March 23, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." — Luke 22:44 · KJV

The mental pressure of our Lord's struggle with temptation so forced His frame into an unnatural excitement that His pores sent forth great drops of blood, which fell to the ground. This proves how tremendous must have been the weight of sin, when it could crush the Savior until He distilled great drops of blood! And it shows the mighty power of His love. It is a beautiful observation of old Isaac Ambrose that the gum which oozes from the tree without cutting is always the best. This precious tree yielded most sweet spices when it was wounded under the knotty whips, and when it was pierced by the nails on the cross; but see — it gives forth its best spice when there is no whip, no nail, no wound. This sets forth the voluntariness of Christ's sufferings, since without a lance the blood flowed freely. No need to apply the leech or the knife; it flows spontaneously. No need for anyone to cry, "Spring up, O well!"; of itself it flows in crimson torrents. When men suffer great pain of mind, the blood commonly rushes to the heart; the cheeks turn pale, a fainting fit comes on, the blood has gone inward, as if to nourish the inner man while it passes through its trial. But see our Savior in His agony: He is so utterly forgetful of self that, instead of His agony driving His blood to the heart to nourish Himself, it drives it outward to bedew the earth. The agony of Christ, in pouring Him out upon the ground, pictures the fullness of the offering He made for men. Do we not perceive how intense must have been the wrestling through which He passed, and will we not hear its voice to us: "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin"? Behold the great Apostle and High Priest of our profession, and sweat even to blood rather than yield to the great tempter of your soul.