Good Friday: Sweaty Drops of Blood

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. — Luke 22:44 NIV

People usually sweat when their bodies overheat. It’s the body’s way of cooling itself. But people also sweat when under stress or pressure. Interestingly, emotional stress targets the sweat glands in the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. You recognize this is true if you’ve ever had to shake hands with someone so nervous their palms were sweaty. 

Jesus was under intense emotional stress in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Bible says he was in anguish, which means extreme distress. His sweat was so fierce that it was like drops of blood, and it was likely profuse in his hands and the soles of his feet—the same places the nails would pierce him. 

The battle for him to willingly submit his life raged in the Garden of Gethsemane. His spirit, which knew he had to fulfill his assignment, warred against his flesh, which didn’t want to endure the pain and shame. Still, he chose to go through with it and shed his blood because atonement was at stake. The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. (Leviticus 17:11 NIV).

Good Friday is good because he made a choice to be our atonement. He chose to do what the blood of bulls and goats had failed to do. He chose to be the remission of our sins, taking away the annual reminder associated with the Day of Atonement. This was God’s plan all along. Yes, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished” (Romans 3:25 NIV).

Thank you, God, for the atonement and the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood. Thank you, Jesus, for taking our punishment and becoming our eternal atonement.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. – Revelation 5:12 KJV

Lenita Reeves

Lenita is the senior pastor of Action Chapel Baltimore and Action Chapel North Carolina churches. She is a podcaster, the author of nine books, and an international speaker on a mission to communicate with passion, propel people into their purpose, and teach transformative truth across the globe. Lenita is the founder of PurposeHouse Publishing, PrayerWatch with Pastor Lenita, and creator of the Purpose/full Institute, which helps people discover and hone their divine purpose. She is a former Accenture consultant with college teaching experience, professional instructional design experience, a member of the RAINN speaker’s bureau, and a trained counselor. Lenita is also a Christian International/Bishop Hamon authorized prophetic instructor. She has traveled the globe as a keynote conference speaker in the United States, London, Jamaica, Ghana, Uganda, Haiti, and Kenya. She has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, a Master of Arts in Dance Education from Ohio State, and an MBA from the University of Maryland, College Park. Sign up to connect, receive more blog posts, and updates on courses, books, and events.