Matthew 26:38

My soul. The equivalent of a common Hebrew idiom meaning “I” (see on Ps. 16:10; Matt 10:28).

Exceeding sorrowful. It is impossible for us to comprehend the profound sorrow, the mysterious grief, that bore down upon Jesus as He entered the Garden of Gethsemane. The strange sadness that overtook Him puzzled the disciples. Here was the divine-human Son of God, Son of man (see on Matt 1:1; Mark 2:10; Luke 1:35), suffering an intensity of distress they had never witnessed before. In part, the suffering was physical, but this was only the visible reflection of the infinite suffering of Christ as the bearer of the sins of the world.

For comment on the sufferings of the Saviour in the Garden of Gethsemane, and for the temptations Satan there pressed upon Him, see DA 685-694 (cf. on Matt 4:1-11; Luke 2:40, 52; Heb. 2:17; see EGW Supplementary Material on Matt 26:36-46, 42; see Additional Note on John 1).

Even unto death. It is impossible for us as sinful beings to comprehend the intensity of our Saviour’s anguish as He bore the weight of the sins of the world (see on Luke 22:43).

Watch with me. A plea for human sympathy and companionship in the struggle with the powers of darkness. To “watch” means, literally, “to stay awake,” but here it means to remain awake for a purpose, and that purpose is to share Christ’s vigil.