Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Read Chapter 12
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
1. After the Lord Jesus Christ, in the words of yesterday's lesson, had exhorted His servants to follow Him, and had predicted His own passion in this way, that unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it brings forth much fruit; and also had stirred up those who wished to follow Him to the kingdom of heaven, to hate their life in this world if their thought was to keep it unto life eternal—He again toned down His own feelings to our infirmity and says, where our lesson today commenced, Now is my soul troubled. Whence, Lord, was Your soul troubled? He had, indeed, said a little before, He that hates his life [soul] in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. Do you then love your life in this world, and is your soul troubled as the hour approaches when you shall leave this world? Who would dare affirm this of the soul [life] of the Lord? We rather it was whom He transferred unto Himself; He took us into His own person as our Head, and ass...
I hear Him say, He that hates his life in this world, shall keep it to life eternal; and I am ravished, I despise the world; the whole of this life, however long, is but a vapor in My sight; all temporal things are vile, in comparison with eternal. And again I hear Him say, Now is My soul troubled. you bid my soul follow You; but I see your soul troubled. What foundation shall I seek, if the rock gives way? Lord, I acknowledge your mercy. you of your love was of your own will troubled, to console those who are troubled through the infirmity of nature; that the members of your body perish not in despair. The Head took upon Himself the affections of His members. He was not troubled by anything, but, as was said above, He troubled Himself.
Lastly, let the man who would follow Him, hear at what hour he should follow. A fearful hour has perhaps come: a choice is offered, either to do wrong, or suffer: the weak soul is troubled. Hear our Lord. What shall Isay? .
He teaches you Whom you shoul...
Now is My soul troubled. Because He had mentioned His approaching death, He allowed the natural dread of it to be aroused in His mind (as is the case with ourselves), and so was troubled. "Father," He said, "save Me from this hour." Just as in the garden he prayed, "Let this cup pass from Me."
(1.) S. Chrysostom gives the reason, "Having exhorted His disciples to follow Him even to death, for fear they should say that He could easily philosophise about death, He showed that He was in an agony, and yet that He did not refuse to die, to teach us to do the same, when dreading death and self-denial.
(2.) S. Cyril says, He did it to show that He was not only God, but true Prayer of Manasseh , subject to all our passions and sorrows.
(3.) S. Augustine, and after him Bede, "that Christ by taking on Him our infirmities might heal and strengthen us. Thou tellest my soul to follow Thee. But I see that thy soul is troubled. What foundation shall I seek, if the Rock gives way? But I recognise t...
Now, He says, is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save one from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. See I pray you in these words again how the human nature was easily affected by trouble and easily brought over to fear, whereas on the other hand the Divine and ineffable Power is in all respects inflexible and dauntless and intent on the courage which alone is befitting to It. For the mention of death which had been introduced into the discourse begins to alarm Jesus, but the Power of the Godhead straightway subdues the suffering thus excited and in a moment transforms into incomparable boldness that which had been conquered by fear. For we may suppose that even in the Saviour Jesus Christ Himself the human feelings were aroused by two qualities necessarily present in Him. For it must certainly have been under the influence of these that He shewed Himself a Man born of woman, not in deceptive appearance or mere fancy, but rather by nature and in truth, p...
Now is my soul troubled. Christ permitted this fear and horror to come upon his human nature, as he did afterwards in the garden of Gethsemani. Father, save me from this hour; yet he presently adds, but for this cause I came unto this hour; that is, I came into this world for this end, that I might die on a cross for all mankind. In like manner, when he had said in the garden, let this cup pass from me, he presently joined these words: but not my will, but thine be done. (Witham)
Lest the disciples, upon hearing our Saviour exhorting them willingly and courageously to suffer death, should think within themselves, that he could well exhort them to these things, being himself beyond the reach of human misery, he assures them in this place, that he himself is in agony, and yet does not refuse to die for them. (St. Chrysostom, hom. lxvi. in Joan.)
When God speaks audibly, as He does here, but no visible appearance is seen, He speaks through the medium of a rational creature: i.e. by the voice of an Angel.
To our Lord’s exhortation to His disciples to endurance, they might have replied that it was easy for Him, Who was out of the reach of human pain, to talk philosophically about death, and to recommend others to bear what He is in no danger of having to bear Himself. So He lets them see that He is Himself in an agony, but that He does not intend to decline death, merely for the sake of relieving Himself: Now is My soul troubled.
As He draws near to the Cross, His human nature appears, a nature that did not wish to die, but cleaved to this present life. He shows that He is not quite without human feelings. For the desire of this present life is not necessarily wrong, any more than hunger. Christ had a body free from sin, but not from natural infirmities. But these attach solely to the dispensation of His humanity, not to His divinity.
As if He said, I cannot say why I should ask to be saved from it; For this cause came I to this hour. However you may be troubled and dejected at the thoug...
But surely this is not the expression of one urging them to go even to death. Nay, it is that of one greatly so urging them. For lest they should say, that He being exempt from mortal pains easily philosophizes on death, and exhorts us being himself in no danger, He shows, that although feeling its agony, on account of its profitableness He declines it not. But these things belong to the Dispensation, not the Godhead. Wherefore He says, Now is My soul troubled; since if this be not the case, What connection has that which was spoken, and His saying, Father, save Me from this hour? And so troubled, that He even sought deliverance from death, if at least it were possible to escape. These were the infirmities of His human nature.
2. But, He says, I have not what to say, when asking for deliverance.
For for this cause came I unto this hour.
As though He had said, Though we be confounded, though we be troubled, let us not fly from death, since even now I though troubled do not speak of...
But in the trouble of His soul, (on a later occasion, ) He said: "What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause is it that I am come to this hour; only, O Father, do Thou glorify Thy name"
