Luke

22:39-46

Culmination of Messiah's mission, 19:45-24:53

2. The meaning of Messiah's death, 22:1-23:25

iii] Prayer on the Mount of Olives

Synopsis

Having concluded the Passover meal, Jesus and his disciples leave Jerusalem and return to spend the night at the Mount of Olives. Leaving the disciples, Jesus moves off by himself for a time of prayer. It is a moment of intense emotional struggle, given that he is aware of what is about to happen. From the beginning, Jesus was tempted to find another way to realise the kingdom apart from his sacrifice, and so he prays for the removal of the cup suffering, "yet, not my will but yours be done." An angel ministers to Jesus as he prays, and yet the struggle does not abate. Finally, Jesus ends his time of prayer and, returning to the disciples, finds them sleeping. Waking them, Jesus warns them to pray in the face of impending danger.

 
Teaching

In this climactic age of testing and trial, pray for the perseverance of faith.

 
Issues

i] Context: See 22:1-6.

 

ii] Structure: Prayer on the Mount of Olives:

Setting, v39;

A call to prayer, v40;

"the time of trial."

Jesus strives in prayer, v41-44;

"not my will but yours be done."

A call to prayer, v45-46.

"the time of trial."

 

iii] Interpretation:

In the last element of Jesus' farewell discourse, the disciples are warned of the new conditions they face and how that now they "will have to find their own way through a hostile world", Geldenhuys. In their equipment for mission, Jesus makes mention of a sword, and the disciples inform him that they have two. The disciples' assumption that a couple of swords will serve to bring down the kingdom of darkness and realise the kingdom of God, must have filled Jesus with despair, which is why his response is probably something like "Enough is enough!"

It is within this context that Luke encapsulates Jesus' instruction to the disciples to pray that they don't fail in the face of Satan's "sifting" - his testing trials. As far as Luke is concerned, in this climactic age, the sword a believer needs to arm themselves with is the sword of prayer, a prayer for the perseverance of faith, a prayer that rests firmly on the will / promises of God. The disciples are to reign with Christ here and now, confronting the kingdom of darkness with the gospel, and releasing her prisoners, yet like a wounded snake she will retaliate. "Pray that you don't give in during times of testing", rather, persevere, 8:15, and be found faithful, 18:8.

Jesus' prayer, "not my will but yours be done", responds to his desire to remove the "cup" he is about to face. We all understand the horror of a painful death, and crucifixion is painful. Yet, Jesus is about to suffer something more than physical pain. His death will be substitutionary, a sacrifice for sin, and as such, he will be "numbered with the transgressors", v37. To this end, he will face separation from the divine, for God is not the God of the dead. None-the-less, in the face of his coming passion, the suffering Son of Man willingly submits to the Father's plan of salvation.

 

iv] Synoptics:

See 3:1-20. Luke's Gethsemane narrative is paralleled in Mark 14:32-42, Matt.26:36-46 and John 18:1. Luke's account is condensed in comparison to Mark, with little of Jesus' interaction with his disciples. Luke's focus is on Jesus and his anguish as he wrestles with the Father's will. Fitzmyer notes nine differences between Luke's account and that of Mark. Given the number of differences, commentators are divided on whether Luke has worked off Mark, or off his own source material (L). In the formation of oral tradition, the passion narrative is likely to take shape very early, told and retold in the years after Jesus' crucifixion. In fact, it is likely that the first documented account of the gospel was the passion. So, the synoptists may all be working off a common written document, rather than oral tradition (a proto Mark??).

