Matthew 26:36-46
New American Standard Bible
The Garden of Gethsemane
36 (A)Then Jesus *came with them to a place called [a](B)Gethsemane, and *told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took (C)Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He *said to them, “(D)My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and (E)keep watch with Me.”
39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let (F)this cup pass from Me; (G)yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not (H)keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 (I)Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; (J)the spirit is [b]willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup (K)cannot pass away unless I drink from it, (L)Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “[c]Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, (M)the hour [d]is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 26:36 I.e., oil press
- Matthew 26:41 Or eager
- Matthew 26:45 Or Keep on sleeping for the time remaining and
- Matthew 26:45 Or has approached
Matthew 26:36-46
The Message
36-38 Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39 Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41 When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
42 He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”
43-44 When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.
45-46 When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson