Think you that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Read Chapter 26
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He will give Me more than twelve legions of angels? A second reason for our Lord forbidding Peter to defend Him. I need not thy aid, since I have at My command all the armies of angels, one of whom slew the host of the Assyrians ( 2 Kings 19:35). "If one angel," says S. Chrysostom, "slew so many thousands of armed men, what would twelve legions of them do against one thousand?" He accommodated His discourse to their wish, for they were already half dead with fear. "For Christ Himself as God needed not their aid," as Origen remarked; "they much rather needed His," to whom thousands of thousands ministered (see Daniel 7:10).
Christ is within bounds in speaking as He does. For angels are countless, exceeding the number of all men, past, present and future (see S. Dion. de Cel. Hier. S. Thom. part1 , qust2 , art3).
Christ here teaches us in every danger to invoke our guardian angels, as most wise, powerful, and full of love for us, ...
More than twelve legions of angels. A legion was computed about 6,000. (Witham)
These would amount to 72,000; but our Lord means no more than a great number.
And by these two things, He comforted them, both by the punishment of them that are plotting against Him, For all they, He says, that take the sword shall perish with the sword; and by His not undergoing these things against His will, For I can pray, He says, to my Father.
And wherefore did He not say, Think ye that I cannot destroy them all? Because He was more likely to be believed in saying what He did say; for not yet had they the right belief concerning Him. And a little while before He had said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death, and, Father, let the cup pass from me; Matthew 26:38-39 and He had appeared in an agony and sweating, and strengthened by an angel.
Since then He had shown forth many tokens of human nature, He did not seem likely to speak so as to be believed, if He had said, Think ye that I cannot destroy them. Therefore He says, What, think ye that I cannot pray to my Father? And again He speaks it humbly, in saying, He will presently give me twelve...
