Matthew 26:36–46

Jesus Prays Alone

³⁶Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. ³⁸He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”

³⁹After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup ⁿ of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” ⁴⁰Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? ⁴¹Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”

⁴²Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, I pray that what you want will be done.”

⁴³Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.

⁴⁵Then Jesus went back to his followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people. ⁴⁶Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against me.”