Search This Blog

Thursday, April 5, 2012

“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow
to the point of death.”

We often use words as expressions of our thoughts and feelings because they seem to sound good. But how often do you really think about what you are saying or seriously mean it when you say it?

“If you don’t…, I’m going to kill you”, is often said with absolutely no intention of doing so. How about, “I’m dying of thirst” or “I could eat a horse”? Of course we know that neither of these are true but how often do we say things that express a thought but don’t communicate the actual thought.
Just moments before He was to be betrayed by Judas, Jesus said, …“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
When Jesus said that, He wasn’t talking carelessly. He knew that in less than 24 hours, He would be dead and He didn’t really want to die. Jesus knew that in approximately twelve hours, nails would be driven through His hands and feet and He would have to endure the excruciating pain and feeling of that foreign object present in His body, suspending Him between Heaven and earth until death finally took over and relieved Him or His life on this earth and the pain finally ceased.
Jesus wanted to live, but knowing what was ahead, but also knowing that this was what must take place in order to obey His Father’s will, Jesus needed some time alone. He needed some time with His Father to prepare Him to endure the pain, agony, rejection, disrespect, hatred… that was ahead. He needed to focus on why He was enduring this inhumane act. He needed to gather up the internal strength and resolve to face what came, not turn back, but suffer what He is going to have to suffer, even die for those who hated Him, rejected Him and were trying to get Him killed.
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” I can only try to imagine, knowing what I know Jesus knew at this point, how He felt. Like a criminal on death row or someone captured by an enemy or felon who has indicated that he is going to kill them, Jesus has to come to grips that death is inevitable. He has to face the horror that His death is going to be long, slow, full of ridicule, abuse, mocking, shame, exposure, humiliation, PAIN, rejection by man and by God the Father.
He loved you so much that He prepared His mind and then He went forward to be arrested, tried, beaten, mocked, ridiculed, condemned and crucified FOR YOU!
When you say, “JESUS”, what do you mean by that word? Are you declaring Him whose “…soul was overwhelmed…” for YOU as your Lord and Savior or are you mocking Him and using His name as a by word?
When you say, “Oh My God!”, are you really declaring God as yours or are you treating Him, who loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die for your sins, as a casual byword?
When you see the trouble that this world, our nation, your state, your city, your neighborhood is in, do you think about what Jesus did for you and ask God to help you communicate by your work, words and ways, so that others will see Jesus in you and want to follow Him?
Consider carefully the words of Jesus as He poured out His heart for YOU! “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He was speaking the truth of how He felt, not just verbalizing some phrase of exasperation. He was overwhelmed by His having to pay for what you and I have done.

No comments: