This does not and cannot mean that God is unable to hear what a sinner says, it means

He does not hear with approval or acceptance. "I knew that Thou hearest Me always"

(John 11: 42) said the Saviour.  Whatever therefore was the subject of Christ's

supplication in the garden of Gethsemane was acceptable, was heard, and was answered.

We learn moreover that Christ was heard "in that He feared", which the A.V. renders in

the margin "for His piety". This is a most necessary correction. On the surface the A.V.

gives the impression that the Saviour's prayer was the result of "fear", of His being

"afraid", but "piety" points entirely to the opposite direction. Eulabeia is found in Heb.

12: 28:

Not only is such service "acceptable", the godly fear is echoed by the word

"reverence". Whatever the Saviour asked for, therefore was heard, and that for His godly

fear or piety. The burden of His petition is realized in the character given to the Hearer

and Answerer of His prayer. He prayed "unto Him that was able to save Him from death,

and was heard because of His piety". Here, however, we must anticipate an objection. It

may be objected, Christ was not saved from death, He did die on the cross, He was not

spared. In this objection lies the root of all the misunderstanding and misrepresentation

of the blessed Lord. What He dreaded, and what was threatened was physical collapse in

the garden of Gethsemane. The bloody sweat is a physical accompaniment and sign of

intense agony and exhaustion, and had the Saviour collapsed in a fatal seizure in the

garden, the Devil would have triumphed!  Let us remember the emphasis that is laid

upon the "weakness" of that hour. It is written "He was crucified through weakness"

(II Cor. 13: 4) and Paul said "We also are weak with Him" and could say also "My

strength is made perfect in weakness" (II Cor. 12: 9) using the same word teleioo that is

used of His Lord (Heb. 2: 10; 5: 9). The suffering Saviour turned to His disciples and

said "What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into

temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26: 40, 41).

Whose spirit was willing? whose flesh weak? Most think He addressed these words to

the disciples. No, He spoke of Himself and His bodily weakness in the hour of His

agony. The evidence of physical weakness is seen in that the rough soldiery who

manifested no traits of human kindness, were obliged nevertheless to transfer the cross

from the Saviour's shoulders,  to that of a man of Cyrene,  Simon by name

(Matt. 27: 32). Again, death by crucifixion was a lingering death, lasting four, five, or

six days, and consequently Pilate "marveled" and could not readily believe that Christ

had died so quickly, and called the centurion to get confirmation (Mark 15: 44). The

Saviour indeed was crucified through weakness.  His spirit was always unalterably

willing, it was the flesh that was weak, and the flesh in its physical sense, not in any

moral way.

It has been assumed that the "cup", which the Saviour asked might pass from Him,

was the death of the cross. This is monstrous and contradicts the whole tenor of the life

of Christ. The "cup" was the possibility that it would be the Father's will that He should

die in the garden and the cross never be reached. "Nevertheless" if His life's work were

to end in such apparent failure the Saviour still as the perfect Servant and obedient Son