearlessness inthe power of God is to be in direct
opposition to him. From this it is evident that our contestis with a tremendous
enemy, and that againstus he need never be victorious. My brothers, there
are two shadows projectedover human life from two associatedand
mysterious facts — from sin, from death. In that criticalmoment when the
human will is subjectedto the force of temptation and yields to its sway, in
that solemn moment when the human spirit is wrenched awayfor a time from
its physical organism, there is a special powerdangerously, not irresistibly,
exercisedby the being who is devotedto evil. A hint of this is given in
Scripture in the allusion to the spirit "that now workethin the children of
disobedience," a hint of this dark realm certainly in the prayer by the grave-
side that we may not "forany pains of death fall " from God. There is a
shadow-land. How may we contemplate it without hopeless shuddering, how
think of entering it without despairing fear? Now here is a primary fact.
Christ our strength as well as our example boldly entered, and in the depths of
its deepestblackness conqueredthe fiend. "He was made sin"; "He became
obedient unto death"; and for all who will to follow Him, His love, His
devotion is victorious. "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved
us." Yes! In union with Christ we can do what He did. O blessedand brave
One! We may follow His example and employ His power. His power!How
may we be possessedofit? In many ways. Certainly in this way. It is placed at
the disposalof the soul that prays. This is in effect the answerof Christ's
revelation to the question, Why should we pray? Two facts let us remember
and actupon with earnestness.
1. The value of a formed habit of prayer. Crises are sure to come and then we
are equally sure to act on habitual impulse. Christ learnedin His humanity
and practisedHimself in the effort of prayer, and when the struggle reached
its climax, the holy habit had its fulfilment. "Belong in an agony He prayed."
And —
2. It is in moments of contest that real prayer rises to its height and majesty.
"When my heart is hot within me," says the Psalmist, "I will complain"; and
of Christ it is written, "Being in an agonyHe prayed more earnestly." Prayer,
too, as the Christian knows, is not always answerednow in the way he
imagines most desirable, but it is always answered. If the cup does not pass, at
leastthere is an angelstrengthening the human spirit to drain it bravely to the

dregs. Subjectively, there is comfort; objectively, there is real help. What
might have been a tragedy becomes by prayer a blessing; desire which if
misdirected might have crushed and overwhelmed us, becomes whentruly
used with the Holy Spirit's assistancea raw material of sanctity. Certainly
from prayer we gain three things: a powerful stimulus, and strength for act or
suffering; a deep and real consolation;and the soothing and ennobling sense
of duty done.
(Canon Knox Little.)
Our Lord's bloody sweat
J. Eadie, D. D.
There are some who only suppose that by this phraseologythe mere size of the
drops of perspiration is indicated. But the plain meaning of the language is
that the sweatwas bloody in its nature; that the physical nature of our Lord
was so derangedby the violent pressure of mental agonythat blood oozed
from every pore. Such a result is not uncommon in a sensitive constitution.
The face reddens with blood both from shame and anger. Were this continued
with intensity, the blood would force its waythrough the smaller vessels,and
exude from the skin. Kannigiesserremarks, "Ifthe mind is seized with a
sudden fear of death, the "sweat, owing to the excessivedegree ofconstriction,
often becomes bloody." The eminent Frenchhistorian, De Thou, mentions the
case ofan Italian officer who commanded at Monte-Mars, a fortress of
Piedmont, during the warfare in 1552 betweenHenry II. of France and the
Emperor Charles V. The officer, having been treacherouslyseizedby order of
the hostile general, and threatened with public executionunless he
surrendered the place, was so agitatedat the prospect of an ignominious death
that he sweatedbloodfrom every part of his body. The same writer relates a
similar occurrence in the person of a young Florentine at Rome, unjustly put
to death by order of Pope Sixtus V., in the beginning of his reign, and
concludes the narrative as follows:"Whenthe youth was led forth to
execution, he excited the commiserationof many, and, through excess ofgrief,
was observedto shed bloody tears, and to discharge bloodinstead of sweat
from his whole body.'" Medicalexperience does so far corroborate the
testimony of the Gospels, and shows that cutaneous hemorrhage is sometimes
the result of intense mental agitation. The awful anguish of Him who said,
"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," was sufficient cause to
produce the bloody perspiration on a cold night and in the open air.
(J. Eadie, D. D.)

