ON THE WORD, "FATHER, IF IT IS POSSIBLE, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME; YET NOT AS I WILL, BUT AS YOU WILL," (Matt. 26:39): AND AGAINST THE MARCIONITES AND MANICHAEANS; AND THAT ONE OUGHT NOT TO CAST ONESELF INTO DANGERS, BUT PREFER THE WILL OF GOD TO ONE'S OWN WILL.
A Profound section we have lately inflicted upon those who plunder and wish to defraud others through greed; not that we might wound them, but that we might correct them; not because we hate men, but because we abhor wickedness. Since a physician also cuts an ulcer, not because he is hostile to the sick person, but because he battles against the disease and the wound. Come now, let us grant them a little rest today, so that they may be able to breathe from their pain, and not, being frequently struck by the medicine, shrink back. In this way, physicians also do: they apply plasters after the incisions, and medicines, and then allow some days to pass, while they devise things that can soothe the pain. These, at any rate, let us also imitate today, and indulge them, so that they may be able to receive benefit from our discourse, and, dismissing the discourse concerning the movements of dogmas, we might transfer the discourse to the things that have been read. For I think many are also wondering for what cause these things were said by Christ; and it is likely that the heretics who are present seize upon these words, and trip up many of the simpler brothers.
B Lectio sine intelligentia non prodest. — That we may therefore repel the assaults of those, and free those who propose questions from anxiety and perturbation, staying upon the exposition of these words, let us handle this passage, so that we may reach the recondite meanings. For reading does not suffice, unless knowledge also is provided; for even the eunuch of Candace was reading, but as long as one was not present to teach him what that was which he was reading, he did not perceive great benefit from it (Acts 8:27ff). That the same, therefore, may not happen to you, attend to what is said; attend your mind, and provide for me a sharp intellect; let the eye be gifted with sharp vision, the intellect attentive, the soul freed from worldly cares, so that we may not scatter our words into thorns, nor into rocks, nor beside the way (Luke 8:5–8); but cultivating fertile and rich soil, we may gather an abundant harvest. For if in this way you shall provide attentive ears to the discourse, you will both render the labor lighter for us, and you will bring it about that you can more easily find that which is sought. What, therefore, has been read? "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matt. 26:39). What, then, is this that he says? For it is necessary for us, where we have first explained the sense of the words, to append the solution afterward. What, then, does he say? "Father, if it is possible, remove the cross." What say you? Is he ignorant C whether this is possible or not possible? Who would say this? Even if the words are of one who is ignorant—for this addition, "if," betokens one who is doubting—yet, as I have said, one must not adhere to the words, but turn to the senses, and know the aim of the speaker, and the cause and the occasion, and, having gathered everything, investigate the sense latent in them. Therefore, an ineffable wisdom—he who knows the Father as the Father knows the Son—how could he be ignorant of this? For not greater is the knowledge of the passion than that of the nature, which he alone knows exactly. For "as the Father knows me," he says, "and I know the Father" (John 10:15). And what do I say concerning the only-begotten Son of God? For not even the prophets appear to have been ignorant of this, but to have known it manifestly, and to have foretold with much asseveration that it must be that this should happen, and that it would surely be.
The integrity and purity of Mary. The miracles of Christ at his death. The death of the prophets who foretold the future.
