Luke 22:39-46

On the Mount of Olives

22:39 Then¹ Jesus² went out and made his way,³ as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives,⁴ and the disciples followed him. 22:40 When he came to the place,⁵ he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”⁶ 22:41 He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take⁷ this cup⁸ away from me. Yet not my will but yours⁹ be done.” 22:43 [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 22:44 And in his anguish¹⁰ he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.]¹¹ 22:45 When¹² he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted¹³ from grief. 22:46 So¹⁴ he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation!”¹⁵

¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³tn Grk “went.”

⁴sn See the note on the Mount of Olives in Luke 19:29.

⁵sn Luke does not mention Gethsemane by name, but calls it simply the place.

⁶sn Jesus’ instructions to pray not to fall into temptation is an allusion to Luke 22:28-38, especially 22:31. The temptation is Satan’s challenge to them to defect, like what happened to Judas and what will happen to Peter.

⁷tn Luke’s term παρένεγκε is not as exact as the one in Matt 26:39. Luke’s means “take away” (BDAG 772 s.v. παρένεγκε 2.c) while Matthew’s means “take away without touching,” suggesting an alteration (if possible) in God’s plan. For further discussion see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1759-60.

⁸sn This cup alludes to the wrath of God that Jesus would experience (in the form of suffering and death) for us. See Ps 11:6; 75:8-9; Isa 51:17, 19, 22 for this figure.

⁹sn With the statement “Not my will but yours be done” Jesus submitted fully to God’s will.

¹⁰tn Grk “And being in anguish.”

¹¹tc Several important Greek mss (Ì⁷⁵ א¹ A B N T W 579 1071*) along with diverse and widespread versional witnesses lack 22:43-44. In addition, the verses are placed after Matt 26:39 by Ë¹³. Floating texts typically suggest both spuriousness and early scribal impulses to regard the verses as historically authentic. These verses are included in א*^,2 D L Θ Ψ 0171 Ë¹ Ï lat Ju Ir Hipp Eus. However, a number of mss mark the text with an asterisk or obelisk, indicating the scribe’s assessment of the verses as inauthentic. At the same time, these verses generally fit 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 fact that this text was well known in several different locales from a very early period. Since there are no synoptic parallels to this account and since there is no obvious reason for adding these words here, it is very likely that such verses recount a part of the actual suffering of our Lord. Nevertheless, because of the serious doubts as to these verses’ authenticity, they have been put in brackets. For an important discussion of 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.

sn Angelic aid is noted elsewhere in the gospels: Matt 4:11 = Mark 1:13.

¹²tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹³tn Grk “from grief.” The word “exhausted” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; the disciples have fallen asleep from mental and emotional exhaustion resulting from their distress (see L&N 25.273; cf. TEV, NIV, NLT).

¹⁴tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus finding them asleep.

¹⁵sn Jesus calls the disciples again to prayerful watchfulness with the words “Get up and pray” (see 22:40). The time is full of danger (22:53).