Luke 22:45

Luk 22:45-46. And when he rose up from prayer — After this dreadful conflict; and was come to his disciples — Namely, the third time; notwithstanding the repeated admonitions he had given them, he again found them sleeping — And that, as the evangelist says, for sorrow — The sensations of grief which they felt at the sight of their Master’s distress so overpowering them, that they sunk into sleep; a circumstance which shows how much they were affected with his sufferings. And said unto them, Why sleep ye — Why do you still persist to sleep at such a season as this? I call upon you yet once more, to rise and pray, lest ye enter into and fall by the approaching most dangerous temptation. See the various circumstances attending this dreadful scene of our Lord’s sufferings in the garden more fully elucidated in the notes on Mat 26:36-46; and Mar 14:32, &c.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

sleeping

Peter was sleeping while his Master was praying, Luk 22:45, resisting while his Master was submitting, Lu 22: 49-51, he followed afar off; sat down amongst his Lord’s enemies; and denied his Lord, the faith, and the brotherhood.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22:45-46 Jesus’ agonized prayer contrasted with the disciples’ failure to be vigilant against temptation.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 22:45-46 . Return of Jesus to His disciples . ἀπὸ τῆς προσευχῆς : rising up from the prayer , seems to continue the narrative from Luk 22:42 . ἀπὸ τῆς λύπης , asleep from grief , apologetic; Hebraistic construction, therefore not added by Lk., but got from a Jewish-Christian document, says J. Weiss (in Meyer). Doubtless Lk.’s, added out of delicate feeling for the disciples, and with truth to nature, for grief does induce sleep (“moestitia somnum affert,” Wolf).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Men are utterly sluggish, even in their greatest dangers until Christ stir them up.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(45) He found them sleeping for sorrow.—It is, perhaps, again characteristic of St. Luke, that while the other Gospels state simply the fact that the disciples slept, he assigns it psychologically and physiologically to its cause. Prolonged sorrow has, at last, a numbing and narcotising effect. (See Note on “believing not for joy,” Luk_24:41.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45. sleeping for sorrow] Psa_69:20. The last two words give rather the cause than the excuse. They are analogous to “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” of Mat_26:41. St Luke here abbreviates the fuller records given in Matthew 26; Mark 14, from which we find that Jesus thrice came to His Apostles, and thrice found them sleeping (see Isa_63:3),—each momentary pause of prayer marking a fresh step in His victorious submission. This was the Temptation of Jesus by every element of anguish, as He had been tempted in the wilderness by every element of desire.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And said unto them, why sleep ye?.... The Arabic version prefaces this with these words, "and he awaked them"; and then rebuked them for sleeping, adding,

rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation; together with words recorded in Mat 26:45.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,

Ver. 45. He found them sleeping] Who should have waked, and wiped off his sweat (as the angel did Theodorus the martyr’s), but they rather added to it by their security. (Socrates, Theodoret.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The relations which Matthew and Mark give us are both more particular than that given us by Luke, to which we refer the reader. Luke speaketh but of his praying once; Matthew saith he prayed thrice. Luke mentions nothing of his withdrawing with Peter, James, and John from the other eight; Matthew and Mark both mention it. Luke maketh mention of an angel’s appearing to him, of the agony in which he was, and his sweating drops as it were of blood; which neither Matthew nor Mark take notice of: yet we must not think, that either any one of the evangelists, or all of them together, give a perfect account of all the words our Saviour used in these prayers, only they tell us the sum of them in different words; but See Poole on "Mat 26:40", and following verses to Mat 26:41. See Poole on "Mar 14:37", and following verses to Mar 14:38, where we have fully considered whatsoever is said by any of the evangelists upon this argument.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 45, 46. He found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto them, Why sleep ye rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The events of the past evening; the long excitement stirred up by listening to such words as their Master had been speaking to them during the sad hours of the Last Supper; the sure consciousness of coming sorrow; then the walk through the silent city: all predisposed them to sleep. Commentators are never weary with pressing these excuses for the slumber of the eleven at that awful moment. But all these things, though they may well have predisposed them to slumber, are not sufficient to account for that strange heavy sleep which seems to have paralyzed the eleven in Gethsemane. In spite of their Master"s solemn injunction to watch and pray, he finds them, several times during that dreadful watch of his in the garden, asleep, in spite of his asking them for sympathy and prayer, in spite of his evident longing for their sympathy each time he cast his eyes on them, he sees them, not watching, but sleeping! Many a time in their work-filled lives those fishermen he loved so well, John and Peter and Andrew, had toiled all night with their nets; but on this night of sorrow, when their pleading voices were listened for, possibly their hand-press waited for, their silent sympathy certainly longed for, they slept, seemingly forgetful of all save their own ease and comfort. Surely on this night of temptation they were influenced by some invisible power, who lulled them to sleep during those precious moments when they should have been agonizing with their Master in prayer, and so arming themselves against the supreme moment of temptation just coming upon them. But swayed by the power of evil of whom the Lord had been warning them, but in vain, they let the moments slip by, and the hour of temptation came on them unawares. We know how grievously they all fell. the Christ thou sawest transfigured! him Who trod the sea and brought the dead to life? What should wring this from thee? ye laugh and ask. What wrung it? Even a torchlight and a noise, The sudden Roman faces, violent hands, And fear of what the Jews might do! Just that; And it is written, "I forsook and fled:" There was my trial, and it ended thus. (Browning, "A Death in the Desert.")

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When he rose up from his prayer, he

"When Jesus got up after praying, he" or "After praying, Jesus got up and he"

found them sleeping because of their sorrow

"saw that they were sleeping because they were tired from their sadness"

Why are you sleeping?

Possible meanings are 1) "I am surprised that you are sleeping now." or 2) "You should not be sleeping now!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

that you may not enter into temptation

"so that you may not be tempted" or "so that nothing tempts you and causes you to sin"

translationWords

pray

disciple

tempt

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

[45. Καὶ ἀναστὰς, and when He rose up) Given up completely to the will of the Father.—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45. κοιμωμένους … ἀπὸ τῆς λύπης. Psa 69:20. The last two words give rather the cause than the excuse. They are analogous to “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” of Mat 26:41. St Luke here abbreviates the fuller records given in Matthew 26; Mark 14, from which we find that Jesus thrice came to His Apostles, and thrice found them sleeping (see Isa 63:3),—each momentary pause of prayer marking a fresh step in His victorious submission. This was the Temptation of Jesus by every element of anguish, as He had been tempted in the wilderness by every element of desire.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45.] ἀπὸ τῆς λύπης—the effect of anxiety and watching. The words may possibly express an inference of the Evangelist (Meyer): but I would rather understand them as exactly describing the cause of their sleeping.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45. Lk. is much more brief than Mt. and Mk., but adds ἀναστὰς ἀπὸ τῆς προσευχῆς and also ἀπὸ τῆς λύπης. Prolonged sorrow produces sleep, and in mentioning this cause of their slumber Lk. once more “spares the Twelve.” For ἀναστάς see on 1:39, and for ἀπό of the cause see on 19:3, 21:26, 24:41.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For sorrow. The mention of the cause of the drowsiness is characteristic.

47 - 53. Compare Mt 27:47 - 56; Mr 14:43 - 52.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.