The Meaning of Matthew 26:36 Explained

Matthew 26:36

KJV: Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

YLT: Then come with them doth Jesus to a place called Gethsemane, and he saith to the disciples, 'Sit ye here, till having gone away, I shall pray yonder.'

Darby: Then Jesus comes with them to a place called Gethsemane, and says to the disciples, Sit here until I go away and pray yonder.

ASV: Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a place  called  Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto the disciples,  Sit ye  here,  while  I go  and pray  yonder. 

What does Matthew 26:36 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 26:36-46 - The Hour When The Flesh Was Weak
In human life there is a close connection between our hymns and our olive-presses. We pass from the supper to the garden, from the emblems to the reality. But not all can enter into the fellowship of our Lord's unknown sufferings. Paul longed to do this that he might realize also the power of His resurrection, Philippians 3:10. Our Lord longs for the sympathy which will keep awake for love of Him, though it may not understand all that is in His heart!
Notice that though the cup seemed to be mixed and presented by human hands, our Lord refused to see in it these alone, but went behind them to the permissive will of God the Father. It is this thought that extracts bitterness from the bitterest cup. In the same sentence Jesus bade the disciples sleep on and arise. It was as though He knew and felt that though the past had gone beyond recall, yet further opportunities and testings were awaiting them and Him. These they would encounter and share in company. He is always saying to us, however unworthy-Let us be going. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 26

1  Jesus foretells his own death
3  The rulers conspire against him
6  The woman anoints his feet
14  Judas bargains to betray him
17  Jesus eats the Passover;
26  institutes his holy supper;
30  foretells the desertion of his disciples, and Peter's denial;
36  prays in the garden;
47  and being betrayed by a kiss,
57  is carried to Caiaphas,
69  and denied by Peter

Greek Commentary for Matthew 26:36

Gethsemane [Γετσημανει]
The word means oil-press in the Hebrew, or olive vat. The place It is called villa in the Vulgate according to John 18:1. It was beyond the torrent Kedron at the foot of the Mount of Olives about three-fourths of a mile from the eastern walls of Jerusalem. There are now eight old olive trees still standing in this enclosure. One cannot say that they are the very trees near which Jesus had his Agony, but they are very old. “They will remain so long as their already protracted life is spared, the most venerable of their race on the surface of the earth. Their guarded trunks and scanty foliage will always be regarded as the most affecting of the sacred memorials in or about Jerusalem” (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine). [source]
Here [αυτου]
Jesus clearly pointed to the place where he would pray. Literally “there.” [source]
Yonder [εκει]
Jesus clearly pointed to the place where he would pray. Literally “there.” [source]
Gethsemane []
Meaning oil-press. Beyond the brook Kedron, and distant about three-quarters of a mile from the walls of Jerusalem. Dean Stanley says of the olive-trees there: “In spite of all the doubts that can be raised against their antiquity, the eight aged olive-trees, if only by their manifest difference from all others on the mountain, have always struck the most indifferent observers. They will remain, so long as their already protracted life is spared, the most venerable of their race on the surface of the earth. Their gnarled trunks and scanty foliage will always be regarded as the most affecting of the sacred memorials in or about Jerusalem; the most nearly approaching to the everlasting hills themselves in the force with which they carry us back to the events of the gospel history” (“Sinai and Palestine”). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 26:36

