And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
At Gethsemane Jesus takes Peter, James and John aside and, deeply distressed, asks them to keep watch while he prays. Falling to the ground, he asks his Father to take this cup from him, yet submits to his will. Three times he returns to find them asleep; finally he rouses them as his betrayer arrives.
What does this mean?
'Abba' is the Aramaic word for 'father', used in families; Mark preserves it and translates it. 'Sore amazed' and 'very heavy' (KJV) mean deeply distressed and troubled. The 'cup' and the 'hour' stand for his coming suffering and death. 'Wist' means knew. 'It is enough' translates an obscure Greek word whose exact sense is debated.
Historical context
'Gethsemane' probably means 'oil press', suggesting an olive grove on the Mount of Olives; its precise location is not known.
Why does it matter?
Mark shows Jesus' anguish without softening it, and his prayer, 'not what I will, but what thou wilt', is the climax of his struggle to accept his path. The disciples' failure to stay awake echoes his warnings to 'watch' (13:33–37), and his words 'the spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak' describe their failure precisely.
Editorial notes, not scripture.
Told in three Gospels
Matthew 26:36–46
Prayer in Gethsemane
How Matthew tells it
As in Mark, Jesus prays three times and finds the disciples asleep each time, but only Matthew gives the words of the second prayer, echoing the Lord's Prayer ('thy will be done'). Luke has one prayer, an angel strengthening Jesus and sweat like drops of blood (absent from some early manuscripts), and says the disciples slept from sorrow.
Continue reading in Matthew →
Luke 22:39–46
Jesus prays on the Mount of Olives
How Luke tells it
Luke names only "the mount of Olives," not Gethsemane, and does not single out Peter, James and John. Jesus prays once (Mark and Matthew: three times), kneeling rather than falling to the ground. Only Luke has the strengthening angel and the sweat like drops of blood, and says the disciples slept "for sorrow."
Continue reading in Luke →
How Mark tells it
Only Mark has the Aramaic 'Abba' and the words 'all things are possible unto thee' in Jesus' prayer, and the request that 'the hour' might pass. Mark's Jesus addresses Peter by his old name, Simon. Like Matthew and unlike Luke, Mark records three returns to the sleeping disciples and no strengthening angel.