Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
He describes the betrayal of Judas, then the last supper of Christ, and in it the institution of the Eucharist, and the contention of the Apostles about primacy reproved by Christ, and the denial of Peter foretold by Christ. Then, at verse 39, he begins the Passion of Christ: for he narrates His prayer and bloody sweat in the garden, Peter's defense, and then his denial, the slaps inflicted on Christ, the mockeries, and finally His condemnation.
Vulgate Text: Luke 22:1-71
1. Now the feast day of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was drawing near; 2. and the chief priests and scribes were seeking how they might kill Jesus: but they feared the people. 3. And Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, one of the twelve; 4. and he went and spoke with the chief priests and magistrates, how he might betray Him to them. 5. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. And he promised. 6. And he sought an opportunity to betray Him without crowds. 7. Now the day of Unleavened Bread came, on which it was necessary that the Passover be sacrificed. 8. And He sent Peter and John, saying: Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat. 9. But they said: Where do You wish us to prepare? 10. And He said to them: Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters, 11. and you shall say to the master of the house: The Master says to you: Where is the guest chamber, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples? 12. And he will show you a large upper room furnished, and there prepare. 13. And going, they found as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 14. And when the hour had come, He reclined at table, and the twelve Apostles with Him. 15. And He said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16. For I say to you, that from this time I will not eat it, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17. And having taken the chalice, He gave thanks and said: Take, and divide it among you. 18. For I say to you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19. And having taken bread, He gave thanks, and broke it, and gave to them, saying: This is My body, which is given for you: do this in commemoration of Me. 20. In like manner the chalice also, after He had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the new testament in My blood, which shall be shed for you. 21. But yet behold, the hand of him that betrays Me is with Me on the table. 22. And the Son of man indeed goes, according to that which is determined: but yet, woe to that man by whom He shall be betrayed. 23. And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. 24. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should seem to be the greater. 25. And He said to them: The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that have power over them are called beneficent. 26. But you not so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serves. 27. For which is greater, he that sits at table, or he that serves? Is not he that sits at table? But I am in the midst of you, as He that serves. 28. And you are they who have continued with Me in My temptations. 29. And I dispose to you, as My Father has disposed to Me, a kingdom, 30. that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom; and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 31. And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; 32. but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not; and you, being once converted, confirm your brethren. 33. Who said to Him: Lord, I am ready to go with You both into prison and to death. 34. And He said: I say to you, Peter, the cock shall not crow today, till you thrice deny that you know Me. And He said to them: 35. When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, did you lack anything? 36. But they said: Nothing. Then He said to them: But now he that has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip; and he that has not, let him sell his coat and buy a sword. 37. For I say to you, that this that is written must yet be fulfilled in Me: And with the wicked He was reputed. For the things concerning Me have an end. 38. But they said: Lord, behold here are two swords. And He said to them: It is enough. 39. And going out, He went according to His custom to the Mount of Olives. And His disciples also followed Him. 40. And when He had come to the place, He said to them: Pray, lest you enter into temptation. 41. And He was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast; and kneeling down, He prayed, 42. saying: Father, if You will, remove this chalice from Me; but yet not My will, but Yours be done. 43. And there appeared to Him an Angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony, He prayed the more earnestly. 44. And His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground. 45. And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow. 46. And He said to them: Why do you sleep? Arise, pray, lest you enter into temptation. 47. As He was yet speaking, behold a multitude; and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48. And Jesus said to him: Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss? 49. And they that were about Him, seeing what would follow, said to Him: Lord, shall we strike with the sword? 50. And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. 51. But Jesus answering, said: Suffer you thus far. And when He had touched his ear, He healed him. 52. And Jesus said to the chief priests, and magistrates of the temple, and the elders, that were come unto Him: Are you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53. When I was daily with you in the temple, you did not stretch forth your hands against Me; but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. 54. And apprehending Him, they led Him to the high priest's house: but Peter followed afar off. 55. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were sitting about it, Peter was in the midst of them. 56. Whom when a certain servant maid had seen sitting at the light, and had earnestly beheld him, she said: This man also was with Him. 57. But he denied Him, saying: Woman, I know Him not. 58. And after a little while, another seeing him, said: You also are one of them. But Peter said: O man, I am not. 59. And after the space of about one hour, another certain man affirmed, saying: Of a truth, this man also was with Him, for he is also a Galilean. 60. And Peter said: Man, I know not what you say. And immediately, as he was yet speaking, the cock crew. 61. And the Lord turning looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, as He had said: Before the cock crow, you shall deny Me thrice. 62. And Peter going out, wept bitterly. 63. And the men that held Him mocked Him and struck Him. 64. And they blindfolded Him, and struck His face; and they asked Him, saying: Prophesy, who is it that struck You? 65. And blaspheming, many other things they said against Him. 66. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people, and the chief priests and scribes, came together, and they brought Him into their council, saying: If You be the Christ, tell us. 67. And He said to them: If I shall tell you, you will not believe Me; 68. and if I shall also ask, you will not answer Me, nor let Me go. 69. But hereafter the Son of man shall be sitting on the right hand of the power of God. 70. Then they all said: Are You then the Son of God? Who said: You say that I am. 71. And they said: What need we any further testimony? For we ourselves have heard it from His own mouth.
