And when he returned, he found them asleep again, ( for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
On the Passover night in Gethsemane Jesus came back to the three He had asked to watch and found them asleep again, their eyes heavy so that when He roused them they did not know what to answer Him. He was then bowed under utter sadness and the guilt of fallen humanity, fearing to be shut out forever from His Father's love while bearing a strain no human being had endured before or since in order to make atonement for transgression. In that agony He longed for human companionship and hoped for some word of love to strengthen and comfort Him in His sorrow. The disciples were exhausted and drowsy under the pressure of Satan, clinging to hope of an earthly kingdom instead of keeping awake through love for their suffering Master as they might have done by continuing to plead with God. Because they slept they did not understand His sorrow or remember His teaching about His suffering and rising again, and were left without the strength and evidence that would have prepared them for Calvary and kept them from leaving Him alone, until Peter afterward returned weeping to where he had seen his Saviour prostrated and left a converted man fitted to strengthen his brethren.
Garden Setting and Wording
The night was that of the Passover, after leaving the city for the garden of Gethsemane, beneath a full moon while the pilgrims' tents lay quiet. James and John and Peter were with Jesus in the garden, and John was present as one of the three permitted to witness the agony. Jesus entered the garden already weighed down by utter sadness and a strange silence such as the disciples had never seen in Him. His body showed the pressure of the burden, swaying as if about to fall, moving with labored effort and groaning aloud under the load, so that twice His companions supported Him lest He fall to the earth. The disciples marked the change yet dared not ask its cause, and looked anxiously for His usual place of retirement that He might rest.
As He neared the garden His heart was full of sorrow, feeling shut out from the light of God's sustaining presence. Numbered with transgressors, He bore the guilt of fallen humanity though He knew no sin, with the iniquity of all laid upon Him. So dreadful did sin appear to Him and so great was the weight of guilt He must bear that He feared being shut out forever from His Father's love. He felt God's terrible wrath against transgression, crying that His soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death.
The verse records one of three returns in which Jesus found the disciples sleeping while He endured His agony. The same prayer for deliverance was repeated three times, showing the depth of His sorrow and distress. It belonged to the ordeal of betrayal, suffering, and death that would test the disciples. In its wording their eyes were heavy, for they had fallen asleep again and did not know what to answer Him. His presence roused them, and seeing His face marked by bloody sweat and the agony of His suffering filled them with fear and sorrow. Exhausted and drowsy, they could not comprehend His anguish and could find no words to say to Him.
Christ's Suffering and Longing
Mark 14:40 belongs to the record of Christ's suffering in Gethsemane, where He bore the sins of the world under a strain no human being had endured before or since. His suffering shows complete submission to God's will, for though He could have refused humiliation and death, He accepted them to make atonement for human transgressions. The verse itself records that moment in His agony when the disciples fell asleep again, their eyes heavy, and could not answer Him.
While enduring that agony He longed for human sympathy and companionship. He came back from prayer hoping the disciples would speak some word of love to strengthen and comfort Him in sorrow, after He had asked them to watch with Him. He returned to them three times, and each time found them sleeping while He endured His agony and sought their sympathy. They were drowsy and asleep again and could not think of what to say to Him, and their stupor and weakness kept them from giving Him the companionship He longed for. That sleep came when Satan and his evil angels were pressing upon them on the ground, when love for their suffering Master should have kept them awake, and they might have shaken off that weakness by continuing to plead with God.
Disciples' Failure and Warning
The disciples were exhausted and drowsy when Jesus returned from prayer in His agony, asleep again and unable to understand His suffering or find words to answer Him. His presence roused them, and seeing His face marked by bloody sweat filled them with fear, though they could not comprehend His anguish. Their stupor and weakness kept them from giving Him the companionship He longed for, a weakness they might have shaken off by continuing to plead with God. That sleep came while Satan and his evil angels pressed upon them on the ground, when love for their suffering Master should have kept them awake. Instead they clung to hope of an earthly kingdom with themselves as rulers.
Jesus bent over the sleepers and roused Peter, asking in pitying tenderness how one who had said he would go to prison and death with Christ could not watch one hour. He urged them to watch and pray because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Because they failed to watch, they did not understand the sorrow pressing on Him, were not fitted to behold His death on Calvary, did not remember what He had told them many times about His suffering and death and rising again, had no rays of hope amid gloom, and were left with faith unstrengthened when Satan seemed to gain the victory. Their stupor kept them from receiving the spiritual strength and evidence that would have prepared them for the trials ahead. That evidence included the presence of angels in the scene, which would have strengthened them for what was coming. Had they watched and prayed as asked, they would have been ready to bear scorn and mockery and would not have left Him alone in bitter trial.
Peter afterward remembered that he was asleep when Jesus prayed those fearful hours in great agony with bloody sweat forced from His pores. After denying Jesus in His humiliation, he was repentant and reconverted with true contrition of soul and gave himself afresh to his Saviour. With blinding tears he made his way to the solitude of Gethsemane and prostrated himself where he had seen his Saviour prostrated, and with broken heart his penitential tears moistened the sod so recently stained with the sweat drops of God's dear Son. He left that garden a converted man, humbled so he could pity the tempted, sympathize with the weak and erring, caution and warn the presumptuous, and fully fitted to strengthen his brethren.
