Matthew 26:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”

NIV: Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'

NASB: Then He *said to them, 'My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.'

CSB: He said to them, "I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me."

NLT: He told them, 'My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'

KJV: Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

NKJV: Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

Jesus knows that very soon Judas will arrive with the chief priests and elders to arrest Him (Matthew 26:46–47). He has led the disciples to a favorite spot at Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:36). He left eight of them sitting a distance away and continued into the garden with his inner circle of Peter, James, and John (Matthew 26:37).

Now Jesus does something unique in His depiction in the Gospels. He confesses a deeply troubled state of mind. Jesus describes this as being so distressed that He almost feels the emotion would kill Him. Other Gospels explain the strain of this moment in similar ways (Mark 14:34). The three men He has brought into this private area are there, it seems, to provide Jesus with company.

Jesus' language describing His distress resembles some of what David wrote in the Psalms. For instance, David wrote in Psalm 143:3–4, "For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled."

Christians are sometimes tempted to think that feelings of sadness are a kind of failure. Many who have walked closely with God, however, have also experienced deep feelings of sorrow and emotional agony. This is part of the human experience, and Jesus is fully human (Hebrews 4:15). He knows what it is like to feel that way and was able to say so to His most trusted friends.

Some interpreters see Jesus' remark here as more literal than emotional. Luke, the physician, refers to Jesus' sweat as resembling bloody drips (Luke 22:44). This has led to speculation that Jesus was hemorrhaging blood from the skin. The more likely situation is that Jesus was profusely sweating. Christ was certainly enduring emotional trauma. Luke also reports that an angel from heaven appeared to strengthen Jesus (Luke 22:43). His mortal, human body needed help to endure the anticipation of what was to come.

Matthew 26:36–46 follows Jesus and the disciples into a place called Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives. He takes Peter, James, and John aside from the main group, then prays to God the Father in indescribably intense anguish. He prays a sincere wish that what's about to happen would not be necessary, but entirely submits to the will of God the Father. The disciples cannot stay awake, despite being roused more than once by Christ. Jesus prays three times, before pointing out Judas, the betrayer, who is coming with a crowd to arrest Him. These events are also depicted in Mark 14:32–42 and Luke 22:39–46.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.