Verse 6: He Sought an Opportunity to Betray Him Without Crowds
6. AND HE SOUGHT AN OPPORTUNITY TO BETRAY HIM WITHOUT CROWDS. — Judas sold Christ to the Jews on Wednesday, the fourth day of the week: then on the following day, namely Thursday, the fifth day of the week, he handed Him over to them. Whence it follows: "Now the day of Unleavened Bread came." See how swift was the wickedness of Judas, and equally cunning and crafty: for he knew that Christ would customarily celebrate the Passover on the following day at Jerusalem; therefore it would then be most convenient to hand Him over to the leaders of Jerusalem.
Verse 20: This Is the Chalice, the New Testament in My Blood
20. THIS IS THE CHALICE, THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MY BLOOD. — That is, this chalice is the authentic instrument, and as it were the charter and tablet of testament, in which is written and sealed My new testament concerning the giving to you of My inheritance of heaven; written, I say, not with ink, but with My blood. See what was said on 1 Cor. 11:25.
Verse 25: They That Have Power Over Them Are Called Beneficent
25. AND THEY THAT HAVE POWER OVER THEM ARE CALLED BENEFICENT. — In Greek euergetai, that is, benefactors. For this is a title of honor and praise, which is given to princes, because they are accustomed, or ought, to be beneficent.
Hence of old the proper epithet of a king was "good." Virgil, Aeneid I, concerning Acestes, king of Sicily:
"Wine which good Acestes had loaded upon casks."
Martial concerning his Domitian:
"And good Caesar delights in heavenly nectar."
And again, book XII of the Epigrams, from the corrected editions, concerning Nerva Trajan:
"And in evil times you dared to be good."
Horace, Odes IV, ode 5:
"Born of good gods, O best Romulus."
Homer desired nothing else in a king, except that he be brave against enemies and good to citizens. Hence also God, the King of kings, is called by His proper epithet "the Best and Greatest." Thus in Plutarch's work On Isis and Osiris, Bacchus is called polyagathos, that is, "very good." Indeed the epithet of governors was "the best." Whence Paul calls the governor Felix "most excellent," Acts 23. See what was said there.
Verse 26: He That Is the Greater Among You, Let Him Become as the Younger
26. BUT YOU NOT SO: BUT HE THAT IS THE GREATER AMONG YOU, LET HIM BECOME AS THE YOUNGER. — The Arabic version has: the greater among you, let him become as the least, meaning: He who wishes to be greatest among you, let him become the least; by this means he shall become the greatest.
Morally, learn here the paradox of Christ, incredible to the world, but in itself most true and most certain from experience, namely that the way to exaltation is self-abasement. Do you wish to be greater? Become lesser. For God has sanctioned and fixed this way by eternal law, and therefore Christ was the first to enter upon it, so that we might follow Him along the same path. For He emptied Himself and humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: for which cause God also exalted Him, and has given Him a name which is above all names, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth," Phil. 2.
Wherefore St. Francis, the great admirer and imitator of Christ, cast himself down to the lowest depths, and wished to be the poorest and most contemptible of all. Hence a certain saint saw in heaven a most lofty and splendid throne, and when he asked whose it was, the answer was: "This was the seat of one of the great fallen angels, and now it is kept for the humble Francis," as St. Bonaventure relates in his Life, chapter 6. He likewise wished his brethren to be called Friars Minor: "Lest," he said, "they presume to become greater." His follower, St. Francis de Paula, ordered the members of his order to be called not Minors, but Minims. Wherefore Bl. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, recently enrolled among the Blessed by Our Holy Father Urban VIII, received this teaching from God: "Be of the Order of Minims, and the least of the Minims," so that you may strive to be the least as much as worldly people strive to be the greatest.
St. Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew, King of Hungary, and wife of the Landgrave of Hesse, lowered herself to the depths, so that she might most joyfully serve lepers, the ulcerated, and the diseased, whom her own handmaids abhorred; she would wipe away the pus and sores with her own hands, remove worms, and put food into their mouths. And when her friends objected that these things were unworthy of her person and station, and that she therefore lived expelled from her principality in great poverty, she replied that if she knew of any kind of life more lowly and abject, she would choose it, so that she might more closely resemble and conform herself to Christ the Lord, who from being first made Himself the lowest and last of men, as Isaiah says in chapter 53, for our example, that we might imitate it; for in this consists the summit of Christian virtue and perfection.
The same was constantly said and practiced by St. Hedwig, Duchess of Poland, maternal aunt of St. Elizabeth, and her granddaughter St. Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal. Wherefore St. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, sold himself into slavery for the sake of a widow's son, so that he might imitate Christ and make himself the last of men. The same did Peter the Tax-Collector, as is narrated in the Life of St. John the Almsgiver. This is what the Wise Man teaches: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things, and you shall find grace before the Lord," Sirach 3:20. See what was said there.
Verse 29: I Dispose to You, as My Father Has Disposed to Me, a Kingdom
29. AND I DISPOSE TO YOU, AS MY FATHER HAS DISPOSED TO ME, A KINGDOM. — As if to say: Just as My heavenly Father through humility and the cross, and through so many labors and sorrows, has decreed and prepared for Me a heavenly and eternal kingdom; so also I "dispose" to you the same, that is, I decree, prepare, and going to My death I now bequeath as by testament (for this is the Greek diatithemai, whence diatheke, that is, testament), that through similar humility, cross, labors and sorrows, you may enter into a similar, indeed the same, kingdom with Me in heaven, and therefore that you may now no longer dispute who among you is the greater, but who is the lesser, so that each may strive to surpass the other in self-abasement and humility; for he who does this shall be first and greatest in My heavenly kingdom.
Verse 30: That You May Eat and Drink at My Table in My Kingdom
30. THAT YOU MAY EAT AND DRINK AT MY TABLE IN MY KINGDOM. — As if to say: Just as a king grants to the princes most familiar to him a share at his table, and makes them guests at his table and of his banquets; but to other lesser nobles he assigns another, lesser table: so in heaven I will closely associate you, O Apostles, as the princes and chief men of My kingdom, and as it were I will admit you as intimate guests at My table and at My royal dishes. For in a similar manner He shows that the first and most illustrious Apostles will enjoy the first honors with the immortal King, says Euthymius, Titus, and Theophylactus. It is a catachresis, by which heavenly glory, delights, and honors are often compared in Scripture to feasts and banquets of food and drink, and to the chief seats at table with the king, because carnal men most relish and grasp these things, but know not how to esteem spiritual things; and because food and drink are incorporated into us and become ours, just as in heaven through the beatific vision and other glorious endowments God will be, as it were, incorporated into us and become ours.
Verse 31: Simon, Simon, Behold Satan Has Desired to Sift You as Wheat
31. AND THE LORD SAID: SIMON, SIMON (Peter), BEHOLD SATAN HAS DESIRED TO HAVE YOU, THAT HE MAY SIFT YOU AS WHEAT. — "Sift," that is, vex, afflict, agitate, scatter, just as wheat is shaken in a sieve, so that it may be cleansed from chaff and dust. Thus Satan asked God that he might sift and afflict Job, in chapter 1, and he obtained his request. He did the same here with Peter and the Apostles, and in part he succeeded, when he stirred up the Jews to arrest Christ; for then the Apostles, fearing that they too would be arrested, fled and were scattered. Fittingly temptation is compared to a sieve and sifting, because just as in the sieve the grains of wheat are separated from the chaff; for the grains remain in the sieve, but the light chaff, shaken by the sieve, fly away and are scattered to the wind: so in exactly the same way the faithful and holy remain constant in temptation, but the impious fail and fly away.
