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Mark 14:40

in Mark 14

And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping—for their eyes were heavy. And they did not know what to answer Him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And again he came, and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they knew not what to answer him.

KJV

And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.

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This verse in Mark 14

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Tertullian

ON PRAYER 8 · Written before 220.

Susceptibilities to weakness and sloth are footprints of the devil. When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, it was not for the purpose of seducing him toward evil, but of proving his faith. Through Abraham God sought to offer a pattern of one who followed the precept that he should hold no pledge of affection dearer than God. Later when the Lord asked his disciples to "pray that you may not enter into temptation," the same pledge was required. Yet they were tempted. They deserted their Lord by giving way to sleep rather than persevering in prayer.

This site's exposition

Again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing.

on Mark 14:39-41

Again Jesus returned and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. On the third return He says That is enough, the hour has come, so His praying is finished before Judas appears.

This site's exposition

their eyes were heavy

They did not know what to answer, and Gill puts it down to shame and to eyes heavy with sleep and sorrow. Theophylact notes that Jesus returned without a rebuke this time. His lesson is that men who promised never to fall away could not keep watch for one hour.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 1107.

proposed

And when he returned, he found them asleep again; He however did not rebuke them severely. For their eyes were heavy, (that is, with sleep,) neither wist they what to answer him. By this learn the weakness of men, and let us not, whom even sleep can overcome, promise things which are impossible to us.

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Mark · Written before 1107.

proposed

And seeing the disciples sleeping again, He no longer rebukes them, because they were weighed down with sleep. From this, recognize human fickleness and weakness! We cannot even resist sleep, yet we often promise what is impossible for us!
The threefold sleep of the disciples points out the three dead, whom our Lord raised up; the first, in a house; the second, at the tomb; the third, from the tomb. And the threefold watch of the Lord teaches us in our prayers, to beg for the pardon of past, future, and present sins.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And when he returned, he found them asleep again,.... Notwithstanding the expostulation he had used with them, the exhortation he had given them, and the danger he had suggested to them: for their eyes were heavy: with sleep and sorrow: neither wist they what to answer him; partly through confusion and shame, not knowing how to excuse themselves; and partly, through their being stupefied with sleep and grief.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

The history of our Lord's agony in the garden of Gethsemane is a deep and mysterious passage of Scripture. It contains things which the wisest divines cannot fully explain. Yet it has upon its surface plain truths of most momentous importance. Let us mark, in the first place, how keenly our Lord felt the burden of a world's sin . It is written that He began to be filled with horror and deep distress.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

The history of our Lord's agony in the garden of Gethsemane is a deep and mysterious passage of Scripture. It contains things which the wisest divines cannot fully explain. Yet it has upon its surface plain truths of most momentous importance. Let us mark, in the first place, how keenly our Lord felt the burden of a world's sin . It is written that He began to be filled with horror and deep distress. He told them, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death," and that "he fell on the ground, and prayed, that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him." There is only one reasonable explanation of these expressions. It was no mere fear of the physical suffering of death, which drew them from our Lord's lips. It was a sense of the enormous load of human guilt, which began at that time to press upon Him in a peculiar way. It was a sense of the unutterable weight of our sins and transgressions which were then specially laid upon Him. He was being "made a curse for us." He was bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows according to the covenant He came on earth to fulfill. He was being "made sin for us who Himself knew no sin." His holy nature felt acutely the hideous burden laid upon Him. These were the reasons of His extraordinary sorrow. We ought to see in our Lord's agony in Gethsemane the exceeding sinfulness of sin. It is a subject on which the thoughts of professing Christians are far below what they should be. The careless, light way in which such sins as swearing, Sabbath-breaking, lying, and the like, are often spoken of, is a painful evidence of the low condition of men's moral feelings. Let the recollection of Gethsemane have a sanctifying effect upon us. Whatever others do, let us never "make a mock at sin." Let us mark, in the second place, what an example our Lord gives us of the importance of prayer in time of trouble .

The words behind it

18 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • καὶAnd

    kaiG2532 →9120 times

  • πάλινagain

    palinG3825 →139 times

  • ἐλθὼνhaving come

    elthonG2064 →628 times

  • εὗρενhe found

    heurenG2147 →175 times

  • αὐτοὺςthem

    autousG846 →5565 times

  • καθεύδοντας·sleeping;

    katheudontasG2518 →22 times

  • ἦσανWere

    esanG1510 →2333 times

  • γὰρfor

    garG1063 →1039 times

  • αὐτῶνof them

    autonG846 →5565 times

  • οἱthe

    hoiG3588 →19766 times

  • ὀφθαλμοὶeyes

    ophthalmoiG3788 →100 times

  • καταβαρυνόμενοι,being wearied,

    katabarunomenoi

  • καὶand

    kaiG2532 →9120 times

  • οὐκnot

    oukG3756 →1664 times

  • ᾔδεισανthey knew

    edeisanG1492 →374 times

  • τίwhat

    tiG5101 →563 times

  • ἀποκριθῶσινthey may answer

    apokrithosinG611 →231 times

  • αὐτῷ.to Him.

    autoG846 →5565 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

5 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Mark 13:36Otherwise, he may arrive without notice and find you sleeping.5 worksGenesis 44:16“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one who was found with the cup.”2 worksRomans 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.2 worksMark 9:33–34Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”2 worksExodus 34:29And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.0 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Romans 3:19

    Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

    it leads to

    • Galatians 3:10

      All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

    • Galatians 3:22–23

      But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

    • Romans 3:9

      What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.

    • Romans 2:12–18

      All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

    • Galatians 5:18

      But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

  • Through

    Genesis 44:16

    “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and…

    it leads to

    • Genesis 44:9

      If any of your servants is found to have it, he must die, and the rest will become slaves of my lord.”

    • Daniel 9:7

      To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You…

    • Numbers 32:23

      But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that your sin will find you out.

Where this verse is studied

About Mark

The Judas Kiss — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
The Judas Kiss — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
Mark: the study guide →Read Mark 14 →

This page draws on J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Tertullian, ON PRAYER 8; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.

Read on in Mark 14 →