Late Thursday evening or early Friday morning, knowing that He was destined for the cross—that in a few hours He would bear the weight of the sin of the whole world throughout all of human history on His shoulders—Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane + invited His inner circle of friends to join Him in prayer.
What occurred next is unlike anything we’ve seen up to this moment in Jesus’ life.
War In The Garden: Mental Torment + Anguish
Mark 14:33 says it was in Gethsemane, just hours before his death, that Jesus “ . . . began to be greatly distressed + troubled.” The Message describes it like this, “ . . . He plunged into a sinkhole of dreadful agony.”
He took Peter, James + John with him + he became deeply troubled + distressed. —Mark 14:33 NLT
[Jesus] took Peter, Jacob + John with him. An intense feeling of great horror plunged his soul into deep sorrow + agony. —Mark 14:33 TPT
It’s interesting that the word Gethsemane actually means “oil or olive press.” It was located in an area known as the Mount of Olives where there was evidently a grove of olive trees.
The entire scene is a visual picture or metaphor of what Jesus was about to experience or endure in every aspect of His being. Just as olives are pressed + crushed to produce oil, Jesus was about to be pressed + crushed on our behalf.
War In The Garden: Emotional Pain + Agony
Not only was Jesus under mental stress in the garden, He was under emotional distress in Gethsemane, as well. The emotional + interior struggle was so severe, that Jesus looked at three of His closest friends + said, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here + keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38).
In other words, “I really don’t want to be alone right now. This moment is just too heavy. The pressure is too great. I need my friends. I need you.”
If Jesus needed to be surrounded + supported by a group of friends, we all need friends who will stand with us + by us in moments of celebration + despair (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
Phillip Yancey wrote:
“ . . . I detect in the Gospels’ account of Gethsemane a profound depth of loneliness that Jesus had never before encountered . . .
“The world had rejected Jesus: proof came in the torch light parade then snaking through the pathways of the garden. Soon the disciples would forsake him. During the prayers, the anguished prayers that met a stone wall of no response, it surely must have felt as if God, too, had turned away.” —Phillip Yancey[1]
Tim Keller once tweeted, “Every single emotion you have should be processed in prayer.”[2] Jesus did this in Gethsemane. He shared His heart with His friends + He poured His heart out to God in prayer. Luke 22 describes it:
…being in agony he prayed more earnestly: + his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. —Luke 22:44 KJV
He prayed even more passionately, like one being sacrificed, until he was in such intense agony of spirit that his sweat became drops of blood, dripping onto the ground. —Luke 22:44 TPT
The word “agony” means, “ . . . being in the grip of a shuddering horror in the face of the dreadful prospect before him.” [3] It’s also used “ . . .of a man who is rendered helpless, disorientated, who is agitated + anguished by the threat of some approaching event.”[4]
This gives us a glimpse as to what might have been going on inside Jesus just before His arrest + crucifixion. He knew exactly what He was about to experience + endure. He understood every second of anguish + the extent of the brokenness He was about to take on. He understood the spiritual, mental, emotional, relational + physical pain ahead of Him.
This is why, when He entered the garden, He walked a few yards away from His circle of friends + threw Himself face down on the ground (Mark 14:35-36). The burden + weight He was carrying was so heavy + horrific that He couldn’t even manage to stand! He crumbled to the ground + began to passionately pray.
Jesus understood that He was about to bear God’s judgment against sin as our substitute— suffering + dying in our place—so He prayed with a passion + burden unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed.
The spiritual, mental + emotional anguish He experienced was so intense that Luke writes, “ . . .His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
. . .He was in such intense agony of spirit that his sweat became drops of blood, dripping onto the ground.—Luke 22:44 TPT
Medically, this condition is known as hematidrosis. It’s an extremely rare medical condition that is usually associated with an individual who is experiencing a high degree of psychological stress, severe anxiety or fear. The fear + anxiety causes the body to release chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result, there’s a small amount of bleeding in the sweat glands + the sweat becomes tinged with blood.
Jesus was literally bleeding through the pores of his skin as He prayed in the Garden.
Part of our redemption was actually taking place in these moments.
The blood loss was probably minimal, but hematidrosis “leaves the body weak, dehydrated + with skin so tissue-thin + tender that even a touching of skin is excruciating.”[5] It is also accompanied by an accelerated heart rate, high blood pressure, abdominal cramps + vomiting, [6] which would have left Jesus completely exhausted + dehydrated.
Today’s Verse: Jesus: “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here + keep watch with me.” —Matthew 26:38 NLT
Today’s Prompt: Do you have friends who will stand with you + by you in times of despair + celebration?
Today’s Gratitude: I am grateful Jesus showed me I can passionately pray when I feel the crushing weight of my burdens.
Today’s Prayer: Father, help me be the kind of friend that keeps watch with those who need me, when they need me. I pray You lead me me to friends that will stand with me + by me in life + in prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1] Phillip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, page 195
[2] Tim Keller, Twitter Feed, July 20, 2017, @timekllernyc
[3] George Knight, Exploring Mark: A Devotional Commentary, page 262.
[4] Erich Kiehl, The Passion of our Lord, page 70.
[5] Leonard Sweet. Jesus (p. 220). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
[6] https://catholicinsight.com/the-physical-effects-of-the-scourging-+-crucifixion-of-jesus/