26:31–35 Jesus faces and passes his test in Gethsemane, but the disciples face two tests and fail both. In Gethsemane, Jesus squarely faces his impending sacrifice and asks his disciples to do the same. The disciples already know that one of them will betray Jesus. He adds, “You will all fall away because of me this night.” “Fall away” (Gk. skandalizō) means “to cause to stumble, to offend, to be disloyal.” Here it is parallel to “deny.” Jesus is emphatic: “You will all fall” (v. 31). That night, every disciple will abandon Jesus.

This was foreseen in Zechariah 13:7. When the prophet says, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,” God is the agent. To “strike” means to kill. The shepherd is Jesus, and the disciples are the sheep (Matt. 26:31). Because God has planned the salvation that requires Jesus’ death, Zechariah can say that “the Lord of hosts” will lift his sword against the shepherd. Jesus lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:15), but when the disciples finally foresee the mortal blow, all flee at the prospect (cf. Matt. 13:21).

Jesus nevertheless comforts the disciples with a promise. After his death, he will be raised and united with the flock (26:32). He will be their shepherd again, leading them to Galilee (16:21; 17:9; 20:19; 28:16–20).

According to his pattern, Peter blurts out what the rest probably think. Even if every other disciple falters, his devotion is sure: “I will never fall away” (26:33; “I” is emphatic). Every speech in this exchange displays grammatical markers for emphasis. In verse 31, “you will all fall away” doubles “you,” using hymeis. In verse 33, Peter doubles “I” with egō and uses the strong negative oudepote. In verse 34, Jesus pronounces, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, . . . you will deny me three times.” In verse 35, Peter insists, “I will not deny you,” doubling the negation with ou mē. Of course, Peter does deny Jesus three times, as Jesus foretells. Peter’s language hints at one reason. Verse 35 has a rare subjunctive of the common verb dei. His exclamation could be translated, “Even if it should be necessary for me to die”—as if the threat of death were a remote possibility. Because Peter and the rest have refused to take Jesus’ repeated predictions of his impending death seriously, they are unprepared for the dangers that soon materialize.

26:36–46 By contrast, Jesus prepares by praying and asking his closest friends, Peter, James, and John, to watch and pray with him in his hour of sorrow and preparation. He chooses a secluded spot on the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem.447 He asks the disciples to sit, watch, and pray with him (vv. 36, 38, 41). Overcome by drowsiness, however, they effectively abandon Jesus.

Matthew admits Jesus’ grief and anguish at the prospect of crucifixion. Christ grieves greatly, “even to death” (v. 38, alluding to Ps. 42:5, 11; also Jonah 4:9). Here critics join conservatives in calling this passage something that surely happened. The criterion of embarrassment posits that no one would fabricate events that discomfit or humiliate them or their group. Here Jesus, the church’s hero, seems frightened, uncertain. Does the plea for release from the cross mean he has lost confidence in the Father’s plan? Besides, the Greco-Roman ideal features martyrs like Socrates, who faced death calmly. Among Jews, Maccabean martyrs died joyfully, without tears or pleading.448 And Christian martyrs often died with praise on their lips. Who would fabricate events that make Jesus look weak?

As a normal man, Jesus quails at the prospect of dying in physical agony. But Matthew 26:38 and 39 hint at a deeper ground for his agony. Jesus falls on his face and prays, “Father . . . let this cup pass from me” (v. 39). In the OT, the metaphor of a cup evokes that which is measured out, of which one must partake. In the Psalms, the Prophets, and Revelation, the cup signifies God’s wrath toward sin and punishment of it (Pss. 11:6; 75:8; Isa. 51:17–23; Jer. 25:15–28; Rev. 14:9–11). Revelation joins the sense of punishment with sin itself (Rev. 17:3–6; 18:3–6). “Cup” explains Jesus’ fear. Jesus is sinless, holy, and therefore detests sin, but during the crucifixion he bears our sin. Indeed, God “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that . . . we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). This is how he earns the right to offer the forgiveness mentioned in Matthew 26:28. As he bears the punishment of sin and is identified with it, he tastes the Father’s wrath and revulsion toward sin (Hab. 1:13). The Father turns from the Son while he is upon the cross, so that Jesus loses his perfect union with the Father (cf. comment on 27:45–50).