The angelwho strengthenedJesus
On a certainoccasion, whenthe Rev. J. Robertsonhad been preaching one of
a series ofsermons, on "Angels in their revealedconnectionwith the work of
Christ," Dr. Duncan came into the vestry and said: "Will you be so kind as to
let me know when you are going to take up the case ofmy favourite angel?"
"But who is he, Doctor?" "Oh!guess that." "Well, it would not be difficult to
enumerate all those whose names we have given us." "But I can't tell you his
name, he is an anonymous angel. It is the one who came down to Gethsemane,
and there strengthenedmy Lord to go through His agony for me, that He
might go forward to the cross, andfinish my redemption there. I have an
extraordinary love for that one, and I often wonder what I'll sayto him when
I meet him first." This was a thought Dr. Duncan never weariedof repeating,
in varied forms, wheneverthe subjectof angels turned up in conversation.
Succouredby an angel
In the EcclesiasticalHistory of Socrates there is mention made of one
Theodorus, a martyr put to extreme torments by Julian the Apostate, and
dismissedagain by him when he saw him unconquerable. Rufinus, in his
History, says that he met with this martyr a long time after his trial, and
askedhim whether the pains he felt were not insufferable. He answeredthat
at first it was somewhatgrievous, but after awhile there seemedto stand by
him a young man in white, who, with a soft and comfortable handkerchief,
wiped off the sweatfrom his body (which, through extreme anguish, was little
less than blood), and bade him be of goodcheer, insomuch that it was rather a
punishment than a pleasure to him to be takenoff the rack. When the
tormentors had done, the angelwas gone.
Angelic ministry
W. Baxendale.
The only child of a poor woman one day fell into the fire by accident, and was
so badly burned that he died after a few hours' suffering. The clergyman, as
soonas he knew, went to see the mother, who was known to be dotingly fond
of the child. To his greatsurprise, he found her calm, patient, and resigned.
After a little conversationshe told him how she had been weeping bitterly as
she knelt beside her child's cot, when suddenly he exclaimed, "Mother, don't
you see the beautiful man who is standing there and waiting for me?" Again

and againthe child persistedin saying that "the beautiful man" was waiting
for him, and seemedready, and even anxious, to go to him. And, as a natural
consequence,the mother's heart was strangelycheered.
(W. Baxendale.)
The safeguardagainsttemptation
R. Macdonald, D. D.
"Satan," says BishopHall, "always rocksthe cradle when we sleepat our
devotions. If we would prevail with God, we must wrestle first with our own
dulness." And if this be needful, even in ordinary times, how much more so in
the perilous days on which we are entering? Whateverwe come short in, let it
not be in watchfulness. None like to slumber who are expecting a friend or
fearing a foe. Bunyan tells us "that when Hopeful came to a certaincountry,
he began to be very dull and heavy of sleep. Wherefore he said, 'Let us lie
down here, and take one nap.' 'By no means,'said the other, 'lestsleeping, we
wake no more.' 'Why, my brother? Sleepis sweetto the labouring man; we
may be refreshed, if we take a nap.' 'Do you not remember,' said the other,
'that one of.the shepherds bid us beware of the EnchantedGround? He meant
by that, that we should beware of sleeping.'" "Thereforeletus not sleep, as do
others; but let us watchand be sober." Slumbering and backsliding are
closelyallied.
(R. Macdonald, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(43) There appeared an angelunto him from heaven.—This and the following
verses are omitted by not a few of the best MSS., but the balance of evidence
is, on the whole, in their favour. Assuming their truth as part of the Gospel,
we ask—(1)How came the fact to be knownto St. Luke, when St. Matthew
and St. Mark had made no mention of it? and (2) What is the precise nature
of the fact narrated? As regards (2), it may be noted that the angel is said to
have “appearedto him,” to our Lord only, and not to the disciples. He was
conscious ofa new strength to endure even to the end. And that strength
would show itself to others, to disciples who watchedHim afar off, in a new

