The Meaning of Luke 22:41 Explained

Luke 22:41

KJV: And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

YLT: And he was withdrawn from them, as it were a stone's cast, and having fallen on the knees he was praying,

Darby: And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and having knelt down he prayed,

ASV: And he was parted from them about a stone's cast; and he kneeled down and prayed,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  he  was withdrawn  from  them  about  a stone's  cast,  and  kneeled down,  and prayed, 

What does Luke 22:41 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 22:35-46 - Drinking The Cup For Others
Our Lord knew to what He was going. All lay naked and open before His eyes. He laid down His life of Himself; but in this supreme act of love He suffered beyond words. It was not that He feared physical pain, but it was the horror of standing before the universe identified with the sin and sorrow of the world, as though these were His own.
In these instructions to His Apostles, as to wallet, purse and sword, we must understand that He meant them to realize that the storm was about to burst upon them with furious intensity.
Some think that our Lord prayed most of all that His body should not give way under His awful anguish. He feared lest He should die before He could reach the Cross! See Hebrews 5:7. "Oh, my Lord, thy chosen disciples failed thee in that hour; but so have we! What can we say! Help us to share thy vigil and thy prayer!" [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 22

1  The leaders conspire against Jesus
3  Satan prepares Judas to betray him
7  The apostles prepare the Passover
19  Jesus institutes his holy supper;
21  covertly foretells of the traitor;
24  rebukes the rest of his apostles from ambition;
31  assures Peter his faith should not fail;
34  and yet he should deny him thrice
39  He prays in the mount, and sweats blood;
47  is betrayed with a kiss;
50  he heals Malchus' ear;
54  he is thrice denied by Peter;
63  shamefully abused;
66  and confesses himself to be the Son of God

Greek Commentary for Luke 22:41

About a stone‘s throw [ωσει λιτου βολην]
Accusative of extent of space. Luke does not tell of leaving eight disciples by the entrance to Gethsemane nor about taking Peter, James, and John further in with him. [source]
Kneeled down [τεις τα γονατα]
Second aorist active participle from τιτημι — tithēmi Mark 14:35 says “fell on the ground” and Matthew 26:39 “fell on his face.” All could be true at different moments.Prayed (προσηυχετο — prosēucheto). Imperfect middle, was praying, kept on praying. [source]
Prayed [προσηυχετο]
Imperfect middle, was praying, kept on praying. [source]
Was withdrawn [ἀπεσπάσθη]
The Vulgate has avulsus est, “he was torn away,” as by an inward urgency. Godet adopts this view, and so, apparently, Wyc., he was taken away. Meyer inclines to it; De Wette decidedly rejects it. Compare Acts 21:1. [source]
Prayed []
Imperfect, began to pray. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 22:41

Luke 22:44 Being in an agony [γενόμενος ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ]
There is in the aorist participle a suggestion of a growing intensity in the struggle, which is not conveyed by the simple being. Literally, though very awkwardly, it is, having become i n an agony: having progressed from the first prayer (began to pray, Luke 22:41) into an intense struggle of prayer and sorrow. Wycliffe's rendering hints at this: and he, made in agony, prayed. Agony occurs only here. It is used by medical writers, and the fact of a sweat accompanying an agony is also mentioned by them. [source]
Acts 21:1 Gotten from [ἀποσπασθέντας]
Withdrawn. Some see in the word an expression of the grief and reluctance with which they parted, and render having torn ourselves away. See on Luke 22:41. [source]
Acts 20:30 Perverse things [διεστραμμενα]
Perfect passive participle of διαστρεπω — diastrephō old verb to turn aside, twist, distort as in Acts 13:8, Acts 13:10. To draw away (του αποσπαιν — tou apospēin). Articular genitive present active participle of purpose from αποσπαω — apospaō old verb used to draw the sword (Matthew 26:51), to separate (Luke 22:41; Acts 21:1). The pity of it is that such leaders of dissension can always gain a certain following. Paul‘s long residence in Ephesus enabled him to judge clearly of conditions there. [source]
Acts 20:30 To draw away [του αποσπαιν]
Articular genitive present active participle of purpose from αποσπαω — apospaō old verb used to draw the sword (Matthew 26:51), to separate (Luke 22:41; Acts 21:1). The pity of it is that such leaders of dissension can always gain a certain following. Paul‘s long residence in Ephesus enabled him to judge clearly of conditions there. [source]
Acts 20:36 He kneeled down [τεις τα γονατα αυτου]
Second aorist active participle of τιτημι — tithēmi to place. The very idiom used in Acts 7:60 of Stephen. Not in ancient writers and only six times in the N.T. (Mark 15:19; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; Acts 9:40; Acts 20:36; Acts 21:5). Certainly kneeling in prayer is a fitting attitude (cf. Jesus, Luke 22:41), though not the only proper one (Matthew 6:5). Paul apparently prayed aloud (προσηυχατο — prosēuxato). [source]
Acts 21:1 Were parted from them [αποσπαστεντας απ αυτων]
First aorist passive participle of αποσπαω — apospaō same verb as in Acts 20:30; Luke 22:41. [source]
Acts 7:60 Kneeled down [τεις τα γονατα]
Second aorist active participle of τιτημι — tithēmi placing the knees (on the ground). This idiom is not in the old Greek for kneeling, but Luke has it five times (Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; Acts 9:40; Acts 20:36; Acts 21:5) and Mark once (Acts 15:19). Jesus was standing at the right hand of God and Stephen knelt before him in worship and called on him in prayer. [source]
Ephesians 3:14 I bow my knees [καμπτω τα γονατα μου]
He now prays whether he had at first intended to do so at Ephesians 3:1 or not. Calvin supposes that Paul knelt as he dictated this prayer, but this is not necessary. This was a common attitude in prayer (Luke 22:41; Acts 7:40; Acts 20:36; Acts 21:5), though standing is also frequent (Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11, Luke 18:13). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 22:41 mean?

And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw having fallen on the knees He was praying
Καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπεσπάσθη ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ λίθου βολήν θεὶς τὰ γόνατα προσηύχετο

ἀπεσπάσθη  withdrew 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀποσπάω  
Sense: to draw off, tear away.
ὡσεὶ  about 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὡσεί  
Sense: as it were, (had been), as though, as, like as, like.
λίθου  a  stone’s 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: λίθος  
Sense: a stone.
βολήν  throw 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: βολή  
Sense: a throw.
θεὶς  having  fallen  on 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: τίθημι  
Sense: to set, put, place.
γόνατα  knees 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: γόνυ  
Sense: the knee, to kneel down.
προσηύχετο  He  was  praying 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: προσεύχομαι  
Sense: to offer prayers, to pray.

What are the major concepts related to Luke 22:41?

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