Matthew 14:22 Constrained [ηναγκασεν]
Literally, “compelled” or “forced.” See this word also in Luke 14:23. The explanation for this strong word in Mark 6:45 and Matthew 14:22 is given in John 6:15. It is the excited purpose of the crowd to take Jesus by force and to make him national king. This would be political revolution and would defeat all the plans of Jesus about his kingdom. Things have reached a climax. The disciples were evidently swept off their feet by the mob psychology for they still shared the Pharisaic hope of a political kingdom. With the disciples out of the way Jesus could handle the crowd more easily, till he should send the multitudes away The use of the aorist subjunctive with εως — heōs or εως ου — heōs hou is a neat and common Greek idiom where the purpose is not yet realized. So in Matthew 18:30; Matthew 26:36. “While” sometimes renders it well. The subjunctive is retained after a past tense instead of the change to the optative of the ancient Attic. The optative is very rare anyhow, but Luke uses it with πριν η — prin ē in Acts 25:16. [source]
Mark 14:32 Gethsemane []
See on Matthew 26:36. [source]
Mark 14:32 Which was named [ου το ονομα]
Literally, “whose name was.” On Gethsemane see note on Matthew 26:36. [source]
Luke 22:40 The place []
See on Gethsemane, Matthew 26:36. [source]
John 18:1 With [συν]
See John 12:2 for another example of συν — sun in John (common in Paul). The usual μετα — meta reappears in John 18:2. Over “Beyond,” preposition with the ablative as in John 6:22, John 6:25. Brook Old word, flowing Literally, “of the Cedars,” “Brook of the Cedars.” Only here in N.T. So 2 Samuel 15:23. Textus Receptus like Josephus (Ant. VIII, 1, 5) has the singular κηπος — tou Kedrōn (indeclinable). As a matter of fact it was always dry save after a heavy rain. A garden (kēpos). Old word, in N.T. only here, John 18:26; John 19:41 (Joseph‘s); Luke 13:19. John, like Luke, does not give the name Gethsemane (only in Mark 14:32; Matthew 26:36). The brook of the cedars had many unhallowed associations (1 Kings 2:37; 1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 23:4.; 2 Chronicles 29:16; Jeremiah 31:40). [source]
John 18:1 Over [περαν]
“Beyond,” preposition with the ablative as in John 6:22, John 6:25. Brook Old word, flowing Literally, “of the Cedars,” “Brook of the Cedars.” Only here in N.T. So 2 Samuel 15:23. Textus Receptus like Josephus (Ant. VIII, 1, 5) has the singular κηπος — tou Kedrōn (indeclinable). As a matter of fact it was always dry save after a heavy rain. A garden (kēpos). Old word, in N.T. only here, John 18:26; John 19:41 (Joseph‘s); Luke 13:19. John, like Luke, does not give the name Gethsemane (only in Mark 14:32; Matthew 26:36). The brook of the cedars had many unhallowed associations (1 Kings 2:37; 1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 23:4.; 2 Chronicles 29:16; Jeremiah 31:40). [source]
John 18:1 Brook [χειμαρρου]
Old word, flowing Literally, “of the Cedars,” “Brook of the Cedars.” Only here in N.T. So 2 Samuel 15:23. Textus Receptus like Josephus (Ant. VIII, 1, 5) has the singular κηπος — tou Kedrōn (indeclinable). As a matter of fact it was always dry save after a heavy rain. A garden (kēpos). Old word, in N.T. only here, John 18:26; John 19:41 (Joseph‘s); Luke 13:19. John, like Luke, does not give the name Gethsemane (only in Mark 14:32; Matthew 26:36). The brook of the cedars had many unhallowed associations (1 Kings 2:37; 1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 23:4.; 2 Chronicles 29:16; Jeremiah 31:40). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 26:36 mean?

Then comes with them - Jesus to a place called Gethsemane and He says to the disciples Sit here until that having gone away over there I shall pray
Τότε ἔρχεται μετ’ αὐτῶν Ἰησοῦς εἰς χωρίον λεγόμενον Γεθσημανὶ καὶ λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς Καθίσατε αὐτοῦ ἕως οὗ ἀπελθὼν ἐκεῖ προσεύξωμαι

ἔρχεται  comes 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
χωρίον  a  place 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: χωρίον  
Sense: a space, a place, a region, a district.
λεγόμενον  called 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Γεθσημανὶ  Gethsemane 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: Γεθσημανῆ 
Sense: the name of a place at the foot of the Mount of Olives, beyond the torrent Kidron.
λέγει  He  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
τοῖς  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
μαθηταῖς  disciples 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: μαθητής  
Sense: a learner, pupil, disciple.
Καθίσατε  Sit 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: καθίζω  
Sense: to make to sit down.
αὐτοῦ  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: αὐτόπτης  
Sense: in that place, there, here.
ἕως  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἕως  
Sense: till, until.
οὗ  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ἀπελθὼν  having  gone  away 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀπέρχομαι  
Sense: to go away, depart.
ἐκεῖ  over  there 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἐκεῖ  
Sense: there, in or to that place.
προσεύξωμαι  I  shall  pray 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Middle, 1st Person Singular
Root: προσεύχομαι  
Sense: to offer prayers, to pray.