expressionand look, flashes of victorious strength and joy alternating with
throbs and spasms of anguish. Whence could that strength come but from the
messengersofHis Father, in Whose presence, and in communion with Whom
He habitually lived (Matthew 4:11; John 1:51). The ministrations which had
been with Him in His first temptation were now with Him in the last
(Matthew 4:11). As to (1) we may think of one of the disciples who were
present having reported to the “devout women,” from whom St. Luke
probably, as we have seen, derived so much of the materials for his Gospel
(see Introduction), that he had thus seenwhat seemedto him to admit of no
other explanation.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
22:39-46 Every descriptionwhich the evangelists give of the state of mind in
which our Lord entered upon this conflict, proves the tremendous nature of
the assault, and the perfect foreknowledgeofits terrors possessedby the meek
and lowly Jesus. Here are three things not in the other evangelists. 1. When
Christ was in his agony, there appeared to him an angelfrom heaven,
strengthening him. It was a part of his humiliation that he was thus
strengthenedby a ministering spirit. 2. Being in agony, he prayed more
earnestly. Prayer, though never out of season, is in a specialmanner
seasonable whenwe are in an agony. 3. In this agony his sweatwas as it were
greatdrops of blood falling down. This showedthe travail of his soul. We
should pray also to be enabled to resistunto the shedding of our blood,
striving againstsin, if ever calledto it. When next you dwell in imagination
upon the delights of some favourite sin, think of its effects as you behold them
here! See its fearful effects in the garden of Gethsemane, and desire, by the
help of God, deeply to hate and to forsake that enemy, to ransom sinners from
whom the Redeemerprayed, agonized, and bled.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Strengthening him - His human nature, to sustain the greatburden that was
upon his soul. Some have supposed from this that he was not divine as well as
human; for if he was "God," how could an angel give any strength or
comfort? and why did not the divine nature "alone" sustainthe human? But
the factthat he was "divine" does not affectthe case atall. It might be asked
with the same propriety, If he was, as all admit, the friend of God, and
beloved of God, and holy, why, if he was a mere man, did not "God" sustain
him alone, without an angel's intervening? But the objection in neither case
would have any force. The "man, Christ Jesus," was suffering. His human

nature was in agony, and it is the "manner" of God to sustain the afflicted by
the intervention of others; nor was there any more "unfitness" in sustaining
the human nature of his Sonin this manner than any other sufferer.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
40. the place—the Gardenof Gethsemane, on the westor city side of the
mount. Comparing all the accounts of this mysterious scene, the facts appear
to be these:(1) He bade nine of the Twelve remain "here" while He went and
prayed "yonder." (2) He "took the other three, Peter, James, andJohn, and
beganto be sore amazed [appalled], sorrowful, and very heavy [oppressed],
and said, My soul is exceeding sorrowfuleven unto death"—"Ifeelas if
nature would sink under this load, as if life were ebbing out, and death
coming before its time"—"tarryye here, and watchwith Me"; not, "Witness
for Me," but, "BearMe company." It did Him good, it seems, to have them
beside Him. (3) But sooneven they were too much for Him: He must be alone.
"He was withdrawn from them about a stone's-cast"—thoughnearenough
for them to be competent witnesses andkneeleddown, uttering that most
affecting prayer (Mr 14:36), that if possible "the cup," of His approaching
death, "might pass from Him, but if not, His Father's will be done": implying
that in itself it was so purely revolting that only its being the Father's will
would induce Him to taste it, but that in that view of it He was perfectly
prepared to drink it. It is no struggle betweena reluctant and a compliant
will, but betweentwo views of one event—an abstractand a relative view of it,
in the one of which it was revolting, in the other welcome. Bysignifying how it
felt in the one view, He shows His beautiful oneness withourselves in nature
and feeling; by expressing how He regardedit in the other light, He reveals
His absolute obediential subjectionto His Father. (4) On this, having a
momentary relief, for it came upon Him, we imagine, by surges, He returns to
the three, and finding them sleeping, He addresses them affectingly,
particularly Peter, as in Mr 14:37, 38. He then (5) goes back, notnow to kneel,
but fell on His face on the ground, saying the same words, but with this turn,
"If this cup may not pass," &c. (Mt26:42)—that is, 'Yes, I understand this
mysterious silence (Ps 22:1-6); it may not pass; I am to drink it, and I will'—
"Thy will be done!" (6) Again, for a moment relieved, He returns and finds
them "sleeping for sorrow," warns them as before, but puts a loving
constructionupon it, separating betweenthe "willing spirit" and the "weak
flesh." (7) Once more, returning to His solitary spot, the surges rise higher,
beat more tempestuously, and seemready to overwhelm Him. To fortify Him
for this, "there appeared an angelunto Him from heaven strengthening
Him"—not to minister light or comfort (He was to have none of that, and they

were not needednor fitted to convey it), but purely to sustain and brace up
sinking nature for a yet hotter and fiercerstruggle. And now, He is "in an
agony, and prays more earnestly"—evenChrist's prayer, it seems, admitted
of and now demanded such increase—"andHis sweatwas as it were great
drops [literally, 'clots'] of blood falling down to the ground." What was this?
Not His proper sacrificialoffering, though essentialto it. It was just the
internal struggle, apparently hushing itself before, but now swelling up again,
convulsing His whole inner man, and this so affecting His animal nature that
the sweatoozedout from every pore in thick drops of blood, falling to the
ground. It was just shuddering nature and indomitable will struggling
together. But again the cry, If it must be, Thy will be done, issues from His
lips, and all is over. "The bitterness of death is past." He has anticipatedand
rehearsedHis final conflict, and won the victory—now on the theater of an
invincible will, as then on the arena of the Cross. "Iwill suffer," is the grand
result of Gethsemane:"It is finished" is the shout that bursts from the Cross.
The Will without the Deedhad been all in vain; but His work was
consummated when He carried the now manifestedWill into the palpable
Deed, "by the which WILL we are sanctified THROUGH THE OFFERING
OF THE BODYOF Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb 10:10). (8) At the close of
the whole scene, finding them still sleeping (worn out with continued sorrow
and racking anxiety), He bids them, with an irony of deep emotion, "sleepon
now and take their rest, the hour is come, the Son of man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners, rise, let us be going, the traitor is at hand." And while He
spoke, Judas approachedwith his armed band. Thus they proved "miserable
comforters," brokenreeds;and thus in His whole work He was alone, and "of
the people there was none with Him."
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Ver. 43,44. We have formerly openedthese verses in Matthew 26:44-46, where
we took them in, as being a part of the history of our Saviour’s praying before
his passion.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And there appearedan angelunto him from heaven,.... Whetherthis was
Michaelthe archangel, as some have conjectured, or Gabriel, or what
particular angel, is not for us to know, nor is it of any importance: it is
certain, it was a goodangel: "anangel of God", as the Ethiopic version reads;
since he came from heaven, and was one of the angels of heaven, sent by God
on this occasion;and it is clearalso, that he was in a visible form, and was
seenby Christ, since he is said to appear to him:

