Luke 22:44

being in an agony The word which occurs here only in the N.T. though we often have the verb agonizomaimeans intense struggle and pressure of spirit, which the other Evangelists also describe in the strong words ademonein(Matthew 26:37) and ekthambeisthai(Mark 14:33). It was an awful anguish of His natural life, and here alone (Matthew 26:38; John 12:27) does He use the word ψυχὴ of Himself. It was not of course a mere shrinking from death and pain, which even the meanest natures can overcome, but the mysterious burden of the world's guilt (2 Corinthians 5:21) the shrinking of a sinless being from the depths of Satanic hate and horror through which He was to pass. As Luther says -our hard impure flesh" can hardly comprehend the sensitiveness of a fresh unstained soul coming in contact with horrible antagonism.

as it were great drops of blood Such a thing as a -bloody sweat" seems not to be wholly unknown (Arist. Hist. Anim.iii. 19) under abnormal pathological circumstances. The blood of Abel -cried from the ground;" but this blood -spake better things than the blood of Abel" (Genesis 4:10; Hebrews 12:24). St Luke does not however use the term -bloody sweat," but says that the dense sweat of agony fell from him "likeblood gouts" which may mean as drops of blood do from a wound.