Matthew 26:39

Matthew 26:39. And he went forward a little. ‘About a stone's cast' (Luke 22:41), since that seems to refer to this second withdrawal. Into the Holy of Holies He goes alone. Luke, a physician, gives more vivid statements.

Fell on his face. Luke: ‘kneeled down.' Kneeling and prostration were scarcely distinguished in the east.

If it is possible. Mark (Mark 14:36): ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee;' Luke (Luke 22:42): ‘if thou be willing.' The bitterness of this cup was so great, that He desired its removal, but even this desire was subordinated to the holy will of His Father.

This cup. (Comp. chap. Matthew 20:22.) All His sufferings, including the specific sorrow of that hour. Hope of relief remains in our anguish; but He foreknew all. All the predictions our Lord had previously made and the events of the same evening, show that it was not merely a fear of death.

Pass away from me. God answered the prayer by giving Him strength to drink it. The removal of the suffering was not ‘possible.' The sorrows were necessary, not for Him, but for us.

Not as I will, but as thou wilt. In this real struggle, His will was still fixed in its obedience to that of His Father. As the God-man He foreknew all the bitterness of the cup, and His human will desired relief, but that will was overruled by the Divine purpose, which coincided with His Father's will and led to submission.