 
Text - 22:39

Prayer on the Mount of Olives, v39-46: i] Setting. During his stay in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples spent their evenings on the Mount of Olives. Mark identifies the specific location as Gethsemane, a keroV, "field, garden", most probably an olive grove, obviously with a building suitable to spend the night. So, kata to eqoV, "as usual", they head for the Mount of Olives. The problem they now face is that Judas has told the religious authorities where they can arrest Jesus away from public gaze.

exelqwn (exercomai) aor. part. "went out" - [and] having gone out [he went]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to go", "he came out and went", ESV, or possibly adverbial, temporal, "Then he went outside and made his way to the Hill of Olives", Moffatt.

kata + acc. "as [usual]" - according to [the = his custom, habit]. Expressing a standard; "as was his custom", Cassirer.

twn Elaiwn (a) [the Mount] of Olives - [into the mountain, hill] of olives. The genitive is adjectival, descriptive, idiomatic / identification, "the hill known as Olives."

autw/ dat. pro. "his [disciples]" - [but/and and = also the = his disciple followed after] him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to follow after."

 
v40

ii] A call to prayer, v40. The instruction to the disciples, both at the beginning of this episode, and after, identifies its central theme, namely, prayer mh eiselqein eiV peirasmon, "not to enter into temptation", ESV. The peirasmon is the times of testing, trials, temptations, associated with Satan's "sifting" during the critical end-times of this age. In the Lord's prayer, mh eisenegkhV, "do not lead us, bring us into, ...", as here, mh eiselqein, "not to enter into", is somewhat unclear. It is most unlikely that the request has anything to do with dodging temptations, tests and trials, but it is often treated this way; "You must pray not to have to face the ordeal of temptation", Barclay; "Pray that you may not have to face temptation", Phillips. This approach is clearly wrong because experience confirms that such a prayer is ineffective; daily we face temptations. In a moment's time Jesus himself will face the temptation of escaping the way of the cross. Jesus is not going to instruct his disciples to pray for something that is not promised. The victory of faith is promised, if we continue in it, if we persevere, and to this end Jesus has promised to support even the weakest of faiths, flawed and faltering, cf., v32. So, it is far more likely that the prayer is a request that we do not succumb to temptation, tests, trials, finding ourselves falling into them, overcome by them. In the Lord's prayer the sense is probably something like "Let us not be overcome by temptation", and the passage before us takes a similar, "Pray that you are not overcome by temptation." Peterson's "give in to temptation" is not strong enough because we often give in to temptation, as Peter did. The sense of "to enter into temptation" involves our being taken into it to a point where we abandon our faith.

genomenoV (ginomai) aor. part. "on reaching [the place]" - [and] having come [upon the place]. The participle may again be attendant, or adverbial, temporal, "when he reached the spot", Moffatt.

autoiV dat. pro. "to them" - [he said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

mh eiselqein (ercomai) aor. inf. "you do not enter into [into temptation]" - [pray] not to enter into [into temptation, test, trial]. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what to pray for. The repetition of the preposition eiV is typical form.

 
v41

iii] Jesus strives in prayer, v41-44. The differences between Luke and Mark evidence first-hand accounts from different sources. Luke does not record Jesus' torment, nor his request for his inner circle to "watch" with him, and he has Jesus on his knees rather than his face.

ap (apo) "-" - [and he drew away from] from [them]. Again, a typical repetition of the prepositional prefix of a verb, here emphasising separation.

wJsei "about" - as. Here the comparative expresses approximation, "about", as NIV.

liqou (oV) gen. "a stone's [throw]" - [a throw] of a stone. The genitive is adjectival, verbal, objective.

qeiV (tiqhmi) aor. part. "knelt down" - [and] having put [the knees, he was praying]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal, "and then ....", but possibly attendant on the verb "to pray", "knelt down and prayed", ESV, as NIV. The sense of "put" is obviously "knelt down", as NIV. The imperfect verb "to pray" is probably inceptive / ingressive, emphasising the beginning of the action, "he began to pray", but possibly iterative, repeated action.

 
v42

In the temptation, 4:1-13, Satan offered Jesus the power and glory of the kingdom apart from suffering, all he had to do was serve him. Now, in these final moments, Jesus is again tempted to find another way rather than the "cup" of suffering. Jesus even asks the Father for a way out, but ultimately, he submits to the Father's will. Jesus "accepts the will of God despite his own desire that it might be otherwise", Marshall. Jesus is obedient to the end, which perfection is ours, by grace through faith.

legwn (legw) "-" - saying [father]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to pray", redundant, but serving to introduce direct speech.

