Several aspects of Luke’s version
of events reflect his distinct themes and perspectives. For Luke, unlike Mark
and Matthew, does not tell his gentile audience that the name of this location
was Gethsemane; he simply refers to it as “the place” at the Mount of
Olives. This is consistent, however, with Luke’s literary style—it was his
practice to avoid Semitic names and expressions, likely because they were not
as meaningful to his readers as they were to Mark’s and Matthew’s.
Second, and even more
significant, are Luke’s stunning additions to the story that, while praying,
Jesus was in “anguish” or “agony” (Greek: agōnia); that his agony caused his sweat to “be like” (hōsei) great drops of blood
falling to the ground; and that God strengthened him in this agony by sending
an angelic messenger (Luke 22:43-44). To modern readers this series of additions
might make it seem like Luke is intensifying the suffering of Jesus during his
prayer. However, within the Greco-Roman literary context which Luke was
writing, the simile of sweat-like-blood and the strengthening messenger likely
carried a different significance.
For instance, throughout Greek
literature, the meaning of the word agōnia has less to do with suffering and more to do with an “athlete’s
state of mind before the context.” Furthermore, in this same literary
tradition, athletes heavily sweating in agōnia are often attended by trainers or servants who help
them prepre for the approaching struggle
Therefore, rather than
emphasizing Jesus’s suffering and despair (as seen in Mark and Matthew), Luke
seems to be presenting Jesus as an athlete getting ready for a competition
against a formidable opponent. In this case, though, Jesus’s approaching
confrontation is not with a fellow athlete in a stadium but with the powers of
sin and death on the cross. Further support for this reading is found in Luke’s
description of Jesus’s prayer posture—rather than depicting Jesus as lying
prostrate on the ground in his sufferings (as depicted in Mark and Matthew),
Luke depicts Jesus as composed, in a kneeling position, preparing with the help
of his strengthening servant (the angel) to enter the great arena. While
unfamiliar to a modern audience, this allusion would have been understood by
Luke’s Greco-Roman readers and would have presented Jesus in a way that set a
profound example for their own journeys of discipleship. (Matthew J. Grey and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, A
Place Called Gethsemane: Seeing the New Testament Story and Site in Its
First-Century Context [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025], 49-50)
On the
authenticity of Luke 22:43-44, see:
Lincoln H. Blumell, Luke 22:43–44: An Anti-Docetic Interpolation or an Apologetic Omission?
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