Verse 32: I Have Prayed for You, That Your Faith Fail Not
32. BUT I HAVE PRAYED (to God the Father) FOR YOU (because I destine you as the head and prince of the Apostles and of My Church), THAT YOUR FAITH FAIL NOT, — by which you believe Me to be the Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of the world.
Note that Christ by this prayer asked and obtained for Peter, above the other Apostles, two remarkable privileges. The first was personal, namely that Peter himself would never lose faith in Christ. For Christ refers to the sifting of the preceding verse, that is, the temptation of His arrest, in which the other Apostles, like chaff, flew away from Christ, lost their faith, and fled scattered here and there. But Peter, although he denied Christ for a time with his mouth and lost charity, nevertheless retained faith in Him in his heart. So St. Chrysostom, homily 38 on Matthew; St. Augustine, book On Correction and Grace, chapter 8; Theophylactus and others here. This is probable, but not certain: for Francis Lucas and others judge that Peter at that time lost both faith and charity, and this from the vehement disturbance and fear, but only for a short time, so that soon his faith, reborn more vigorously, revived in him: hence it is judged not to have failed, that is, not to have been utterly uprooted or torn out by the roots, but rather disturbed than dead for a time was Peter's faith.
The second and certain privilege was common to Peter with all his successors, namely that he and the other Roman Pontiffs (for Peter, as Christ willed, established and stabilized the Pontifical See at Rome) would never publicly defect from the faith, so as to teach the Church heresy or any error that is against the faith. So St. Leo, Sermon 2 On the Birthday of SS. Peter and Paul; St. Cyprian, book I, epistle 3 to Cornelius; Lucius I, Felix I, Agatho, Nicholas I, Leo IX, Innocent III, Bernard and others, whom Bellarmine cites and follows, book I On the Roman Pontiff.
For it was necessary that Christ, by His most wise providence, should provide for His Church, which is always sifted and tempted by the devil, not only in the time of Peter, but in all future time until the end of the world, an oracle of true faith, which the Church could consult in every doubt of faith, and by which it could be instructed and confirmed in the faith: otherwise the Church could err in faith; which God forbid. For it is, as Paul says in 1 Tim. 3:15, "the pillar and ground of the truth." This oracle of the Church, therefore, is Peter and all the succeeding Roman Pontiffs. Wherefore this promise of Christ made to Peter and his successors, chiefly concerns the time when Peter, surviving Christ, began to be the head of the Church, namely immediately after the death of Christ.
AND YOU (as if to say: You therefore) BEING ONCE CONVERTED — from the sifting of Satan, that is, from his temptation and from the sin by which you will shortly deny Me: for by this you will be turned away from Me and from My grace and love. So Euthymius, Theophylactus, Jansenius, Francis Lucas and others.
Some take "converted" to mean "again"; so Bede, as if to say: You, O Peter, again confirm in the faith your brothers the Apostles after My death, whom I Myself now while living confirm by My voice. For thus the Hebrews often take verbs in place of adverbs. So in Psalm 84:7 it says: "O God, You being converted will give us life;" that is, again, anew. So Genebrardus.
CONFIRM (in the faith, of which He had just spoken) YOUR BRETHREN, — and consequently Mine. Marvelous here is the condescension of Christ, by which He calls the Apostles not sons, although He had spiritually begotten them of God, but "brethren," both because Christ as man was the brother of all men, being a sharer in the same human nature; and because the Apostles in their apostolate and preaching of the Gospel were, as it were, brothers and colleagues of Christ. For they did the same work as Christ. Hence the cited Fathers and Doctors conclude that Peter was set by Christ over the other Apostles, and consequently was made the prince and head of the whole Church, so that he might instruct, perfect, and confirm the same in the faith and religion of Christ.
Verse 36: He That Has a Purse, Let Him Take It
36. BUT NOW HE THAT HAS A PURSE (a money-bag full of coins) LET HIM TAKE IT, AND LIKEWISE A SCRIP — full of food, so that he may sustain himself in the impending persecution, because he will find it nowhere, since men will flee from Me as from one bound and convicted, and consequently from you My disciples, as from criminals and condemned men.
