The Evangelists also, in their report of these sufferings, vie with each other in the extraordinary force of the words by which they endeavour to express them. St. Matthew speaks of him as so surrounded with grief, as to be brought by it into the utmost dejection and consternation f. St. Mark uses one term which implies a high degree of fear, and terror, and amazementg ; and another denoting the utmost excess of grief and anguish11." St. John also expresses his sufferings by a
a Ps. xviii. 4, 5. *> Ps. lv. 4, 5. « Ps. lxix. 1—3.
d Ps. xxii. 14, 15. e Lam. i. 12.
f TrepiXvTToc, Matt. xxvi. 38. with Ps. xlii. 5. 8 iKdanfitiaQai. h dSrifioveiv, Mark xiv. 33. See Bishop Pearson on the Creed, p. 190.
word of exceeding strength to denote the extremity of his troubles1; and St. Luke, in my text, tells us he was in an agony, in the greatest possible straits in his conflict14. In fact, " his soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death? And the depth of his sufferings will further appear from,]
2. The effects produced by them —
[It must be remembered that as yet no man had inflicted on him any pain at all. Yet we behold him deprecating his present sufferings in the most earnest way imaginable, even "with strong crying and tears1," renewing his entreaties again and again, not only on his knees, but in a posture of the most abject prostration™: yea, and we see him "sweating great drops of blood" from every pore of his body through the excess of his agony. What an idea does this give us of the intensity of his sufferings !
It will be asked perhaps, Why should he, whom we believe to be God, as well as man, betray such a fear and dread of sufferings, which thousands of martyrs have sustained with cheerfulness ; and why, when he had voluntarily undertaken to endure them, should he afterwards deprecate them with such extreme fervour ? I answer, Martyrs in their sufferings have had to bear only what could be inflicted by men ; whereas the Saviour had to endure the wrath of God, even the penalty which was due to the sins of the whole world : and, in depre- cating that misery, he acted precisely as it became him to act both as a man, and as a good and holy man. As man, it was quite allowable to him to deprecate sufferings which he had not deserved ; and as a good man, it became him to deprecate the wrath of God. These two things therefore he did : but he did them with most unreserved submission to the will of God ; and thereby gave to us the most perfect pattern of resignation under sufferings of whatever kind.
But we may further learn the greatness of his sufferings from,]
3. The means used for his support —
[At the commencement of his ministry, when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, " angels were sent from heaven to strengthen him » " And thus it was in this his last hour, which was more especially " the season when all the powers of darkness assaulted him0;" an angel was sent from heaven to administer to him that strength and consolation which he needed after so severe a conflict p. What an idea does this
' TETapaKTai. k >£V aywvia,. 1 Heb. v. 7.
m Matt. xxvi. 39. n ]yratt- iv. 11. » ver. 53.
v ver. 43.
1577.J Christ's sufferings in the garden. 109
give us of his sufferings, when he who was God as well as man, needed such assistance to sustain and support him in that dread hour!]
But how were his three favoured Disciples occupied in the mean time? He had bidden them to watch and pray with him : and " had gone only about a stone's cast from them/' that he might with the more liberty pour out his soul before God. But alas ! the Saviour's sorrows were yet further increased by,