36 Then come with them doth Jesus to a place called Gethsemane, and he saith to the disciples, 'Sit ye here, till having gone away, I shall pray yonder.' 37 And having taken Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful, and to be very heavy; 38 then saith he to them, 'Exceedingly sorrowful is my soul—unto death; abide ye here, and watch with me.' 39 And having gone forward a little, he fell on his face, praying, and saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou.' 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and he saith to Peter, 'So! ye were not able one hour to watch with me! 41 watch, and pray, that ye may not enter into temptation: the spirit indeed is forward, but the flesh weak.' 42 Again, a second time, having gone away, he prayed, saying, 'My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from me except I drink it, Thy will be done;' 43 and having come, he findeth them again sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And having left them, having gone away again, he prayed a third time, saying the same word; 45 then cometh he unto his disciples, and saith to them, 'Sleep on henceforth, and rest! lo, the hour hath come nigh, and the Son of Man is delivered up to the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us go; lo, he hath come nigh who is delivering me up.'
47 And while he is yet speaking, lo, Judas, one of the twelve did come, and with him a great multitude, with swords and sticks, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 And he who did deliver him up did give them a sign, saying, 'Whomsoever I will kiss, it is he: lay hold on him;' 49 and immediately, having come to Jesus, he said, 'Hail, Rabbi,' and kissed him; 50 and Jesus said to him, 'Comrade, for what art thou present?' Then having come near, they laid hands on Jesus, and took hold on him. 51 And lo, one of those with Jesus, having stretched forth the hand, drew his sword, and having struck the servant of the chief priest, he took off his ear. 52 Then saith Jesus to him, 'Turn back thy sword to its place; for all who did take the sword, by the sword shall perish; 53 dost thou think that I am not able now to call upon my Father, and He will place beside me more than twelve legions of messengers? 54 how then may the Writings be fulfilled, that thus it behoveth to happen?' 55 In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, 'As against a robber ye did come forth, with swords and sticks, to take me! daily with you I was sitting teaching in the temple, and ye did not lay hold on me; 56 but all this hath come to pass, that the Writings of the prophets may be fulfilled;' then all the disciples, having left him, fled.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 26:36-56
Commentary on Matthew 26:36-46
(Read Matthew 26:36-46)
He who made atonement for the sins of mankind, submitted himself in a garden of suffering, to the will of God, from which man had revolted in a garden of pleasure. Christ took with him into that part of the garden where he suffered his agony, only those who had witnessed his glory in his transfiguration. Those are best prepared to suffer with Christ, who have by faith beheld his glory. The words used denote the most entire dejection, amazement, anguish, and horror of mind; the state of one surrounded with sorrows, overwhelmed with miseries, and almost swallowed up with terror and dismay. He now began to be sorrowful, and never ceased to be so till he said, It is finished. He prayed that, if possible, the cup might pass from him. But he also showed his perfect readiness to bear the load of his sufferings; he was willing to submit to all for our redemption and salvation. According to this example of Christ, we must drink of the bitterest cup which God puts into our hands; though nature struggle, it must submit. It should be more our care to get troubles sanctified, and our hearts satisfied under them, than to get them taken away. It is well for us that our salvation is in the hand of One who neither slumbers nor sleeps. All are tempted, but we should be much afraid of entering into temptation. To be secured from this, we should watch and pray, and continually look unto the Lord to hold us up that we may be safe. Doubtless our Lord had a clear and full view of the sufferings he was to endure, yet he spoke with the greatest calmness till this time. Christ was a Surety, who undertook to be answerable for our sins. Accordingly he was made sin for us, and suffered for our sins, the Just for the unjust; and Scripture ascribes his heaviest sufferings to the hand of God. He had full knowledge of the infinite evil of sin, and of the immense extent of that guilt for which he was to atone; with awful views of the Divine justice and holiness, and the punishment deserved by the sins of men, such as no tongue can express, or mind conceive. At the same time, Christ suffered being tempted; probably horrible thoughts were suggested by Satan that tended to gloom and every dreadful conclusion: these would be the more hard to bear from his perfect holiness. And did the load of imputed guilt so weigh down the soul of Him of whom it is said, He upholdeth all things by the word of his power? into what misery then must those sink whose sins are left upon their own heads! How will those escape who neglect so great salvation?
Commentary on Matthew 26:47-56
(Read Matthew 26:47-56)
No enemies are so much to be abhorred as those professed disciples that betray Christ with a kiss. God has no need of our services, much less of our sins, to bring about his purposes. Though Christ was crucified through weakness, it was voluntary weakness; he submitted to death. If he had not been willing to suffer, they could not conquer him. It was a great sin for those who had left all to follow Jesus; now to leave him for they knew not what. What folly, for fear of death to flee from Him, whom they knew and acknowledged to be the Fountain of life!