AND HE THAT HAS NOT (a sword, as follows), LET HIM SELL HIS COAT AND BUY A SWORD. — These words of Christ are not those of one commanding that the purse and scrip be taken, and a coat sold to buy a sword; for shortly afterward He restrained Peter when he drew his sword — but of one foretelling the most bitter persecution impending upon Himself and the Apostles, which would be so great that food and a sword for the protection of their lives would seem to need to be procured, to a man estimating the matter and its difficulty by human prudence. The meaning therefore is, as if to say: Hitherto for you, O My Apostles, everything has been favorable and prosperous. For when I sent you to preach the Gospel without purse, scrip, and sword, very many kindly received you, fed you, and defended you, so that you had no need of purse, scrip, and sword. But now so great a persecution threatens Me and you, so great a danger to life, that according to human prudence it would seem necessary for each one to look after himself and his own life, and to provide through a purse and scrip for provisions, and through a sword for the defense of life, and therefore to sell his coat so that he may procure a sword to protect his life. Yet for Me, measuring the matter by divine prudence and the counsel and decree of God the Father, none of these things is needed, because in order to conform Myself to the will of God the Father, I go willingly to the cross and death, and I freely offer Myself to the persecutors who will crucify Me. So St. Chrysostom, homily 85 on Matthew, and from him Theophylactus here, Jansenius, Maldonatus and others, and it is clear from what follows.
Beautifully St. Ambrose says: "O Lord, why do You bid me buy a sword, You who forbid striking, unless perhaps so that a defense might be ready, and You might be seen to have been able to avenge Yourself, but to have been unwilling."
Verse 38: Lord, Behold Here Are Two Swords
38. BUT THEY SAID: LORD, BEHOLD HERE ARE TWO SWORDS. — The Apostles did not sufficiently understand Christ's meaning, His figure of speech and catachresis. For Christ wished to signify not that swords should be purchased, but the impending danger. But Christ did not wish to explain His meaning to the Apostles, but dissimulated, saying: "It is enough;" and this to the end that He might allow these swords to be carried by Peter and the Apostles, and by one of them the ear of Malchus to be cut off, which He Himself would soon restore and heal; and so He would show that He suffered and died not compelled by force, but impelled by love, freely and willingly. Some think that these swords were not military ones, but rustic knives, or rather large butchers' knives, which the Apostles had used for the slaughtering, sacrificing, and dividing of the paschal lamb. So St. Chrysostom, on which see more at Matthew 26.
Verse 39: He Went According to His Custom to the Mount of Olives
39. AND GOING OUT (from the upper room on Mount Sion) HE WENT ACCORDING TO HIS CUSTOM TO THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. — Bede gives the reason: The Lord, about to be betrayed by a disciple, goes to the place of His customary retreat, where He could most easily be found. Where then are those who contend that He feared death and was crucified unwillingly? For Christ was accustomed during these last days of His life to preach by day in the temple, but at night to withdraw to the Mount of Olives for the sake of prayer, and Judas knew this, as an Apostle and companion of Christ: therefore he came to this mountain with the soldiers, and there betrayed and handed Christ over to them.
Verse 43: There Appeared to Him an Angel from Heaven, Strengthening Him
43. AND THERE APPEARED TO HIM AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN, STRENGTHENING HIM. — "Appeared," in an assumed body, visibly, so that by his appearance and voice he might comfort the frightened eyes and ears of Christ. Jansenius thinks that this angel appeared in each, that is, in all three of Christ's prayers, and therefore strengthened Him three times, to teach that God always hears those who pray, and continually bestows upon them some grace and strength. More probably Francis Lucas and others judge that the angel appeared only in the third and last prayer of Christ, and then strengthened Him; when, as Luke adds, Christ being in an agony, praying more earnestly and intensely, sweated blood, to teach that one must persevere in prayer, and that the fruit of perseverance is the consolation of God and the vision of angels: for after this consolation of the Father given through the angel, Christ's agony seems to have passed, and Christ no longer prayed, but bravely prepared Himself for death.
This angel was Gabriel, says Gabriel Vasquez, Part I, tome II, disp. 244, n. 3. For Gabriel has his name from strength; for Gabriel is so called as if geber el, that is, man of God, or as if gebura el, that is, strength of God; because he has the office of strengthening those who are weak, afflicted, and fainthearted; and he strengthened Christ, not by reinforcing His weakness, but by praising His extraordinary fortitude. Louis de la Puente holds the same in his Meditation on the Agony of Christ in the Garden; because Gabriel, he says, was the legate and internuncio of the economy of Christ, as of the Incarnation, Luke 1:26, and of the weeks of Daniel, which designate the time of Christ's birth, Daniel 9:21.