Audi sane quo pacto diversa ratione omnes crucem prænuntient. Primus est Jacob patriarcha: siquidem ad ipsum sermonem dirigens ait: Ex germine, fili mi, ascendisti (Gen. 49:9), germen scilicet virginem vocans, et Mariæ integritatem ac puritatem hac voce significans. Tum crucem designans dicebat: Recumbens dormiisti ut leo, et quasi catulus leonis, quis suscitabit eum (ib.)? Mortem quippe dormitionem illius et somnum appellavit, et mortem cum resurrectione copulavit, dicens: Quis suscitabit eum? Alius quidem nemo, sed ipse seipsum. Quapropter dicebat etiam Christus: Potestatem habeo ponendi animam meam, et potestatem habeo sumendi eam (John 10:18); et rursus, Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud (Id. 2:19). Quid porro est illud, Recumbens dormiisti ut leo? Sicut leo nimirum non solum dum vigilat, sed etiam dum dormit, formidabilis est: sic et Christus non ante crucem tantum, sed et in ipsa cruce, atque in ipsa morte formidabilis fuit, magnaque tum miracula edidit, dum solis cursum retro convertit, petras scidit, D terram tremefecit, velum templi conscidit, uxori Pilati metum injecit, Judam coarguit. Tum enim dixit: Peccavi tradens sanguinem innocentem (Matt. 27:4). Atque hoc Pilati uxor indicabat: Nihil tibi, et justo isti: multa enim passa sum per visum propter eum (ib. v. 19). Tum orbem terrarum tenebræ occuparunt, et medio die nox apparuit, tum mors contabuit, ejusque vis ac potestas destructa est: multa certe corpora sanctorum
who had slept, arose. The patriarch, predicting this long ago, and showing that he would also be formidable even when crucified, said: A *He lay down and slept as a lion*: and he did not say, You will sleep, but You slept, because that was altogether to be. For this is the custom of the prophets, that in many places they predict future things as if they were past. For just as it is impossible that things which have already happened should not happen: so neither is it that this, although it is future, should not happen. Therefore, surely, they pronounce future things through the appearance of past time, so that by this reason they may signify that it cannot be that they do not have an outcome and happen completely. Thus also David, designating the cross, said: *They dug my hands and my feet* (Ps. 21. 17). B He did not say, They will dig, but They dug. *They numbered all my bones* (Ib. v. 18). And he said not only these things, but also those which were done by the soldiers. *They divided my garments among themselves, and upon my vesture they cast lots* (Ib. v. 19). Nor this alone, but also that they fed him with gall, and gave him vinegar to drink: *For they gave, he says, gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink* (Ps. 68. 22). Another again narrates that he was struck by them with a spear: *For they shall look on him whom they pierced* (Zach. 12. 10). Isaiah, however, again predicting the cross otherwise, said: *He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away* (Isai. 53. 7. 8).
2. Christ did not refuse to undergo death. The wonderful works of the cross. — But you, observe for me, in what way each C of these makes words as if about past things, so that he may show by this time that they are clearly future, and will happen without contradiction. Thus also David, describing this judgment, said: *Why did the nations rage, and the peoples meditate vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together in one against the Lord, and against his Christ* (Ps. 2. 1. 2). Nor does he commemorate only the judgment and the cross, and what happened on the cross, but also with him who betrayed him, that he was indeed a companion and a participant of the same table. *For he who ate my bread, magnified his supplantation over me* (Ps. 40. 10). He also utters the voice which he was about to emit on the cross: *God, my God, why have you forsaken me?* (Ps. 21. 2). Then the sepulcher again: *They placed me in the lowest pit, in darkness and in the shadow of death* (Ps. 87. 6). And the resurrection: *For you will not leave my soul in hell, nor will you give your holy one to see corruption* (Ps. 15. 10). And the ascension: *God ascended in jubilation, the Lord in the voice of the trumpet* (Ps. 46. 6). Likewise the seat at the right hand: *The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool* (Ps. 109. 1). Isaiah, however, expressed the cause also, saying: *Because for the iniquities of my people he was led to death* (Isai. 53. 8), and that, *Because all like sheep have gone astray, therefore he is slaughtered* (Ib. v. 6. 7). Then he adds what good followed from it, saying, *By his bruise we all are healed* (Ib. v. 5), and that, *He bore the sins of many* (Isai. 53. 12). D Did the prophets then know anything of the cross, and the cause of the cross, and the benefits that occurred because of the cross, and the sepulcher, and the resurrection, and the ascension, and the betrayal, and the judgment, and did they describe everything exactly: but he who sent them, and commanded these things to be said to them, does he himself not know? Who ever, being prudent, would say this? Do you see that words are not only to be held in view? For this is not the only doubt, but what follows brings a greater occasion for doubting. For what does he say? *Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me*. For he will be found not only to have been ignorant, but also to have refused the cross. For this is the meaning of these words: If it is allowed, he says, let me not undergo the cross, nor be killed: although he so vehemently rebuked Peter, the prince of the apostles, saying this to him, *Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be to you*, that he said: *Go behind me, Satan, you are a scandal to me; because you do not savor the things that are of God, but those that are of men* (Matth. 