Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.
Parallel translations
- WEB An angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.
- KJV And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
- NKJV Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
- NASB [Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
- NLT Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An angel from heaven appears to strengthen Jesus in His distress. Heaven ministers to the Son in His agony.
Overview
In His hour of anguish, God sends an angel to strengthen Jesus for what lies ahead. The scene displays both the genuine weight of His human suffering and the Father's care. Though some early manuscripts omit this verse, it richly portrays the reality of Christ's struggle as He embraces the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Matt 4:11Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him.
- Matt 26:53Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
- Ps 91:11–12For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
- Heb 1:14Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
- Heb 1:6And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”
- 1 Tim 3:16By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
- Matt 4:6“If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
- Luke 4:10–11For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully;
- Job 4:3–4Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
- Luke 22:32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
- Deut 3:28But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”
- Dan 10:16–19And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome with anguish, and I have no strength.
- Acts 18:23After Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
- Heb 2:17For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.
- Dan 11:1“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 22:43 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.