Bible Discussion Thread

 
  • Sylvia hamaguchi on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    my ? is, did Jesus really sweat drops of blood or like? thank you for this is beginning a controversy at my church.
  • T. Levis - In Reply on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    The medical term is called " hematohidrosis " extreme levels of stress, can cause it. " There are multiple blood veins netted around the sweat glands, in net formation, that constrict under the pressure of great stress" "fear and intense mental contemplation are the most frequent causes" recorded under National Library of Medicine, .gov

    It can & did occur. Luke 22:44, "sweat as it were great drops of blood"

    Let's look into Jesus' stress._._ he had known people were plotting to kill him, Matthew 17:22-23, Matthew 21:38, Mark 9:31, Luke 20:14, Luke 22:2, Jesus knew it was the religious hypocrites that were plotting instead of teaching the sheep (his beloved sheep) John 8:37, John 7:1,19,20 even calling him opposite of Christ, John 10:19,20,

    Mark 10:34, here: Jesus even knew how & explained it. Isaiah 52, Psalms 22,

    He knew he would be on public display, clothing taken from him, they would gamble for them: Psalms 22:18,19

    Jesus knew he was being betrayed & even said go quickly, John 13:27,

    Jesus knew the followers would scatter, anyone who loves those who depend on them in anyway never wishes to leave them, especially unprepared, afraid, in danger, alone, being pursued, John 17, John 10:11,12, Luke 12:4, Matthew 24:9,

    Those are only some of the details. Extreme stress none of us have faced to that level. Hebrews 4:15,

    Hopefully these are helpful to your discussion/ debate / controversy. 2Timothy 3:16,
  • GiGi - In Reply on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    Hello, T. Levis

    I had read about this medical condition too. So I think it I very likely that Jesus did, indeed, seat drops of blood. But i do think that we may not know for sure this side of heaven and that whether or not He did actually seat blood or not is not a crucial matter to resolve. But this account in the garden of Gethsemane does show us the intensity of the burden of the sins of the world upon our Lord and the agony of it for Him.
  • Chris - In Reply on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    Hi Sylvia. This question came up a couple of years ago & I thought to research it to see whether there had been such an occurrence, or similar to it, before.

    There is an actual condition of blood sweating, medically termed as, Hematidrosis. In fact, it is claimed that Leonardo da Vinci had written about a soldier returning from battle showing this 'blood sweat' on his face. It seems to be a very rare condition & is caused when the body enters a "fight or flight" situation; the pressure & accompanying agony of life hanging in the balance sometimes causes blood vessels just under the skin (mainly on the face) to break open & sometimes get squeezed out through the sweat glands.

    Whether Jesus experienced this or not, I cannot be certain, though we know that He was in great spiritual agony on the Mt. of Olives ( Luke 22:39-44) calling upon His Father in agonizing prayer, where even an angel came to minister to Him. As this rare medical condition I mentioned, is simply a human body response, & not a result of being in a sinful body of flesh, it could be that Jesus experienced this, or even as Giannis suggested, that Luke reported what the disciples thought they saw, not blood, but the appearance of it, given the darkness of the hour. We can't know for sure as nothing more is given us on this matter.
  • GiGi - In Reply on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    The text detailing the agony of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane does say that. I am not sure of the Greek rendering, maybe Giannis can help us with this text.
  • Giannis - In Reply on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    Hi GiGi, the greek text says exactly word by word "and His sweat was (or was made/became) like clots of blood going down to the earth" My opinion is that it was like, not actually drops of blood., although some people here claim the latter.
  • GiGi - In Reply on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    Thank you Giannis, that is helpful.
  • Giannis - In Reply on Luke 22 - 2 years ago
    Dear Sylvia. This same controversy takes place in many congregations

    "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."

    So my opinion is that His sweat was "like they were big drops of blood", not actually drops of blood, how can that be anyway? Jesus in His agony was sweating a lot and continiously. GBU



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