12:27 “Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me 1 from this hour’? 2 No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. 3
14:27 “Peace I leave with you; 4 my peace I give to you; I do not give it 5 to you as the world does. 6 Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage. 7
1 tn Or “save me.”
2 tn Or “this occasion.”
sn Father, deliver me from this hour. It is now clear that Jesus’ hour has come – the hour of his return to the Father through crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension (see 12:23). This will be reiterated in 13:1 and 17:1. Jesus states (employing words similar to those of Ps 6:4) that his soul is troubled. What shall his response to his imminent death be? A prayer to the Father to deliver him from that hour? No, because it is on account of this very hour that Jesus has come. His sacrificial death has always remained the primary purpose of his mission into the world. Now, faced with the completion of that mission, shall he ask the Father to spare him from it? The expected answer is no.
3 tn Or “this occasion.”
4 sn Peace I leave with you. In spite of appearances, this verse does not introduce a new subject (peace). Jesus will use the phrase as a greeting to his disciples after his resurrection (20:19, 21, 26). It is here a reflection of the Hebrew shalom as a farewell. But Jesus says he leaves peace with his disciples. This should probably be understood ultimately in terms of the indwelling of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who has been the topic of the preceding verses. It is his presence, after Jesus has left the disciples and finally returned to the Father, which will remain with them and comfort them.
5 tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
6 tn Grk “not as the world gives do I give to you.”
7 tn Or “distressed or fearful and cowardly.”