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When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping because of grief,
Luke 22:45 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
  • BSB When Jesus rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
  • NKJV When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
  • NASB When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,
  • NLT At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief.

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

Rising from prayer, Jesus finds the disciples asleep from grief. Their weakness contrasts with His steadfast watchfulness.

Overview

Exhausted by sorrow, the disciples sleep while Jesus prays through His agony. Luke compassionately notes that grief, not mere laziness, overcame them. Their failure to watch highlights human frailty and magnifies the lonely faithfulness of Christ in His darkest hour.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Mark 14:40–41Again he returned, and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they didn’t know what to answer him.
  • Matt 26:40He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour?
  • Matt 26:43He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
  • Mark 14:37He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you watch one hour?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 22:45YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 22:45 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.