ei "if [you are willing]" - if, as is the case, [you are willing, then take this cup from me]. Introducing a conditional clause where the proposed condition is assumed to be true. Obviously, the assumed condition is not true because God is not "willing" to answer in the affirmative. The request could express doubt, but that would require an + subj. "if, as may be the case, you might be willing ..." TH marks the sense as "if you decide so", not "if you are willing to grant me what I want." A variant reading has the verb parenegken, "to take away", as an infinitive. This would produce a conditional clause without an apodosis; "if you are willing to remove this cup from me, then well and good", or even as a direct question, "Are you willing to remove this cup from me?", Marshall.

alla "but" - [nevertheless, let be done not the will of me,] but [the will of you]. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction; "not ....., but ...."

 
v43

This, and the next verse, is omitted in a number of important texts, and scholars are divided as to their authenticity. Yet, there is nothing unusual in angels ministering to Jesus, cf., Mk.1:13; personal experience confirms such as we wait to be taken away on angels' wings.

ap (apo) + gen. "from" - [but/and an angel] from [heaven]. Expressing separation; "away from."

autw/ "him" - [appeared to] him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to appear to."

eniscuwn (eniscuw) pres. part. "strengthened" - strengthening [him]. The participle is adverbial, best taken as final, expressing purpose; "in order to strengthen him."

 
v44

This verse hangs on the meaning of agwnia, "agony". This is the only use of the noun in the NT. In the LXX it is certainly used to express "anguish of soul", but Luke uses the verbal form in Acts 13:24 to express struggle, and this tends to be the sense of the verb throughout the NT. So, "anguish" is probably not intended, rather "A great struggle ensued, one which made him pray all the more fervently", Cassirer. Jesus is wrestling with the temptation to find another way to establish the kingdom rather than the way of the cross, the "cup" of suffering.

genomenoV (ginomai) aor. part. "being" - [and] becoming. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to pray"; "a struggle ensued and he prayed with great intensity." Thompson suggests adverbial, either temporal, modal or causal.

en "in" - in [struggle, he was praying more constantly]. Local, expressing a state or condition; in a state of mental conflict due to incompatible goals. The comparative adverb ektenesteron, "more constantly", takes the sense "fervently, earnestly"; "more intensely", Barclay.

wJsei "like" - [and the sweat of him became] like. Comparative.

aiJmatoV (a atoV) gen. "of blood" - [drops] of blood. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, "blood drops", or descriptive, idiomatic / content, "drops which are made up of / consisting of blood."

katabainonteV (katabainw) pres. part. "falling" - falling down [upon the ground]. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "blood"; "which is falling down." "His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood", Phillips; "He was dripping bloodied sweat."

 
v45

iv] A call to prayer, v45-46. Jesus returns to find the disciples sleeping rather than praying, as instructed. Luke tells us that they are sleeping because of luphV. The word is often understood to mean "grief", but here it is more likely expressing a state of being emotionally weighed down; "emotional exhaustion", Bock.

anastaV (anisthmi) aor. part. "when he rose" - [and] having arisen [from prayer]. The NIV takes this participle as adverbial, temporal; "Then rising from prayer ....", Moffatt.

elqwn (ercomai) aor. part. "went back" - having come [toward the disciples, he found them sleeping]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to find"; "he went to the disciples and found them sleeping."

apo + gen. "[exhausted] from [sorrow]" - from [exhaustion]. Here with a causal sense, "because of exhaustion."

 
v46

Again, Jesus calls the disciples to pray for the strength to hold to their faith during this climactic age of temptation, testing, trial.

autoiV dat. pro. "them" - [and he said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

tiv "why" - why [are you sleeping]? Interrogative pronoun introducing an interrogative clause.

anastanteV (anisthmi) aor. part. "get up" - having arisen [pray]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the imperative verb "to pray". As such it takes on the mood of the main verb and so also serves as an imperative; "Up and pray", Barclay.

iJna mh + subj. "so that [you will] not [fall]" - that not = lest [you enter into temptation]. Introducing a negative final clause expressing purpose.

 

Luke Introduction

Exegetical Commentaries

 

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