We all have experienced some sort of agony, or we will experience
In Mark, Jesus and some of His disciples went to the garden of Gethsemane
Mark 14:32 “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.”
He was already in great sorrow, he loved the disciples greatly, and knew this was the last time He would eat with them before His crucifixion. He also knew they didn’t understand what was about to happen. He was already experiencing the agony of betrayal. In Mark 14:18 he acknowledges to the disciples that one of them will betray Him.
Mark 14:18 “And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.”
In Mark 14:36 and Matthew 26:42 Jesus cries out in prayer to His Father. If there is any other way for the redemption of man to be purchased, He wanted the Father to take away this bitter cup He was about to experience. These verses give us a glimpse of what He was feeling. He already knew there was no other way. He knew why He had come to earth. While He was coming to grips with the sacrifice He was about to make, He kept coming back to His disciples who were there with Him. Each time he returned He found them asleep. At first, there seemed to be a sense of frustration in Jesus’ voice when He asks, “could you not watch with me one hour?” Finally, he tells them to sleep on the hour has come for His betrayal.
Mark 14:34 “And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.”
Mark 14:36-37 “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?”
Matthew 26:42 “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it,
Mark 14:41 “And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour
In Luke 22:43-44 the physician Luke gives us another element to His suffering. An angel came and ministered to Him. Because He was God in the flesh and He knew everything that was going to happen to Him. Yet, He was also 100% man and He would feel every bit of the agony of the physical pain. He would also feel the horrible weight of the sin of the world. This sin being poured out on Him would cause His own Father to turn away from Him in His darkest moment. To strengthen the human side of Him an angel came and ministered to Him. Just as you would minister to a friend who was in distress, the angel ministered to Jesus.
Luke 22:43 “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”
The next verse lets us see another element that only Luke the physician reveals. Jesus was in such distress He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Doctors say this is possible when a person is under extreme stress. It is a condition called hematidrosis. Jesus anguish was a physical anguish and a spiritual one. His anguish demonstrated He was human and that His sufferings were real.
Luke 22:44 “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
As the Son of God, He knew in detail everything that was about to happen. The death He would face was physically one of the most horrible forms of punishment in history. As God in the flesh, He knew the spiritual warfare that was going on also. Satan is not all knowing, and He was enjoying every minute of this execution. Jesus also knew that His Father could not look upon sin, and therefore, there would be a period of time that they would be separated. For a brief time in history, God would abandon His son. This had to cause the greatest anguish of it all. Never before, and never after the crucifixion, would this happen.
Mark 15:34 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus suffered all this agony, because of His love for us. The holiness of God could not allow sin to enter Heaven. The only way to make it possible for us to spend eternity with Him was to execute a plan where there would be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus was the only possible one who qualified as the sinless perfect Lamb of God.
