Then said he unto them,
My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: tarry you here, and watch with me.
All Commentaries on Matthew 26:38 Go To Matthew 26
Hilary of Poitiers
AD 368
Then he said, “My soul is sad, even to death.” Did he say, My soul is sad because of death? Certainly not. For if death were the reason for his fear, he certainly ought to have said so. But the reason for his fear lies elsewhere. Actually we have no indication, since the reason for what begins in another person may differ from what it is at the end. He had just said before, “You will all fall away this night because of me.” He knew that they would be frightened, that they would run away and deny knowing him. And since blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is forgiven neither here nor in eternity, he feared they might deny that he is God, once they looked upon him beaten and spat upon and crucified. This was the reason that prompted Peter, who, in betraying Christ, denied him in this way: “I do not know the man,” for anything said against the Son of man will be forgiven. Christ is therefore sad even to death. So it is not death itself but the process of death that is feared, for after his death the faith of the believers would be strengthened by the power of the resurrection.
