“And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” – Luke 22:44
Can you picture this moment? Can you see your Savior praying in such profound agony shortly before He was arrested? Jesus was praying about what He was about to do for you! In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was praying about the suffering He would soon endure on the cross. He prayed about the physical agony of being nailed to a cross to slowly, painfully suffocate. However, that wasn’t what weighed most heavily on His mind in the light of the full moon…
There in the garden, Jesus was agonizing over the sin He was about to take upon Himself. Your sin – all of it – would soon be on Him. If Jesus is your Savior, then every single sin you’ve ever committed or ever will commit was about to get charged against Him. And He was about to experience every bit of God’s righteous wrath for your sin. Jesus would soon drink the foaming cup of God’s wrath for human rebellion, cruelty, selfishness, greed, and degradation. Your rebellion, cruelty, selfishness, greed, and degradation…
All the sins of all the sinners throughout all of time… That’s what Jesus was praying about in such terrible agony. Alone in the dark, except for the spiritual assistance of an angel, Jesus battled every temptation to flee and save Himself. He battled the temptation to keep His righteousness for Himself rather than giving it to everyone who believes in Him. He battled the temptation to let us simply receive what we deserve rather than the mercy and grace we don’t deserve. In this profound spiritual battle, the sweat poured off of Jesus, thick and heavy like blood. That’s how intense the battle was.
Be glad that Jesus fought that spiritual battle in the Garden! Rejoice that He prayed with such fervency that He overcame it all and could freely and joyfully head toward the cross that made your salvation possible! Rejoice, but don’t forget your Savior praying alone in the night because of you. #FollowJesus