Others, however, such as Francis Lucas, think this angel was Michael; for he is the highest angel, and it was fitting that the highest angel should render this service to the supreme God, namely Christ.
STRENGTHENING HIM, — having first offered praise and due adoration to Christ, says Titus. He strengthened Christ by speaking externally, and by setting before Him the will and glory of the Father, likewise the abundant fruit that would come both to Christ, and to men, and to angels from His Passion. For the angel could not work interiorly in the soul of Christ, nor immediately change the interior powers of Christ. Hence just as Christ could only be tempted externally by the devil, so He could only be strengthened externally by the angel, but not taught or illuminated; for He, above the angels, from the first instant of His conception was full of wisdom and knowledge. So the Scholastics with St. Thomas, Part III, Question 12, article 4.
Therefore this angel said to Christ these or similar words: O Christ, my Lord, most valiant of men, Your prayer has been most pleasing to Your Father, because despite the natural horror and sorrow of death, You resign Yourself in all things to the will of the Father, so that You may bravely undergo the death decreed for You by Him. Lay aside therefore this horror and sorrow, which You have willingly brought upon Yourself; resume therefore Your former courage and strength, and manfully undertake the work of human redemption, by which You will supremely celebrate the glory of God, will gladden the angels, will redeem men from hell and lead them back to heavenly glory. For the joy set before You, endure the cross, being about to become the author and finisher of the faith of very many, Hebrews 12:2. Thus You will bring it about that SS. Peter, Paul, Lawrence, Vincent, Agnes, Cecilia, and very many other martyrs and virgins, as manly men, heroic women, and generous heroes, will bravely undergo martyrdom for God, and that the other faithful and holy ones will gloriously triumph over the flesh, the world, and the devil. I know indeed that You will do this even without my exhortation, and that You, my Lord, have no need of my confirmation, You by whom I myself am confirmed, that I might exist and live; but that this service of mine may be pleasing to You, which I perform dispensatively at the command of God Your Father, I pray again and again.
Hence Theophylactus thinks the angel spoke thus to Christ: "Lord, Yours is the power: for You can liberate the human race against death and hell."
Verse 44: His Sweat Became as Drops of Blood
44. AND BEING IN AN AGONY, HE PRAYED THE MORE EARNESTLY: AND HIS SWEAT BECAME AS DROPS OF BLOOD TRICKLING DOWN UPON THE GROUND. — The word "and" in Hebrew fashion is causal, and has the same force as "because," as if to say: Therefore the angel strengthened Him, because Christ, being in an agony and praying more earnestly, was sweating blood; for then He seemed to need strengthening, and to deserve it; and so this was the order of events. Christ had already prayed the first and second time, but had felt no help from God: wherefore, with His arrest now imminent, allowing the agony, that is, a more vehement horror and anguish of the Passion, to arise in Himself, He sweated blood, and so to overcome it He prayed a third time more vehemently, to teach that as temptation increases, we likewise ought to intensify our prayer. Wherefore then immediately the angel appeared to Him, strengthening Him, and when this was done He ceased to pray, as well as to fear and grieve, and having suppressed and overcome the agony, He courageously composed Himself for the Passion, and went forth of His own accord to meet the traitor Judas.
MORE EARNESTLY. — In Greek ektenesteron, that is, more extensively and more intensely. More extensively, because this was the third prayer of Christ, as is clear from Matthew and Mark, in which likewise Christ seems to have lingered longer. More intensely, because as the anguish increased, Christ likewise intensified the straining of His mind in praying, and prayed with more intense affection and fervor. For Luke has encompassed in one summary the threefold prayer of Christ, which Matthew narrates; wherefore he relates some things about it which happened in the first and second prayer, and some which happened in the third.
AND HIS SWEAT BECAME AS DROPS OF BLOOD TRICKLING DOWN (in Greek katabainontos, that is, descending, trickling down — namely the drops, but the sense comes to the same thing) UPON THE GROUND. — "Drops," in Greek thromboi, that is, clots, as the Syriac translates, or thick drops, and, as Irenaeus reads, globules of blood; the Arabic version has: and his sweat became like blood dripping, descending to the ground.
Note first, certain codices of old had nothing about this bloody sweat of Christ, as St. Hilary testifies, book X On the Trinity, and St. Jerome, book II Against the Pelagians, namely lest they attribute weakness of spirit and pain to Christ; but now commonly all codices, Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Arabic, have the same: therefore it is true that this is to be read, according to the definition of the Council of Trent, session 4.
