ACC ~ Luke 22 v44 - 46
JESUSâ BLOODY SWEAT IS A SIGN OF HIS HUMANITY
HIPPOLYTUS: Although he was God clearly revealed, he did not disown what was human about himself as well. He is hungry and exhausted, weary and thirsty; he fears and flees and is troubled when he prays. He sleeps on a pillow, yet as God he has a nature that does not know sleeping. He asks to be excused the suffering of the cup, yet he was present in the world for this very reason. In his agony, he sweats and an angel strengthens him, yet he strengthens those who believe in him and has taught them by his example to treat death with contempt. AGAINST NOETUS 18. [1]
[1] ANF 5:230**.
JESUSâ BLOODY SWEAT SHOWS THE DEPTH OF HIS FEELING
JUSTIN MARTYR: âAll my bones are poured out and scattered like water; my heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my belly.â [1] This passage foretold what would happen on that night when they came to Mount Olivet to capture him. In the memoirs of the apostles and their successors, it is written that his perspiration poured out like drops of blood as he prayed and said, âIf it is possible, let this cup pass from me.â His heart and bones were evidently quaking, and his heart was like wax melting in his belly. We therefore may understand that the Father wanted his Son to endure in reality these severe sufferings for us. We may not declare that since he was the Son of God, he did not feel what was done and inflicted on him. The words âmy strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jawsâ [2] predicted that he would remain silent. He who proved that all your teachers are without wisdom did not answer a word in his own defense. DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO 103. [3]
[1] Ps 22:14.
[2] Ps 22:15.
[3] FC 6:310-11*.
JESUSâ BLOODY SWEAT HEALS ADAM
EPHREM THE SYRIAN: âHis sweat became like drops of blood,â the Evangelist said. He sweated to heal Adam who was sick. âIt is by the sweat of your brow,â said God, âthat you will eat your bread.â [1] He remained in prayer in this garden to bring Adam back into his own garden again. COMMENTARY ON TATIANâS DIATESSARON 20.11. [2]
[1] Gen 3:19.
[2] ECTD 297*.
THE DISCIPLES ARE TEMPTED
TERTULLIAN: The devil tempted Christ himself, and Christ pointed out the subtle director of the temptation. He later confirms this passage by his words to his apostles when he says, âPray that you may not enter into temptation.â They were so tempted to desert their Lord because they had indulged in sleep instead of prayer. The phrase that balances and interprets âlead us not into temptationâ is âbut deliver us from evil.â ON PRAYER 8. [1]
THE BETRAYAL LUKE 22:47-53
[1] FC 40:166-67**.
OVERVIEW:
Judas is one of the Twelve, heightening the scandal and humiliation of this betrayal (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). To betray with a kiss is the deepest of ironies (AMBROSE). There is no love here, for children of Adam under Satanâs power do this deed, for Judas did not have the power in and of himself to betray Jesus (EPHREM THE SYRIAN).
Violence represents the kind of kingdom the confused disciples would have brought if Jesus had permitted them to continue their ignorant endeavors. Love rather than a sword, and healing rather than violence are the way of the kingdom (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). Jesus responds to this moment of arrest and violence not with power but with healing (EPHREM THE SYRIAN). Jesusâ action is consistent with the portraits of Jesus in the Gospel: the Creator comes to his creation as a man to heal the creation (AMBROSE). But the soldiers, who witnessed this healing, respond to this act of mercy by arresting Jesus and taking him to his trials (EPHREM THE SYRIAN).
By treating Jesus as a robber, they place him in a category in which they belong, for they do not understand the mercy or compassion of Jesus (AMBROSE). Jesusâ betrayal closes with his summation that those who have come to arrest him are simply envoys of Satan: âThis is your [Satanâs] hour and the power of darknessâ (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA).
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