16. 22, 23): and this when he had called that blessed man blessed a little before. But it seemed so absurd not to be crucified, that he called him Satan, and a scandal, and as one not at all savoring the things that are of God, who had received revelation from the Father, who had been called blessed, to whom the keys of heaven had been handed over, because he had said, *Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be to you*, that you should be crucified. Therefore, he who heaped insults upon the disciple, and inveighed against him so gravely that he even called him Satan after such praises, because he had said, Do not be crucified: in what way did he himself not want to be crucified? But how did he later, depicting the image of the good shepherd, say that this was the chief indication of his virtue, that he be killed for his sheep, saying thus: *I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep* (Joan. 10. 11)? Nor did he stop here, but added: *But the hireling, and he who is not the shepherd, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees* (Ib. v. 12). If therefore it is the part of a good shepherd to be killed, but of a hireling to refuse to suffer this, how [can he be] he who professes himself to be a good shepherd? But how was he saying, *I lay down my life of myself* (Joan. 10. 18)? For if you lay it down of yourself, how does it happen that you ask another not to lay it down? How likewise does Paul praise him on this occasion, in these words: *Who when he was in the form of God, did not think it robbery to be equal to God, but emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and found in habit as a man, he humbled himself becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross* (Philipp. 2. 6-8)? He himself, however, again says thus: *Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again* (Joan. 10. 17). For if he does not want it, but refuses, and prays to the Father, how is he therefore loved by the Father? For charity is of those things which flow from the sentiment of the mind. But how does Paul again say: *Love one another, as Christ also loved us, and delivered himself for us* (Eph. 5. 2)? Christ himself again, when he was to be crucified, was saying, *Father, the hour is come; glorify your Son* (Joan. 17. 1): calling the cross glory. And how
and yet he recoils here, while there he urges it? For that the cross is glory, A hear how the evangelist testifies, saying: "For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (Jn 7:39). The meaning of these words is this: The grace was not yet given because the hatred of God toward men was not yet extinguished, since Christ had not yet proceeded to the cross. For the cross extinguished the hatred of God toward men, reconciled God with men, made the earth heaven, mingled men with the angels, razed the most fortified citadel of death, enervated the power of the devil, destroyed the virtue of sin, freed the earth from error, brought back the truth, expelled demons, destroyed temples, overturned altars, took away the odor of sacrifices, sowed virtue, and founded the Churches. The cross is the will of the Father, the glory of the Son, the exultation of the Holy Spirit, the boast of Paul: "But God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6:14). The cross is brighter than the sun, more splendid than its rays; for when the sun is obscured, the cross shines; and when the sun is indeed obscured, it is not that it is removed from the midst, but that it is surpassed by the splendor of the cross. The cross tore up our handwriting, rendered the prison of death useless, and is the proof of divine love. B "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish" (Jn 3:16). And again Paul, "If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Rom 5:10). The cross is an impregnable wall, an invincible shield, the security of the rich, the wealth of the poor, a bulwark for those against whom snares are laid, an armor for those who are vexed by war, the destruction of distress, the foundation of virtue, a marvelous and stupendous sign. "For this generation seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of Jonas" (Mt 12:39). And again Paul, "Since the Jews seek for signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, we however preach Christ crucified" (1 Cor 1:22). The cross unlocked paradise, introduced the thief, and led the human race—which was about to perish and was not even worthy of the earth—into the kingdom of the heavens. So many good things have come to us from the cross, and continue to come, and yet he does not wish to be crucified? Who, I ask, would say this? But if he did not wish it, who was compelling him? Who was using force against him? But why did he also send the prophets announcing that he would be crucified, if he was not to be crucified, nor did he wish to suffer this? And why does he call the cup a cross, if he by no means wished to be crucified? For this is a sign of how great the desire was by which he was held for this matter. For just as a cup is sweet to those who are thirsty, so also to him was being crucified; for which reason he also said, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you" (Lk 22:15): not that he said this rashly, but for this reason, because after the evening he was about to undergo the cross.
