The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 148

of it, after this troubling of his human soul. Co.lrin, Hammond, Jo.ckeon), U:Hforsb.ncl ,i,- The mystery sunounding the whole subject 71.a$ela BB meaning, not the felLr felt, but of the Divine and hume.n in Christ remains the thing feared: "nb eo quod timebat" still. What was said with rege.rd to it (Calvin). The objections to this view ure about the temptation in the wilderness (eh. (1) the rloubtfulnees of the comtructio pra,g- iv. 15) is applicable o.leo here. If it be nam (the instances o.dd11ced-~t/i1<0111T< µ.ov further ILl!ked how it was that Christ, in his ,Is ,rl\.anCTµov, Ps. ex viii. 5; lp~a.,,_,.,,,.µ,vo, humanity, so shrank from the "cup" before , . . l...-b <Tvv<1B{i1Te61s woV1Jpiis, cb. x. 22- him, seeing that mere men have been found e.re not parallel); and (2J tbe sense assi!med to face death· calmly in its most appalling to eu>..ajjela., since eu>..a{Jeia-9a., o.nd its deri• forms, the answer may be found iu the vatives, when usccl to express fear, denote consideration of what this cup implied. It ueuo.lly, not a shrinl.iug, but II wary or we.a more than physical clee.th, more than cautious fear, and commonly can-y with physical pain, mor.e than any sorrow that them (in this Epistle Bild St. Luke espe- falls to the lot of me.n. Such expressions B.l' cially) the iclee. of piety. Thus in eh. xi. 7, "Hp(aTo J\.111tii1TBa1 rcal d67J1t0J1eiv ... ,repll\.v,ros of N 011h, eu>..afJ71Bels J<aTEITJ«Va<TE 1<1/jo,T~JI ; inlv;, 1/,ux"i µov ECdS Bavd.Tov (Matt. :nvi. 37, eh. xii. 28, µeT' alBoiis rcal •v>.a{J,a(s: and in 38); "Hp(aTo b,Bap.fJ•i<TBa, rcal a.671µoveiv (Mark Luke ii. 25; Acts ii. 5; nii. 2; uii. 12, xiv, 33); r,v&µ,vos lv a.-ywvl~ ircT<VEITTEpov ;i,>,.afJ{is is synonymous with ~i,,nfJ{is. The ,rpo<T116xeTo (Luke :uii. H); the bloody rendering hence preferred by m11ny, hll.ving sweat, and the cry of "My God, my G1>d, the authority of Chrysoetom, and l\mong why hast thou forsaken me? "-eonvey in moderne of Liineme.nn, Blook, Dclitzscb, themselves the impression of a mysterious Alford, and others, is that of the Vulgate, ordeal, beyond what we can fatholll, under- "exnuditue pro Bua reverentia." So Vigi- gone by the atoning Saviour in that "hour" lius, "propter timorem;" the A.V.," liel\l'd of the "power of darkness." Of the second in that he feared," or, as in the margin, difficulty mentioned above, as to how Christ "heard ·for hie piety;" o.nd· in the .recent was "heard," not be.ving been saved "from revi~ion, "for his godly fe11r;" which is the death" in the apparent sense of his prayer, A.V.'s rendering of eu>..afJela in eh, xii. 2:3. the •solution me.y be that the prayer, con- The objection to the use of a.,ro to ex press ditioned as it WILi! by el BvvaTov, wo.e most the cause of his being heard is met by truly answerP.d by the angel sent to reference to the frequent usage of St. Luke, strengthen him, o.nd the power thenceforth whose languo.ge most resembles th!lt of our given him to "endure the cross, despising Epistle. Thus: a,rb Toii ~x>..ov (Luko :i:ix. 3); the shame." "Mortem ex qull. Po.tor eum a.,ro T;js xapas (Luke xxiv. 41 11ml Acts xii. liberare pos~et, ne moreretur, ta.men subiit, 14); i,.,rl, Toii 6,rvov (Acts :n. 9); i,.,rb T;js a&('ls volunte.ti Patria obediene : o.b horrore plo.ne (Acts xxii. 11). The phrase, thus un<lerstood, libcro.tue est par exauditionem .. , . Exaudi- brings out the more Wl\rke,lly the thoroughly tue est, non nt ne bi beret co.licem, sed ut j11m human conditions to whioh Christ was eub- sine ullo horrore biborot; unde etio.m per jectet.l. It woe not in right of his eouship angelum corroboro.tus est" (Bengel). 'l'he that he wo.s heo.rd, He won his hearing by example to us thus becomes the more his hum1111 piety; though he was SON, l\lld apparent. For we, too, praying legitimately o.e such kuew tho.t his Fulher heard 4im for release from excessife trio.I, mo.y have always (John xi. 42), hu lciuut humanly our prayer best 11n8wered by gro.ce given to hie lesson of obadieneo. In the exprcssh,n, tJnuure the trie.l, o.nd by "o. happy issue" rca(,rep &iv viur, Son is surely weo.nt in *e out of it; ae woe the case with Christ. peculiar sense iu _which it ho.s o.ll along For his bitter passion was made the path to been 11pplied to Christ, expressing, more eteruo.l glory ; o.nd thus in the Resurreo- thau thnt his relation to Goel wus that of tion •too hie prayer was 11newerocl. •The any son to II fo.tber, and thus we. perceive exnct meo.ning of ti1Ta1<0vo9els i,.,r,I T,ir eul\.a- thu full force of ,ca/,rep, . It is true tli11t it {Jelas is not easy to determine, It ie to.ken was not till l\fter the Resurrection th11t he by e. lnrgo proportion of commento.tore to o.tto.inod bis exalted poojtion ,11s:·so:1.(see moon " delivero.nce from hie feo.r;" fi<Ta.- under eh. i, 5 o.ud y. 5).; _hut stlU he \'\'.~B rcnv<TB•ls a.,rb being supposed to be o. con- all a.long the SoN, in virtue of !Jls orjgin !IB structio prtegflans in the sense of " heard well as of .hie deet_ipy. er. ?.>..a.>..7!1T•V ,;,,.;., BO as to be deliverod," and eu>..a{Jela to lv 'virj (~h. i. 9). •nv ~los cloee not mdeed, in denote the dread experienced in Gethsemane; lteclt,'cxpress thnt he wne the Second Person So the. old Italian Ver,ions, and Ambrose, of the Trinity (this sppllco.tion of th'e word "exe.uditue a mot11 ; " so Dengel, " o.b hor- ulos boiug nowhere found in the ;Epistle); rore Jiberatue per exo.uditlonem." Thie but it implies that, even in his stl\te of interpretation is uphold by Be1.o., Grotius, humilio.tion, he Wl\S moro thnn ml\n ; for Tholuck, Hofmann, Ebre.l'd, o.ud mo.ny there woul<l be nothing very tJXtrnordinory, olhors; some of whom, lees tenably (as BO e.e to justify 1<a.J,r,p, iu lha cnsc of·uu 140 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [CB, V, 1-1~