Jesus knows his death is unique. It brings humanity forgiveness and gives him glory because it is substitutionary (20:25–28). It bears much fruit (John 12:23–36), but “it will be accomplished only at an incomprehensible personal cost that goes far beyond physical death.”449 Jesus dies both as a martyr and as a sin-bearer, the priest like Melchizedek and source of eternal salvation (Heb. 5:7–10). For that reason, Jesus asks his closest friends to watch and pray with him, with “watch” in the present tense, since he wants them to stay awake throughout.

Jesus’ prayer in the garden is warm and humble: “My Father, if it be possible” (Matt. 26:39). Jesus reveals his grief, petitions for release, and declares his subordination to his Father. “Not as I will, but as you will” (v. 39) could serve as a theme statement for Jesus’ life. He will avoid the cup if he can, but submits to the Father’s will (vv. 38–42)—and the Father wills to accomplish salvation through Jesus’ death. Jesus cannot circumvent the cross or avoid the cup because it establishes the new covenant (20:22–23; John 18:11).

When Jesus arises from his prayer, he returns to the three and finds them asleep. Sleep can be normal, even a blessed gift (Pss. 4:8; 127:2; Prov. 3:24). But it can also be a sign of sloth (Prov. 6:10–11; 26:14–15), lack of vigilance (1 Sam. 26:12), or moral or spiritual failure (2 Sam. 11:2–13; 1 Thess. 5:5–6). The faithful know when to refuse to sleep (Ps. 132:1–5). So Jesus chides Peter, asking, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?” (Matt. 26:40).

Jesus repeats the command to watch and pray continually, but the purpose shifts (v. 41). Jesus originally wanted the disciples to watch for his sake; now they must watch for themselves. Jesus remains the shepherd, warning that nothing but watchful prayer will deliver his friends from that night’s tests. They must pray, lest they “enter into temptation”—an echo of the petition, “Lead us not into temptation” (6:13). Prayer is essential because the spirit is prothymon—“eager” or “willing”—but the flesh is weak. This epigram captures the human condition: our weakness defeats noble aspirations. Of course, “flesh” can refer to the human spirit in its sinfulness, so one must not posit a sharp contrast between a good spirit (or mind or will) and an evil body. It is right to distinguish between inner resolve and outward action; it is also right to remember that sins born of bodily weaknesses are simply more obvious than sins born of spiritual weakness. In general, humans cannot simply “do what they want,” either physically or spiritually (Rom. 7:14–20).

Jesus departs for a second season of prayer that resembles the first, although one detects more resignation to the cross in the phrasing “if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matt. 26:42; v. 39 reads “if it be possible”). The second vigil also ends with a visit that finds the disciples sleeping again, “for their eyes were heavy” (v. 43). Jesus, heeding his own counsel, prays a third time. So Jesus prays three times and remains faithful; Peter does not pray and denies Jesus three times.450

There are times to stay awake regardless of the hour, so Jesus gently chides his followers (v. 45). Translations vary because the text has two uncertainties. The key term loipon, translated “later on” in ESV, is “still” in most versions and “now” in several. The punctuation is also uncertain. Is the sentence an assertion? “Sleep . . . rest later on” (ESV) or “Sleep on now, and take your rest” (KJV). Or is it a question, “Are you still sleeping and resting?” (NIV; NRSV; NASB)? The question at least flows better (cf. ESV mg.). Whatever the exact sense, Jesus is disappointed, his tone ironic. The disciples have had their chance to pray for strength but slept through it. They might as well sleep the final moments. Perhaps Jesus already sees the torches and hears the clatter of the armed mob. The hour of Jesus’ passion has arrived (John 2:4; 7:30; 12:27; 17:1). “The Son of Man is betrayed,” by Judas, at that moment (Matt. 26:45). How tragic that God’s holy Messiah and King should fall into sinful hands. Still, Jesus is active, not passive. He rouses the disciples and leads them to meet the betrayer (v. 46).