Matthew 26:44 — Community Reflections

MATTHEW 26:44 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”

So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. The third prayer: the same words again communicates the persistence and the genuine wrestling of the prayer. Jesus prays three times; Peter will deny three times. The three prayers of Jesus and the three denials of Peter are the contrasting pictures of two responses to the same crisis.

Church Fathers on Matthew 26:44

He took with Him the self-confident Peter, and the others, that they might see Him falling on His face and praying, and might learn not to think great things, but little things of themselves, and not to be hasty in promising, but careful in prayer. And therefore, 'He went forward a little,' not to go far from them, but that He might be near them in His prayer.
Origen · 3rd century

Whence He says emphatically, 'This cup,' that is, of this people of the Jews, who, if they shall put Me to death, can have no excuse for their ignorance, seeing they have the Law and the Prophets, who speak of Me.
Jerome · 4th century

And that none might think that He limited His Father’s power, He said not, 'If thou canst do it,' but 'If it may be,' or, 'If it be possible;' as much as to say, If thou wilt. For whatever God wills can be done, as Luke expresses more plainly; for he says not, 'If it be possible,' but 'If thou wilt.'
Augustine · 4th century · de Cons. Ev., iii, 4

Read all 27 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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