Jesus Understands Emotional Turmoil

Jesus knew all along that his mission was to become our Savior by dying on the cross for us. The night he was arrested, he knew what was about to happen, all of it, the rigged trial, the torture, and his crucifixion. So he spent time with God the Father. In Matthew 26 we read:

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”  He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

His anguish was such that we read in Luke 22:

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Jesus knew he was about to experience being brutally tortured and suffer the agonizing slow death of crucifixion. Yes he did so out of his great love for us, but he experienced emotional turmoil.

When we experience emotional turmoil, we can come to Jesus knowing that he understands. He is our sympathetic high priest as it says in Hebrews 4:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.