strengthening him; under his presentdistress, againstthe terrors of Satan,
and the fears of death, by assuring him of the divine favour, as man, and of
the fulfilment of the promises to him to stand by him, assist, strengthen, and
carry him through what was before him; and by observing to him the glory
and honour he should be crownedwith, after his sufferings and death, find the
complete salvationof his people, which would be obtained hereby, and which
was the joy setbefore him; and which animated him, as man, to bear the
cross, and despise the shame with a brave and heroic Spirit. Now, though God
the Fathercould have strengthened the human nature of Christ, without
making use of an angel; and Christ could have strengthened it himself, by his
divine nature, to which it was united; but the human nature was to be brought
into so low a condition, and to be left to itself, as to stand in need of the
assistanceofan angel: and this shows not only the ministration of angels to
Christ, as man, but that he was at this presenttime made a little lowerthan
the angels, who was the Creatorand Lord of them; as he afterwards more
apparently was, through the sufferings of death.
Geneva Study Bible
And there appearedan angelunto him from heaven, strengthening him.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
43. there appeared an angel]As after His temptation, Matthew 4:11. This and
the next verse are not of absolutely certainauthenticity, since they are omitted
in A, B, and by the first correctorof ‫;א‬ and Jerome and Hilary saythat they
were omitted in “very many” Greek and Latin MSS. Their omissionmay have
been due to mistakenreverence;or their insertion may have been made by the
Evangelisthimself in a later recension.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 22:43. Δὲ, but now [and at this moment!) The very appearance ofthe
angelwas a sign of His actually then drinking the cup, and of His prayer being
granted [Hebrews 5:7], So utterly incapable is human reasonof
comprehending the profound depths of His agonyin the garden, that some
have in former times omitted this whole paragraph. See the Apparat.[247]
When His baptism is mentioned along with the cup, the cup means His
internal passion[suffering], as, for instance, His desertionby the Father on
the cross;the baptism means His external suffering: comp. Mark 10:38, note.
Where the ‘cup’ is mentioned alone, His whole passiongenerallyis
understood, at leastin such a way as that, under the internal, there is also
included the external suffering.—ἐνισχύων, strengthening)not by exhortation,

but by invigoration. The same verb occurs, Acts 9:19 [Paul, “whenhe had
receivedmeat, was strengthened”].
[247]AB 1 MS. of Memph. Theb. omit from ὤφθη to γῆν, Luke 22:43-44.
Hilary 1062, writes, “Nec sane ignorandum a nobis est, et in Græcis et in
Latinis codicibus complurimis vel de adveniente angelo, vel de sudore
sanguinis, nil scriptum reperiri.” But Hilary, 1061, “(Lucas)angelumastitisse
comfortantem eum, quo assistante orare prolixius cæperit ita ut guttis
sanguinum corporis sudor efflueret (non Matt. et Marc.)” The Syrians are
chargedby Photius, the Armenians by Nicon, with having erasedthe passage
in question. DQLXabc Vulg. and Euseb. Canons have it. Iren. 219, writes,
“Nec (siveram carnem non habuisset) sudassetglobos sanguinis.”Just, cum
Tryph. p. 331 (Ed. Col.), also supports it.—E. and T.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 43. - And there appeared an angelunto him from heaven, strengthening
him. The Lord's words reported by St. Matthew were no mere figure of
rhetoric. "My soulis exceeding sorrowful, evenunto death." The anguish and
horror were so greatthat he himself, according to his humanity, must have
before the time become the victim of death had he not been specially
strengthenedfrom above. This is the deep significance and necessityofthe
angel's appearance. So Stierand Godet, the latter of whom writes, "As when
in the wilderness under the pressure of famine he felt himself dying, the
presence ofthis heavenly being sends a vivifying breath over him, - a Divine
refreshing pervades him, body and soul, and it is thus he receives strengthto
continue to the last the struggle."
Vincent's Word Studies
There appeared (ὤφθη)
The word most commonly used in the New Testamentof seeing visions. See
Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke 1:11; Luke 22:43;Acts 2:17; Acts 7:35. The
kindred noun ὀπτασία, whereverit occurs in the New Testament, means a
vision. See Luke 1:2; Luke 24:23, etc.
Strengthening (ἐνισχύων)
Only here and Acts 9:19. See on was not able, Luke 14:30; and cannot, Luke
16:3. Commonly intransitive; to prevail in or among. Used transitively only by
Hippocrates and Luke.

PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 22:43 Now an angelfrom heaven appearedto Him, strengthening Him.
KJV Luke 22:43 And there appearedan angelunto him from heaven,
strengthening him.
Now an angel from heavenappeared to Him Luke 4:10,11;Ps 91:11,12;Mt
4:6,11;26:53; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:6,14
strengthening Luke 22:32;Dt 3:28; Job 4:3,4;Da 10:16-19;11:1; Acts 18:23;
Heb 2:17
Luke 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
AN ANGEL STRENGTHENS
THE MAN JESUS
Now an angel from heavenappeared to Him - There are only two records of
angelic appearancesto Jesus, one at the beginning and the secondat the end
of His ministry. The first angelic appearance in Matthew 4:11 (cf Lk 4:1-11+)
records "angels came and beganto minister to Him" after His temptation in
the wilderness. The secondangelic appearanceis here at His last temptation in
the garden. The "FirstAdam" was tempted in the Gardenof Eden and
succumbed, allowing sin to enter the world (Ro 5:12+). The Last Adam (1 Cor
15:45)resistedtemptation in the Garden of Gethsemane allowing Him to
defeatsin that had enteredthe world, bring life and salvationto all who will
believe (cf 1 Pe 2:24+).
Guzik writes that "In response to Jesus’prayers, the Father did not take the
cup from Jesus;but He strengthened Jesus by angelic messengersto be able to
take – and drink – the cup."
John Trapp saidthat Jesus receivedthis, “To show that he had been made
himself lowerthan the angels, Hebrews 2:7, he receivedcomfort from an
angelthat was his servant.”
Strengthening Him - Once againwe see the emphasis on Jesus'humanity. The
omnipotent God Who had flung the stars into the heavens was in need of
strengthening as the humble Man. The writer of Hebrews applies this truth
explaining that Jesus understands our needs when we are being tempted...

Hebrews 2:18+ Forsince He Himself was tempted in that which He has
suffered, He is able to come to the aid (to come running on hearing our cry for
help - are you too proud to cry out?) of those who are (continually being)
tempted.
Hebrews 4:15-16+ Forwe do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize
with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are,
yet without sin. Therefore (term of conclusion)let us draw near with
confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help in time of need.
Strengthening (1765)(enischuo from en = in + ischuo = to strengthen) used
only here and Acts 9:19 ("he took food and was strengthened")and means to
be strong in anything, to be invigorated, become strong. Its basic meaning is
“to grow strong, to regain one’s strength” as when Jacob, who was sick,
strengthenedhimself to meet Josephand his two sons who came to visit him
(Genesis 48:2). CleonRogers says "The strengthening role of the angelis like
that of a trainer who readies the athlete."
Gilbrant - The verb enischuō may be used both transitively and intransitively.
Transitively it means “to give strength, strengthen” as in Luke 22:43 where an
angelcame to Jesus, strengthening Him. Intransitively the word means “to
receive strength, to be strengthened, to grow strong.”
Enischuo - 64x in 62v in the Septuagint -
Gen. 12:10;Gen. 32:28;Gen. 33:14;Gen. 43:1; Gen. 47:4; Gen. 47:13;Gen.
48:2; Deut. 32:43;Jdg. 1:28; Jdg. 3:12; Jdg. 5:10; Jdg. 5:12; Jdg. 5:14; Jdg.
9:24; Jdg. 16:28;Jdg. 20:22; 2 Sam. 16:21; 2 Sam. 22:40;2 Ki. 12:8; 2 Ki.
25:3; 1 Chr. 4:23; 1 Chr. 15:21; 1 Chr. 19:13; 2 Chr. 1:1; 2 Chr. 24:13; Ezr.
1:6; Ezr. 9:12; Neh. 10:29;Ps. 147:13;Isa. 33:23; Isa. 41:10;Isa. 42:6; Isa.
57:10;Jer. 6:1; Jer. 9:3; Ezek. 27:9;Ezek. 30:25; Ezek. 34:4; Ezek. 34:16;
Dan. 6:7; Dan. 10:18;Dan. 10:19;Dan. 11:1; Dan. 11:5; Hos. 10:11; Hos. 12:3;
Hos. 12:4; Joel3:16;
2 Samuel 22:40 "ForYou have girded (Hebrew = azar = gird, encompass,
equip; Lxx - enischuo) me with strength for battle; You have subdued under
me those who rose up againstme
Psalm147:13 For He has strengthenedthe bars of your gates;He has blessed
your sons within you. (Psa 147:13 NAU)
Isaiah41:10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you,
for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will
uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

