Gospel

The Sorrow He Felt

by Roland Crim
07/01/18
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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.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. Matthew 26:37-40 NIV

The Lord began to feel full of sorrow, even to the point of death. Is it possible that the Lord could be feeling the immense weight of all the sin of mankind for which He would die? Though our Lord was without sin, did He feel the ugliness of that which needed a perpetual sacrifice to provide atonement? Placed upon anyone else, it would have resulted in instantaneous death. No one other than our Lord could carry such a burden. And He did so. He carried it to the cross and gave His life and the power of sin was destroyed. It cannot hold captive anyone who belongs to Jesus Christ.

There never has been, nor never shall there be, a sacrifice to compare with the one made by our Lord, when He gave His life for our redemption. We have been freed from an enslavement which has a stronghold on so many. The worldly enslavement they face now will be nothing compared to the eternal torment that awaits them.

Thank the Lord for His love and mercy, and for the salvation which we have through Him. We can rest secure in Him.