On the Passover night in Gethsemane Jesus came back to the three He had asked to watch and found them asleep again, their eyes heavy so that when He roused them they did not know what to answer Him. He was then bowed under utter sadness and the guilt of fallen humanity, fearing to be shut out forever from His Father's love while bearing a strain no human being had endured before or since in order to make atonement for transgression. In that agony He longed for human companionship and hoped for some word of love to strengthen and comfort Him in His sorrow. The disciples were exhausted and drowsy under the pressure of Satan, clinging to hope of an earthly kingdom instead of keeping awake through love for their suffering Master as they might have done by continuing to plead with God. Because they slept they did not understand His sorrow or remember His teaching about His suffering and rising again, and were left without the strength and evidence that would have prepared them for Calvary and kept them from leaving Him alone, until Peter afterward returned weeping to where he had seen his Saviour prostrated and left a converted man fitted to strengthen his brethren.
Garden Setting and Wording
The night was that of the Passover, after leaving the city for the garden of Gethsemane, beneath a full moon while the pilgrims' tents lay quiet. James and John and Peter were with Jesus in the garden, and John was present as one of the three permitted to witness the agony. Jesus entered the garden already weighed down by utter sadness and a strange silence such as the disciples had never seen in Him. His body showed the pressure of the burden, swaying as if about to fall, moving with labored effort and groaning aloud under the load, so that twice His companions supported Him lest He fall to the earth. The disciples marked the change yet dared not ask its cause, and looked anxiously for His usual place of retirement that He might rest.
As He neared the garden His heart was full of sorrow, feeling shut out from the light of God's sustaining presence. Numbered with transgressors, He bore the guilt of fallen humanity though He knew no sin, with the iniquity of all laid upon Him. So dreadful did sin appear to Him and so great was the weight of guilt He must bear that He feared being shut out forever from His Father's love. He felt God's terrible wrath against transgression, crying that His soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death.
The verse records one of three returns in which Jesus found the disciples sleeping while He endured His agony. The same prayer for deliverance was repeated three times, showing the depth of His sorrow and distress. It belonged to the ordeal of betrayal, suffering, and death that would test the disciples. In its wording their eyes were heavy, for they had fallen asleep again and did not know what to answer Him. His presence roused them, and seeing His face marked by bloody sweat and the agony of His suffering filled them with fear and sorrow. Exhausted and drowsy, they could not comprehend His anguish and could find no words to say to Him.
Christ's Suffering and Longing
Mark 14:40 belongs to the record of Christ's suffering in Gethsemane, where He bore the sins of the world under a strain no human being had endured before or since. His suffering shows complete submission to God's will, for though He could have refused humiliation and death, He accepted them to make atonement for human transgressions. The verse itself records that moment in His agony when the disciples fell asleep again, their eyes heavy, and could not answer Him.
While enduring that agony He longed for human sympathy and companionship. He came back from prayer hoping the disciples would speak some word of love to strengthen and comfort Him in sorrow, after He had asked them to watch with Him. He returned to them three times, and each time found them sleeping while He endured His agony and sought their sympathy. They were drowsy and asleep again and could not think of what to say to Him, and their stupor and weakness kept them from giving Him the companionship He longed for. That sleep came when Satan and his evil angels were pressing upon them on the ground, when love for their suffering Master should have kept them awake, and they might have shaken off that weakness by continuing to plead with God.
Disciples' Failure and Warning
The disciples were exhausted and drowsy when Jesus returned from prayer in His agony, asleep again and unable to understand His suffering or find words to answer Him. His presence roused them, and seeing His face marked by bloody sweat filled them with fear, though they could not comprehend His anguish. Their stupor and weakness kept them from giving Him the companionship He longed for, a weakness they might have shaken off by continuing to plead with God. That sleep came while Satan and his evil angels pressed upon them on the ground, when love for their suffering Master should have kept them awake. Instead they clung to hope of an earthly kingdom with themselves as rulers.
Jesus bent over the sleepers and roused Peter, asking in pitying tenderness how one who had said he would go to prison and death with Christ could not watch one hour. He urged them to watch and pray because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Because they failed to watch, they did not understand the sorrow pressing on Him, were not fitted to behold His death on Calvary, did not remember what He had told them many times about His suffering and death and rising again, had no rays of hope amid gloom, and were left with faith unstrengthened when Satan seemed to gain the victory. Their stupor kept them from receiving the spiritual strength and evidence that would have prepared them for the trials ahead. That evidence included the presence of angels in the scene, which would have strengthened them for what was coming. Had they watched and prayed as asked, they would have been ready to bear scorn and mockery and would not have left Him alone in bitter trial.
Peter afterward remembered that he was asleep when Jesus prayed those fearful hours in great agony with bloody sweat forced from His pores. After denying Jesus in His humiliation, he was repentant and reconverted with true contrition of soul and gave himself afresh to his Saviour. With blinding tears he made his way to the solitude of Gethsemane and prostrated himself where he had seen his Saviour prostrated, and with broken heart his penitential tears moistened the sod so recently stained with the sweat drops of God's dear Son. He left that garden a converted man, humbled so he could pity the tempted, sympathize with the weak and erring, caution and warn the presumptuous, and fully fitted to strengthen his brethren.