Note second, Christ is said to have sweated blood, not improperly, proverbially, and hyperbolically, as we say of one who is vehemently distressed and afflicted that he is sweating blood, as Euthymius and Theophylactus explain; but truly and properly: wherefore the word "as" here does not denote a similitude, but the truth. So SS. Hilary, Jerome, Augustine, and commonly others: whence the Ethiopic clearly translates: and his sweat became like the sweat of blood flowing down upon the ground. The Persian agrees.
Hence St. Athanasius, book VI to Theophilus, which is On the Blessedness of the Son of God, pronounces an anathema against those who deny that Christ sweated true blood.
Moreover, Aristotle teaches in book III of the History of Animals, chapter 19, that in great anguish a man can naturally sweat blood, especially one who has a delicate, porous, and thin body, and has thinner blood, such as Christ's was. For sweat is nothing other than serum, or the watery part of blood; and together with the serum, the thinner blood too is easily excreted through porous skin in great anxiety. For anguish inflames and thins the blood, and opens the pores, and so excretes it through them, especially if one has already sweated out all, or nearly all, the proper material of sweat, just as breasts, when milk fails, if you continue to milk, produce blood. Hence Cajetan judges that Christ sweated blood because He had already sweated out the moisture that normally turns into sweat. Moreover, the phrase "as drops" signifies that the blood was not pure but mixed, that is, the sweat was mingled with blood. So Suarez, Part III, Question 46, article 8, disputation 34, section 2.
Note third, this bloody sweat in Christ flowed not so much from sadness and anguish, as from an act of fortitude and courage, by which with deliberate and efficacious will, as well as by an act of the sensitive appetite commanded by the will, He generously embraced death and all the sufferings, which were most vividly imagined; and these tears of Christ were most efficacious before God the Father. For the blood of Christ is vocal, as Irenaeus testifies, book V, chapter 1, and speaks and cries out more than the blood of Abel. Hebrews 12:24. For the blood of Abel cries out for vengeance, but the blood of Christ cries out for mercy.
The symbolic reason was that Christ might signify that from His whole body, which is the Church, the sufferings of the Martyrs would flow forth, says St. Augustine in the Sentences, sent. 68. Furthermore, Christ's blood flowed down upon the earth, to signify that earthly men were to be irrigated by the blood of Christ, says Bede.
Note fourthly, the final and moral causes of this sweat were many. The first was to show the bitterness of His pain, and even more the vehemence of His love toward us, and to arouse in us hope, love, and imitation of Him. For just as the vehemence of fire causes water to remain from roses in distillation, so the vehemence of love caused blood to drip from the body of Christ. Secondly: Christ offered this blood, and Himself with the blood, as a holocaust and victim for our sins to God the Father. For He sweated blood from His eyes, face, chest, hands, and feet, and mingled tears with sighs and intense prayers. Hence St. Bernard, sermon 3 on Palm Sunday, speaking of this prayer of Christ in the garden: "Here indeed," he says, "He seems to have wept not only with His eyes, but as it were with all His members, so that His whole body, which is the Church, might be purified by the tears of the whole body;" namely, Christ's love, not content with the watery tears of His eyes, wished with the bloody tears of His whole body to weep over and wash away our sins.
Verse 45: He Found Them Sleeping for Sorrow
45. AND WHEN HE HAD RISEN FROM PRAYER, AND HAD COME TO HIS DISCIPLES, HE FOUND THEM SLEEPING FOR SORROW. — For sorrow contracts the heart and prevents it from sending the subtle vital spirits to the head, wherefore dark and thick vapors invade the brain, which are the cause of sleep. Moreover, this is a hysteron proteron. For these things happened before the bloody sweat: for this occurred in Christ's third prayer, but those events took place in the first, as is clear from Matthew and Mark. The reason is that Luke conflates Christ's threefold prayer into one; therefore he mixes together things that happened at different times in Christ's three prayers, as if they had all been accomplished in one and the same prayer. After the first prayer, then, Christ visiting the Apostles and finding them sleeping, said what follows:
Verse 46: Why Do You Sleep? Rise, Pray
46. AND HE SAID TO THEM: WHY DO YOU SLEEP? RISE, PRAY, LEST YOU ENTER INTO TEMPTATION. — See what was said on Matthew 26:27.