C Why then does he rebuke the disciple for prohibiting him? Why does he show himself to be the good shepherd from the fact that he is killed for his sheep, and says that he has desired this with desire, and came of his own accord for this, how can he ask that this not happen? But if he did not wish it, was it difficult to forbid those coming to this? Yet now you see him even rushing toward this matter. Certainly, when they were rushing at him, he said, "Whom seek you?" And they say, "Jesus." And he says to them, "Behold, I am he; and they went backward, and fell to the ground" (Jn 18:6). Since, therefore, he had first blinded them, and had shown that he could have escaped, then he delivered himself up, so that you might understand that he did not suffer this against his will, out of necessity, or by force, or through the tyranny of those rushing upon him, but voluntarily and willingly, choosing it and having ordered it so long before. Therefore, the prophets were sent before, and the patriarchs foretold it, and the cross was prefigured both in words and in deeds. Since the sacrifice of Isaac was designating the cross to us, which is why he also said, "Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (Jn 8:56). Therefore, the patriarch was glad while he saw the image of the cross, yet he himself recoils from the matter? And indeed, Moses overcame Amalek because he showed D the figure of the cross: and six hundred such things are read to have happened in the Old Testament, which prefigured the cross. Why then were such things done, if he who was to undergo the cross did not wish this to happen? That which follows is even more difficult to explain. For when he had said, "Let this cup pass from me," he added: "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Mt 26:39). For from this, as the words sound, two wills contrary to each other are demonstrated: since the Father wishes him to be crucified, but he himself does not wish it: although everywhere we see him willing the same things with the Father, and choosing the same. For when he says, "Give to them, that as I and you are one, they also may be one in us" (Jn 17:11), he says nothing other than that the will of the Father and the Son is one. And when he says, "The words that I speak, I speak not myself: but the Father who abides in me, he does these works" (Jn 14:10), this very thing is shown. Therefore when he says, "I do not speak from myself, and I did not come from myself" (Jn 7:28), and, "I can do nothing from myself" (Jn 5:30), he is not saying this to show that he is deprived of the power of either speaking or doing—far from it—but he is wishing to show exactly that his sentiment is in accord with the Father both in words and in deeds; and that in all dispensations it is one and the same, as we have already often demonstrated. For that which is meant by "I do not speak from myself" is a proof of concord. How is it, then, that he says here, "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt"? Perhaps we have brought you into great anxiety, but attend to the mind; for although our discourse has been quite long, I know well that the alacrity of your minds is even now growing and maturing: for our discourse is now hastening to the very solution of the question. For what reason, therefore, was it so said? Attend diligently. The discourse concerning the incarnation was admitted with great difficulty. For that excellent clemency of his, and that magnitude of his condescension, were matters most worthy of admiration, and required much preparation so that they might be received,
A needed. Consider, I pray, how great a thing it was to hear and to learn that God—the ineffable, the incorruptible, the inscrutable, the invisible, the incomprehensible, He in whose hand are the ends of the earth (Ps. 94:4), who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble, who touches the mountains and they smoke, whose moment of condescension not even the Cherubim could bear, but covered their faces with the spreading of their wings—that this One, who transcends all mind and overcomes all reason, passing by angels, archangels, and all the heavenly intellectual powers, deigned to become man; to take upon Himself flesh fashioned from earth and clay; to enter into a virgin’s womb; to be carried for nine months’ time; to be nourished with milk; and to suffer all that is human. Since, therefore, that which was to come to pass was so paradoxical that, even when it had come to pass, it was disbelieved by many, He first sent forth prophets to announce this very thing. For the patriarch proclaimed it beforehand, saying: *From the shoot, my son, you have gone up; you lay down and slept as a lion (Gen. 49:9).* And Isaiah saying: *Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel (Isa. 7:14).* And another again: *We saw him as a child, as a root in a thirsty land (Isa. 53:2).* By the "thirsty land" he means the virgin’s womb, because it did not receive human seed, nor did it enjoy intercourse, but brought Him forth without defilement. And again: *A child is born to us, a son is also given to us (Isa. 9:6).* And again: *There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise from the root (Isa. 11:1).* And Baruch, in Jeremiah, says: *This is our God, no other shall be reckoned against him. He has found out all the way of knowledge, and has given it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved (Bar. 3:36-38).* After these things, He appeared upon the earth and conversed with men. And David, revealing His coming in flesh, said: *He shall come down as rain upon a fleece, and as a drop that falls upon the earth (Ps. 71:6).* B
