PRAYING … SWEAT-DROPS OF BLOOD.
What’s that like, Jesus? Some say
that it wasn’t actually drops of blood, it was just sweat that fell from Your
face to the ground “like” drops of blood.
Plenty of us have worked where we’ve pushed ourselves to the limit in
steaming hot, humid conditions, and we know what it’s like to have drops of
sweat drip from our faces and fall to the ground – or the floor, whatever the
case might be. So we know a sweat-drop
when we see one. We know a drop of sweat
when we experience it. That’s all that
it is: just sweat. Pure, smelly sweat. But the anguish that Jesus experienced before
His crucifixion stepped His sweat up a notch – well, several notches, in
fact. Do you really want to know how
much He loved you then, when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane? Do you truly want to understand (as much as
our minds can take in), all that He suffered for us? Being Who He was, Jesus knew all that was
going to happen to Him on Calvary before it ever took place. Being part of the Triune God (the Trinity),
nothing was ever a surprise for Jesus. And
remember, He was God in the form of human flesh … the Son of God. How do you feel when you are facing one of
your most excruciating experiences and you know what is to come? Lots of people feel like running in the other
direction. But Jesus? The only directional change He made was: He dropped to His knees. Picture this.
It’s the night before His own crucifixion. And He is torn by the pain and the grief of
what He knows He will soon endure.
Torture to the umpteenth degree. Jesus
could have put a stop to it all before the death process even began. Did He want to suffer in agony? No.
Who does? But He was willing,
because He knew someone was required to pay the price for the sins of the
world. And that included mine … and
yours. The battle that raged in His soul
was fierce beyond description. In my
research, I learned some details about all of this that proved all the more the
full extent to which He would go to pay for my sin debt so I would not have to! Scripture states in Luke 22:44, “And being in
anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood
falling to the ground.” Another version
records it this way: “And being in an
agony (of mind), He prayed (all the more) earnestly and intently, and His sweat
became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.” There is a medical term called, “hematohidrosis”,
which is a rare, but very real physical condition where one’s sweat will
contain blood. The sweat glands are
surrounded by tiny blood vessels. These
vessels can constrict and then dilate to the point of rupture where the blood
will then effuse into the sweat glands.
The cause for this condition is none other than – extreme anguish. In other verses in the Gospels, the level of
Jesus’ anguish is explained – in His own words:
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (Matthew 26:38 & Mark 14:34). That’s extreme, my friend. Have you ever hurt so intensely about some
sad or disturbing news you received, or about some circumstance you found
yourself in … to the point of being nauseous and you had to fight to focus on
anything other than what you were feeling?
I’m sure all of us could answer “yes”, and probably more than just once
in our lifetime! And yet for most of
humankind, while we all suffer to some degree, and others much, much more –
very, very few of us have ever sweat drops of blood. But Jesus did, as He prayed. At the very thought of the excruciating pain
He would feel with each strike of the whip, drops of blood fell from His
brow. At the very hint of carrying the
countless sins of this world on His shoulders, greater sweat-drops of blood spilled
to the earth turning it crimson red.
Then with all of that evil on His Son’s body, the Father had no choice
but to look away; and Jesus was left with the stark reality of being totally
abandoned by the One who had been with Him always and forever. Could there be any greater pain that
that? I’m sure the physical infliction
of pain was easier to bear than the separation from His Father as Jesus was now
left alone to go through it all … on His own.
Because He loved us that much. So
much so, that His sweat was mixed with His blood as He prayed in preparation
for what was to come – so we would not have to!
He did it all, He gave His all … so all we have to do is say “yes” to
His invitation to accept His gift of eternal life! And what Jesus did brings us hope that in the
midst of our “sweating and suffering” times when we feel like our heart is
breaking and bleeding literally … we can be assured that all it takes is “one
drop of blood”. HIS blood, which is our
all-encompassing answer, solution, promise, and guarantee that He is for us –
and with us! And if God be for us, who
can be against us? He’s already paid the
price, and with Him WE WIN! Take time today
to thank our Lord for the great and precious sacrifice of His life! We’ll never fully comprehend the battle of
the soul that led Jesus to finally say in the Garden, “ … yet not My will, but
Thine be done.” (Luke 22:42) But we definitely can thank Him and live in a
way that will honor His amazing gift of love!
REMEMBER . . .
“As Jesus
stepped into the garden, you were in His prayers.
As Jesus
looked into heaven, you were in His vision …
His final
prayer was about you.
His final
passion was you.”
~ Max Lucado
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
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