And being in an agony,.... Or in a conflict, and combat; that is, with thee devil, who now appeared visibly to him, in an horrible form: after his temptations in the wilderness Satan left him for a season, till another opportunity should offer; and now it did; now the prince of this world came to him; see Luke 4:13 and attacked him in a garden, where the first onset on human nature was made: and now began the battle between the two combatants, the serpent, and the seed of the woman; which issued in the destruction of Satan, and thee recovery of mankind. The Arabic version leaves out this clause; and the Syriac version renders it, "being in fear"; and to the same purpose are the Persic and Ethiopic versions; that is, of death; and must be understood of a sinless fear of death in his human nature, to which death, being a dissolution of it, must be disagreeable; though not death, barely considered, was the cause of this fear, distress, and agony he was in; but as it was to be inflicted on him for the sins of his people, which he bore, and as it was the curse of the law, and the effect of divine wrath and displeasure:

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Being in an agony (γενόμενος ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ)

There is in the aorist participle a suggestion of a growing intensity in the struggle, which is not conveyed by the simple being. Literally, though very awkwardly, it is, having become in an agony: having progressed from the first prayer (began to pray, Luke 22:41) into an intense struggle of prayer and sorrow. Wycliffe's rendering hints at this: and he, made in agony, prayed. Agony occurs only here. It is used by medical writers, and the fact of a sweat accompanying an agony is also mentioned by them.

More earnestly (ἐκτενέστερον)

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In an agony - See this verse explained in the notes at Matthew 26:42-44.

Prayed more earnestly - With greater emphasis and earnestness than usual, with strong crying and tears, Hebrews 5:7; the reason given for which is, that he was in an agony. Kypke well observes, Vox αγωνια summum animi angorem et dolorem indicat; et idem est, quod αδημονειν, Matthew 26:37; Mark 14:34. "The word αγωνια (agony) points out the utmost anguish and grief of soul, and is of the same import with αδημονειν in Matthew and Mark." See the note on Matthew 26:37.

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And being in an {n} agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great {o} drops of blood falling down to the ground.

(n) This agony shows that Christ struggled hard and was in great distress: for Christ struggled hard not only with the fears of death as other men do (for in this regard many martyrs might seem more constant then Christ), but also with the fearful judgment of his angry Father, which is the most fearful thing in the world: and this was because he took the burden of all our sins upon himself.

(o) These do not only show that Christ was true man, but also other things which the godly have to consider of, in which the secret of the redemption of all mankind is contained in the Son of God when he debased himself to the state of a servant: such things as these no man can sufficiently declare.

22:44 Being in agony. Luke alone mentions that his sweat became as great drops of blood, a fact that portrays, as language could not, the agony of our Lord's struggle.

22:44 And being in an agony - Probably just now grappling with the powers of darkness: feeling the weight of the wrath of God, and at the same time surrounded with a mighty host of devils, who exercised all their force and malice to persecute and distract his wounded spirit. He prayed more earnestly - Even with stronger cries and tars: and his sweat - As cold as the weather was, was as it were great drops of blood - Which, by the vehement distress of his soul, were forced out of the pores, in so great a quantity as afterward united in large, thick, grumous drops, and even fell to the ground.

Luke 22:44 Parallel Commentaries
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