4. Marcion, Valentinus, and Manichæus the Persian, and the authors of many more heresies, attempting to overturn the doctrine concerning the dispensation, uttered a certain satanic sound, saying that He was not incarnate, nor did He clothe Himself in flesh, but that this was a semblance, a fantasy, a mask, and a pretense—even though the passions, the death, the tomb, and the hunger cried out against this. If none of these things had occurred, how much more would the devil have sown these wicked dogmas of impiety? For this reason, just as He hungered, just as He grew weary, just as He slept, just as He ate, just as He drank, so too does He refuse death, demonstrating the human element and the frailty of a nature that cannot endure to be torn from the present life without pain. For if He were man, it was necessary for Him to suffer the things of man. And if He had said nothing of these things, one might have said that if He were man, He ought to suffer the things that belong to a man. But what are these things? To be about to be crucified, and to be fearful, and to be in agony, and not to be torn from this present life without pain; for to nature is attached the affection for the things present. Therefore, wishing to show that the clothing of flesh was real, and to certify the dispensation, He sets forth the passions openly, with much demonstration. This is one argument; there is also another, not less than this. What is it? Christ, having come, wishes to instruct men; but how does He instruct? Coming, Christ teaches every virtue not by word only but also by deed; for this is the best instruction of a teacher. For since a pilot sitting down [beside his apprentice] shows him how he holds the rudder, and adds word to deed—and neither speaks alone nor works alone—similarly, a builder who has set beside him one who is to learn from him how a wall is woven shows him through the deed, and shows him also through the word. Likewise, a weaver, and an embroiderer, and a goldsmith, and a bronze-worker, and every artisan possesses the teacher who instructs both by words and deeds.
But these things did not suffice alone; but even when He had come, that what had happened might not be thought to be a fantasy, He verifies the matter not by sight alone, but by a long time and by passing through all the stages of human life. For He does not simply enter into a man already perfected and complete, but into a virgin’s womb, so as to endure both gestation and birth, and nursing, and growth, and to certify what had happened by the passage of time and the difference of ages. And not even there does the demonstration stop alone, but carrying the flesh, He allows it to undergo the infirmities of nature, to hunger and to thirst and to sleep and to grow weary; finally, even coming to the cross, He allows it to suffer the things of the flesh. For this reason, too, streams of sweat poured down from it, and an angel was found sustaining it; and He is saddened and in agony. For even before saying these things, He says: *My soul is troubled, and is exceeding sorrowful even unto death (Matt. 26:38).* If, then, after all these things had happened, the wicked mouth of the devil, through Marcion of Pontus, and Valentinus, and Manichæus the Persian, and the authors of several other heresies, attempted C to overturn the doctrine of the dispensation, and uttered a certain satanic sound, saying that He was not incarnate, nor did He clothe Himself in flesh, but that this was a semblance, a fantasy, a mask, and a pretense—even though the passions, the death, the tomb, and the hunger cried out against this—if none of these things had occurred, how much more would the devil have sown these wicked dogmas of impiety? For this reason, just as He hungered, just as He grew weary, just as He slept, just as He ate, just as He drank, so too does He refuse death, demonstrating the human element and the frailty of a nature that cannot endure to be torn from the present life without pain. For if He were man, it was necessary for Him to suffer the things of man. And if He had said nothing of these things, one might have said that if He were man, He ought to suffer the things that belong to a man. But what are these things? To be about to be crucified, and to be fearful, and to be in agony, and not to be torn from this present life without pain; for to nature is attached the affection for the things present. Therefore, wishing to show that the clothing of flesh was real, and to certify the dispensation, He sets forth the passions openly, with much demonstration. This is one argument; there is also another, not less than this. What is it? Christ, having come, wishes to instruct men; but how does He instruct? Coming, Christ teaches every virtue not by word only but also by deed; for this is the best instruction of a teacher. For since a pilot sitting down beside his apprentice shows him how he holds the rudder, and adds word to deed—and neither speaks alone nor works alone—similarly, a builder who has set beside him one who is to learn from him how a wall is woven shows him through the deed, and shows him also through the word. Likewise, a weaver, and an embroiderer, and a goldsmith, and a bronze-worker, and every artisan possesses the teacher who instructs both by words and deeds.