While NT believers are unlikely to see a visible angel, the Scripture is clear
that they are still actively involved in our salvation, the writer of Hebrews
recording a rhetorical question (about angels)...
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of
those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14+)
Comment: The writer of Hebrews later says that some have "entertained
angels without knowing it," a truth which he says should motivate us to "not
neglectto show hospitality to strangers." (Heb13:2+).
Wiersbe comments - George Morrisonsaid, "Everylife has its Gethsemane,
and every Gethsemane has its angel." What an encouragementto God's
people when they wrestle and pray about difficult and costly decisions!
I would add when we enter our Gethsemane we have the "Comforter," the
Holy Spirit in us to give us comfort.
TechnicalNote on the Text - The NET Note summarizes the textual question
in Luke 22:43-44 - Severalimportant Greek MSS (?75 ‫1א‬ A B N T W 579
1071*)along with diverse and widespreadversional witnesses lack 22:43–44.
In addition, the verses are placedafter Matt 26:39 by f13. Floating texts
typically suggestboth spuriousness and early scribal impulses to regard the
verses as historically authentic. These verses are included in ‫2,*א‬ D L Θ Ψ
0171 f1 ? lat Ju Ir Hipp Eus. However, a number of MSS mark the text with
an asterisk or obelisk, indicating the scribe’s assessmentofthe verses as
inauthentic. At the same time, these verses generallyfit Luke’s style.
Arguments can be given on both sides about whether scribes would tend to
include or omit such comments about Jesus’humanity and an angel’s help.
But even if the verses are not literarily authentic, they are probably
historically authentic. This is due to the factthat this text was wellknown in
severaldifferent locales froma very early period. Since there are no synoptic
parallels to this accountand since there is no obvious reasonfor adding these
words here, it is very likely that such verses recount a part of the actual
suffering of our Lord. Nevertheless,becauseofthe serious doubts as to these
verses’authenticity, they have been put in brackets. Foran important
discussionof this problem, see B. D. Ehrman and M. A. Plunkett, “The Angel
and the Agony: The Textual Problem of Luke 22:43–44,”CBQ 45 (1983):
401–16.
J C Ryle alludes to the difficulties with the Text in Luke 22:43-44 - This
circumstance in our Lord’s agonyin the garden is only mentioned by St.
Luke. It has given rise to many strange comments, and has even stumbled

some Christians. It is a curious fact, that in the early ages ofChristianity, this
verse and the following one were entirely omitted in some copies ofSt. Luke’s
Gospel. It was ignorantly supposedthat they were so derogatoryto our Lord’s
dignity, and so favorable to the Arian heresy, that they were not genuine. The
omissionwas entirely unjustifiable. There is an immense preponderance of
evidence to show that the two verses were as much inspired as any other part
of the Gospel, and were really written by St. Luke. The omission, moreover,
was entirely needless, andthe fears which gave rise to it, were fears without
cause. The objectof the verse appears to be to supply additional proof that
our Lord was really and truly man. As man, He was for a little time “lower
than the angels.”(Heb. 2:9.) As man, He condescendedto receive comfort
from angelic ministry. As man, He was willing to receive an expressionof
sympathy from angels, whichthe weaknessofHis disciples prevented them
from giving. The reality of weaknessis never so shownas when a person
becomes the objectof sympathy and help. As very Godof very God, and Lord
of angels and men, Jesus ofcourse needed no angelto strengthenHim. But as
very man, in the hour of His greatestweakness, He allowedan angelto
minister to Him.
CHRIS BENFIELD
V. A Place ofSuffering (43-44)– And there appearedan angelunto him from
heaven, strengthening him. [44] And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly:and his sweatwas as it were greatdrops of blood falling down to
the ground. We will never know just how our Lord felt as He facedthe cross.
We will never know the intensity of the pain He felt. These verses give us a bit
of insight to the sufferings of Gethsemane.
 It was there an angelcame to minister unto Him. The angels were not
worthy to die for men, but they were able to strengthen our Lord in His
difficult hour.
ADAM CLARKE
Verse 43

