How do we know Jesus sweat blood (Luke 22:44)? The disciples fell asleep. The only way Peter, James, and John could have known it (and reported it to Luke) was if they saw it later. When Jesus came to them, He must have been wiping the watery red sheen from His forehead. Between “falling facedown” to pray and all the wiping, His cloak was probably red with blood.
But what emotion was it that made Him sweat blood? Fear? If I were going to be crucified, I would be nauseated with fear. I’ll never forget the day my dentist drilled into a nerve that was not responding to anesthesia. Over and over. she drilled and poked and I squirmed and complained. But nails? Pounded through wrists and ankles? Scary.
Mark 14:33 mentions “horror,” and Luke 22:44 mentions “anguish,” but Gospel accounts of the Garden speak mainly of SORROW. “Then He said to them, ‘My soul is swallowed up in SORROW’” Mark 14:34. “My soul is swallowed up in SORROW to the point of death” Matthew 26:38.
Wondering at this choice of words, I looked at over 60 English translations of Matthew 26:38 on biblegateway.com. Every translation uses the words ‘SORROW,’ ‘GRIEF,’ ‘sadness,’ ‘anguish,’ or the phrase “My soul is heavy.”
Consider these translations: “My soul is EXCEEDINGLY SORROWFUL,” “I AM NEARLY CRUSHED WITH GRIEF,” “My soul is deeply grieved, EVEN TO THE POINT OF DEATH,” “My heart is so heavy with grief, I FEEL AS IF I AM DYING,” “The sorrow in my heart crushes Me.”
Jesus was sweating blood over SORROW because He knew His heart would be carrying the burden of mankind’s sins. We know sin causes death, but what does death cause if not sorrow? Thus, sin leads to sorrow. First, sorrow over mortal deaths, but then sorrow over the death of a relationship with the God Who loves you so infinitely, so passionately. Add to that the smaller deaths of hope, deaths of opportunities, deaths of better options and a blessed future. Sin steals, kills, and destroys, and the result is such great sorrow. Centuries of overwhelming sorrow and grief.
Bearing the sins of history means feeling the GRIEF of history. And facing a death on the cross, it was that black pit of anguish and grief that burdened Jesus with overwhelming sorrow. The prophecy in Isaiah 53:3 gives Jesus one of His names— “He was a MAN OF SORROWS, and acquainted with GRIEF.”
Do you face grief, devastating losses you can’t comprehend? Jesus understands SORROW. The Man of Sorrows knows your grief. Take it to Him. Let Him comfort you.
Man of Sorrows, thank You for understanding our deepest hurts—and bearing them with us.
ΑΩ
*Copyright to the picture of Bruce Marchiano as Jesus held by THE VISUAL BIBLE.
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