Overview:
Matthew 26:36–46
Do you remember going to bed as a child and feeling pain in your legs? You may have thought some terrible disease had invaded and that the pain was the initial symptom of some form of paralysis. Of course, it was nothing as dramatic as that. The pains you felt were “growing pains.” Instead of some dreaded disease, the unpleasant, unwelcome, and unappreciated pain was normal and healthy—a reminder that you were growing. And what was true then, during your childhood, is also true today: pain, though never sought out, is an essential part of our emotional and spiritual growth.
Message Summary:
In this deeply moving message, Chuck Swindoll explores the universal and unavoidable reality of pain—that “four-letter word we try our best to escape”. Rather than offering empty platitudes, Swindoll directs listeners to the “Man of Sorrows” predicted in Isaiah 53: Jesus Christ, the “Man of Pains” who is intimately acquainted with grief.
The message traces the agonizing journey of Jesus through Gethsemane and onto the Cross. Swindoll emphasizes that although Jesus knew for His entire life that the crucifixion was coming, “knowing didn’t ever change his feelings”. In the Garden, Jesus experienced profound relational pain as His friends slept, internal agony so severe He sweat drops of blood, and spiritual terror at the prospect of bearing God’s wrath. This culminated on the cross with the ultimate pain: being forsaken by the Father.
Swindoll argues that because Jesus endured such intense physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering, He is uniquely qualified to meet us in our own pain. Using the touching illustration of a boy with a leg brace choosing a crippled puppy, Swindoll illustrates that we need a Savior who “understands” because He bears the scars Himself. The sermon concludes with the assurance that while pain is an intruder we rarely welcome, it is often the avenue that forces us to bow our knees and find deep healing in Christ.
Message Key Facts:
- The “Man of Pains”: Swindoll explains that the title “Man of Sorrows” from Isaiah 53 comes from the Hebrew word Makob, which literally translates to “Man of Pains”. This title, written seven centuries before Christ, signifies that the Messiah would be a “friend of anguish”.
- The Anatomy of Pain: The sermon provides a clinical definition of pain: “A basic bodily sensation induced by a noxious stimulus received by naked nerve endings”. Swindoll notes that Jesus was a “man of naked nerve ending pain”.
- Knowing vs. Feeling: A key psychological insight offered is that “knowing doesn’t automatically fix feelings”. Jesus knew the cross was inevitable, yet He still prayed three times for the cup to pass, proving that intellectual knowledge does not negate emotional anguish.
- Hematidrosis in Gethsemane: Swindoll highlights the detail found only in Luke 22, where Jesus’ agony was so intense that His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
- The Ultimate Pain: While the physical torture of the crucifixion (scourging, thorns, nails) was horrific, Swindoll identifies the “ultimate pain” as the moment God the Father turned His back on the Son, causing Jesus to scream, “Why have you forsaken me?”.
- The Four Ways Christ Meets Us:
- Relationally: He stays closer than any human friend.
- Internally: He heals deeper than any counselor because He knows grief.
- Physically: He comforts better than any physician.
- Ultimately: He sees the benefits of pain (maturity and rewards) that we cannot yet see.
- The “Creative Genius” of Pain: Quoting Philip Yancey, Swindoll suggests that pain is often viewed as God’s mistake, but it serves a vital purpose—physically alerting us to danger (like an inflamed appendix) and spiritually driving us to dependence on God.
Message References:
- Matthew 26:36–46: Jesus’ agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He confesses His soul is “grieved to the point of death”.
- Isaiah 53:3–4: The Old Testament prophecy identifying the Messiah as “despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”.
- Matthew 27:27–46: The account of Jesus’ torture, mockery, crucifixion, and His cry of abandonment on the cross.
- Hebrews 5:7–8: A description of Jesus offering up “loud cryings and tears” and learning obedience “from the things which he suffered”.
- Luke 22:44: The specific account of Jesus sweating “great drops of blood” during His prayer.
- Psalm 22:1: The prophetic cry of abandonment, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” quoted by Jesus on the cross.