There appeared an angel - from heaven - It was as necessarythat the fullest
evidence should be given, not only of our Lord's Divinity, but also of his
humanity: his miracles sufficiently attestedthe former; his hunger, weariness,
and agonyin the garden, as wellas his death and burial, were proofs of the
latter. As man, he needs the assistanceofan angelto support his body, worn
down by fatigue and suffering
Dr. Thomas Constable
Verse 43-44
Only Luke mentioned the angelwho strengthenedJesus (cf. Luke 9:26; Luke
12:8-9; Luke 15:10;Luke 16:22;Matthew 4:11; Mark 1:13). Probably he did
this to help his readers realize the supernatural strength that praying brings
(cf. 1 Kings 19:5-6; Daniel 10:17-18). Howeverthe angel"s presence did not
remove the agony that Jesus feltas He prayed. The implication may be that
the angel"s helpenabled Jesus to pray more intensely and so to resist
temptation more effectively. Jesus" fervency, like His posture, reflected His
feelings, this time His horror at the prospectof the Cross. Goddoes not
always spare us trials, but He provides strength to face them. [Note: Bock,
Luke , p568.]
"His going into Deathwas His final conflict with Satanfor Prayer of
Manasseh, and on his behalf. By submitting to it He took away the power of
Death; He disarmed Death by burying his shaft in His own Heart." [Note:
Edersheim, 2:539.]
In what sense was Jesus"sweatsimilar to drops of blood? Perhaps it was so
profuse that it resembledblood flowing from a wound. [Note:Liefeld, " Luke
," p1032.]Perhaps there is an allusion to this suffering being the fulfillment of
God"s judgment.
STEVEN COLE

The Fathersent an angelto strengthen Him (22:43). Spurgeon remarks on
how extraordinary it seems that the Lord of life and glory, “Godof very
God,” was so weak that He needed the ministry of one of His creatures, an
angel, to strengthen Him (The MetropolitanTabernacle Pulpit [Logos CD],
vol. 48, # 2769)!I do not know if the angelcame with a specialmessagefrom
the Father, if just his presence reassuredJesusofthe Father’s care, or if he
mopped His brow or gave Him a drink of coolwaterto refresh Him after His
bloody sweat. Butsomehow the angelstrengthened Jesus in response to His
prayers.
The fact of Jesus’strengthening is seenin the story of the arrest. Here the
disciples fall apart, while Jesus remains composedand in controlof the
situation. He is not surprised in the leastby Judas, but rather confronts him
one lasttime with his terrible sin. While Peterswings the sword, missing his
target(the center of the servant’s head) and lopping off an ear, Jesus calmly
stops this violent response and heals the severedear (His last miracle). While
the armed mob surrounds Him, Jesus calmly confronts the hypocrisy of the
Jewishleaders, who easilycould have arrestedHim in the temple, had they
not been afraid of the people. Then He went peaceablywith them to His final
destiny.
The point is, Jesus’prayer beforehand strengthenedHim to endure
victoriously the trials and temptations afterward. Usually, I’m afraid, we
don’t pray until after the trial hits. Of course we should pray then; but we
would be much strongerif we had been praying beforehand.
22:43-46 Gethsemane [3]
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Luke 22: 43-46 “An angelfrom heaven appearedto him and strengthened
him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweatwas like
drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went
back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ‘Why are
you sleeping?’he askedthem. ‘Get up and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation.’”
Our Lord prays three times for his Fatherto give him a different cup. He lies
on the ground overwhelmedwith sorrow, deeply distressedand troubled,
pleading that God’s will may be different from what he fears it will be, and

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