Since, then, He also came to instruct us in every virtue, for this reason He also says what must be done, and does it. For, *Whoever has done and taught,* He says, *such a one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:19).* But observe: He commanded us to be humble and meek, and He taught it through words. See how He instructs them also through deeds. For when He had said, *Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the meek,* He shows how one must achieve these things. How, then, did He teach? Having taken a towel, He girded Himself, and washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:4, 5). What is equal to this humility? For He no longer teaches this through words alone, but also through deeds. Again, He teaches meekness and long-suffering through deeds. How? He was struck by the servant of the high priest, and He says: *If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike me? (John 18:23)* He commanded us to pray for our enemies; again, He teaches this also through deeds. For having ascended the cross, He says: *Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do.* Just as, therefore, He commanded us to pray, so He too prays, instructing you to pray, not He Himself...
He commanded to pray for enemies; again he teaches this even by his works: for when he had ascended the cross, he said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luc. 23.34). He himself teaches you to pray, when he himself is not destitute of the power to forgive. He commanded again that we should do good to those who hate us, and deserve well of those who slander us (Matth. 5.44): but he fulfilled this by the work itself: for he cast out demons from the Jews, by whom he was called demoniac, he heaped benefits upon those who persecuted him, he fed those who lay in wait for him, he led those who wanted to crucify him to the kingdom by the hand. Again he said to his disciples: “Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses” (Matth. 10.9), to incite them to poverty: this again he taught by works, when he spoke thus: “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matth. 8.20); not that he was in need, but that he might train men to follow this path. In this way he taught them to pray. They therefore said to him: “Teach us to pray” (Luc. 11.1). For this reason he also prays, that they too might learn to pray. But it was fitting for them to learn not only to pray, but also how they ought to pray; for this reason indeed he handed down to them the prayer in these words: “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation” (Ibid. v. 2-4), that is, into danger, into snares. A When therefore he commanded to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” he teaches them that very thing by the deed itself, when he says, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matth. 26.39), while he teaches all the saints not to throw themselves into dangers, nor to act precipitately, but to await the assault of adversaries, and to display all fortitude; yet not so that they themselves rush out and expose themselves to evils first. Why so? So that he may teach humility, and deliver them from the charge of vainglory. For which reason also here, when he said these things, “He went away,” he says, “and prayed” (Matth. 26.39), and after he had prayed, he said thus to his disciples: “Could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Ibid. v. 40, 41). B You see how he not only prays but also admonishes? “The spirit indeed is willing,” he says, “but the flesh is weak” (Ibid. v. 41). He said this, however, that he might drive all pride from their soul, that he might free them from haughtiness, render them humble, and make them modest. Therefore, what he wanted to teach them to pray, that he also prayed humanly, not according to his divinity (for the Godhead is void of all passion), but according to his humanity. Furthermore, to teach us to pray, he prayed, and [taught us] to always seek to be delivered from evils: but if that cannot be, to be content with what has seemed good to God. For this reason he said, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matth. 26.39). For his will was the will of the Father; but he spoke to teach men, although they are in anguish, although they tremble, although dangers threaten, although they do not want to be torn from this life, to prefer the will of God to their own will: which Paul learned to do, and performed both by his works: for he both prayed that temptations be removed from him, when he said, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice” (2 Cor. 12.8), and when they were not removed, he says, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in persecutions” (Ibid. v. 10). C Perhaps, however, what is said is not clear enough: therefore it will be rendered more clearly by us. Paul was besieged by many dangers, and he prayed that he would not be exposed to dangers. He heard Christ therefore saying: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (Ibid. v. 9). After he knew, therefore, what the will of God was, he then subsequently subjected his own will to the will of God. These two things, therefore, he taught through this prayer, that we should neither throw ourselves into dangers, but also that we should pray not to fall into them: but if they have invaded us, [we should] bear them patiently, and prefer the will of God to our own will. Since these things are explored by us, let us pray that we never enter into temptation: but if we should ever enter, let us beseech God that he grant us patience and fortitude, and that we prefer his will to all our own will. For so it will come to pass that we traverse the present life with security, and attain to future goods: of which may it be our lot to become partakers, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.