Christ's Mental Agony, What Jesus Thinks About You, As A Man Thinketh
The Disciple-Leader Newsletter #36 // September 30, 2023.
Discipleship. Leadership. Mental Performance.
DISCIPLESHIP
1) "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." - Luke 22:44
2) "And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people." - Mosiah 3:7
In 1996, the Journal of Medicine published an article titled, Blood, Sweat, and Fear: "A Classification of Hematidrosis". Hematidrosis is a rare and unusual condition that is characterized by the excretion of blood through the sweat gland pores. When we read about Jesus sweating blood from His pores, there is actually a scientific name for it: hematidrosis.
We can learn a lot about the Savior and His atoning experience through what researchers have learned about this rare condition. Below is the abstract to the aforementioned study:
"In order to verify the accuracy of the commonly used statement, 'I sweat blood,' a survey of the literature in the subject of hematidrosis was made. Seventy-six cases were studied and classified into categories according to the causative factor. These were, component of systemic disease, vicarious menstruation, excessive exertion, psychogenic, and unknown. The psychogenic were further subdivided into those that occurred only one time, those that recurred and the stigmatics. Acute fear and intense mental contemplation were found to be the most frequent inciting causes. Hematidrosis is an extremely rare clinical phenomenon with only few instances reported to have occurred within the twentieth century."
Acute fear. Intense mental contemplation.
It's hard to imagine just how intense and acute blood-inducing fear must feel. And not just small drops from some pores. But great drops from every pore.
We simply can't comprehend Jesus' suffering. But we can conclude with absolute certainty that nobody knows fear quite like Jesus. Nobody understands depression quite like Jesus. Nobody knows quite like Jesus how it feels to tremble and shake with paralyzing anxiety.
Whatever you are going through, He knows. He understands. He empathizes.
"There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, 'No one understands. No one knows.' No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch, and succor—literally run to us—and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying only upon our own power." - David A. Bednar
LEADERSHIP
"And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
Moroni 7:45
Substitute the word charity in this verse with the name Christ.
Jesus Christ suffereth long
Jesus Christ is kind
Jesus Christ envieth not
Jesus Christ is not puffed up
Jesus Christ seeketh not His own
Jesus Christ is not easily provoked
Jesus Christ thinketh no evil
Jesus Christ rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth
Jesus Christ beareth all things
Jesus Christ believeth all things
Jesus Christ hopeth all things
Jesus Christ endureth all things
This is what it looks like to love. This is His leadership standard. This is how he feels about you. He is kind to you. He thinks no evil about you. He believes in you. He has grand hopes for you. He endured all things for you. He seeks yours, not His.
This is how He feels and what He thinks about everyone around you. Your annoying neighbor. Your difficult child. The person you have nothing in common with. Your enemy.
These are the attributes of a Christlike leader.
MENTAL PERFORMANCE
"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."
Proverbs 23:7
Pat Riley is a 9-time NBA champion. He's won as a player, coach, and executive. He's been around. Drawing on his championship experience, he shared this crucial insight: "If you’re going to be a championship team, you have to think championship thoughts."
This applies to everything in life.
If you're going to be an elite performer, you have to think elite thoughts.
If you're going to be an A-student, you have to think A-student thoughts.
If you're going to be a world-class creative, you have to think world-class thoughts.
If you're going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have to think Christlike thoughts.
James Allen wrote this about our thoughts: "A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts."
Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way: "You become what you think about all day long."
Of particular importance in the Proverbs verse is the idea of thinking in your heart. What does it mean to think in your heart as opposed to just thinking in your mind?
The scriptures draw a clear connection between our hearts and the concept of understanding (see Job 38:36; Psalm 49:3; Proverbs 2:2; Mosiah 12:27; Mosiah 2:9; Alma 32:28; 3 Nephi 19:33). Elder David A. Bednar, commenting on these verses, wrote, "In these verses, understanding is linked first and foremost to the heart. Clearly, we must use our minds and our rational capacity; however, we are not explicitly counseled to apply our minds, but our hearts, in seeking for understanding ... The word understanding as used in the scriptures does not refer solely or even primarily to intellectual or cognitive comprehension. Rather, when the Holy Ghost confirms in our hearts as true what we know in our minds, understanding occurs."
It's not enough to think championship thoughts in your head. You need to understand them in your heart, or in other words, you need the Holy Ghost to confirm in your heart as true what you believe in your mind.
For as he thinketh in his mind are surface-level thoughts. These thoughts are subject to change based on the opinions of others. They waiver. They waffle. They are built on a sandy foundation.
For as he thinketh in his heart are soul-deep thoughts. They are unflappable. They are grounded, rooted, established, and settled. They are built on the rock of Jesus Christ and written on the fleshy tables of the heart.
For as you think in your heart, so are you.
Disciple-Leadership: Jesus-led. Lead like Jesus.