And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
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Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
He has fully taken upon himself the flesh of humanity, and with it human affections. So you read in Scripture that “going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.” Here he speaks not in the voice of God but as fully human. For how could God be ignorant of the possibility or impossibility of anything? Or is anything beyond God’s ability, when as Scripture itself says: “For you nothing is impossible?” On the Christian Faith.
How is it, then, that in his prayer he says: “If it be possible?” He is showing the weakness that belongs to a human nature. Human nature would prefer not to be torn from the present life. It would draw back and shrink from death. Why? Because God has implanted in human nature a love for the life of this world.
