“Drop by Drop”–Easter! 2011 - Part 1

“Drop by Drop” Jesus shed His blood for us. Let us trace Jesus’ blood-stained pathway from “HIS CRIES TO HIS CROSS”!

“  . . . .  a large Upper Room . . . . there make ready for us . . . . . Where I shall eat the passover with my disciples.” (Mark 14:15 and 14)

I prayed for an “Upper Room” and the Lord led me to the right spot, the upper floor of the building where we meet every Thursday for our Ladies’ Bible Study.

”There make ready for us . . . .”   “Us?” That meant that Jesus would be with us.

” . . . .  a large Upper Room furnished and . . . . . . .

“ . . . . there they made ready for us.   . . . .”   (Mark 14:15)

“ . . . . . .  and they made ready the passover.”  (Mark 14:16)

Whoever you are, we are welcoming you to join us at the “Lord’s Table”.

“He sat down with the “twelve” (six). . . . .”  (Matthew 26:20)

“ DROP BY DROP” – from Jesus’ “CRIES TO HIS CROSS” – His cries in Gethsemane! That is when His blood flowed “Drop by Drop”.

1. “DROP BY DROP”  -  GETHSEMANE -  HIS SKIN

Jesus withdrew Himself from His three disciples, Peter, James and John. He had to suffer alone. The disciples slept – unaware of Jesus’ agony. He suffered and bled . . . . alone! He was in anguish. He knelt down and prayed, “FATHER IF IT IS YOUR WILL, TAKE THIS CUP FROM ME, NEVERTHELES, NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE.” Can you sense Jesus’ agony? The angels did – they came down and strengthened Him!

"And being in agony, He prayed MORE EARNESTLY . . . .”  Jesus’ anguish and agony was escalating!!! HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY. . . . .Then Hematidrosis set it.  “THEN HIS SWEAT BECAME LIKE GREAT DROPS OF BLOOD FALLING DOWN TO THE GROUND.” (Luke 22:44)

Hematidrosis, also known as Hematohidrosis, is a very rare condition where there is widespread cutaneous haemorrhage – bleeding into the skin. It may occur when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress. Surrounding the sweat glands, there are  net-like forms of capillaries. With extreme stress, the blood vessels constrict, and when the person’s stress subsides, these blood vessels dilate to the point that they actually rupture, and blood is forced to the surface, oozing out of the pores, mixed with sweat, forming droplets. An added effect is that the skin becomes extremely tender and fragile, and any pressure of the skin is extremely sensitive and painful. So, every pore in Jesus’ body oozed and drained blood.

But – Jesus did not hemorrhage to the point of shock and collapse. The days are warm at the time of the passover.The cold night air in Jerusalem, caused the capillaries to constrict and prevent a fatal hemorrhage. Stress and the subsequent Haematidrosis did not result in Jesus’ death!!

Jesus then arose as the soldiers, the Chief Priests and elders approached Him – headed by JUDAS.

2. DROP BY DROP -  RELIGIOUS TRIAL AT THE SANHEDRIN  -  HIS FACE

“Friend . . . . .  why have you come?”  “Friend?” – Remember Jesus’s words later on – “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Jesus was bound and taken to the Sanhedrin, and tried in a Jewish Court. It took place during midnight and three o’clock in the morning. After being escorted to Annas, the former High Priest, He was sent back to Caiaphas, Annas’s son-in-law. No one could find a charge against Jesus, and when he said, “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds” (John 18:37), they (1) Spat on Him;  (2) Beat Him with their fists, and (3) Struck Him with their flat hands.

In order to reinforce the fact that blood flowed from Jesus’ face, each lady had a drop of “blood” painted on her fist.

Let us, for a moment, unpack the words “struck Him with their fists”. Most of us have seen the face of a person who has been severely battered in the face: eyes swollen, bruised and closed; blood pouring from nose and mouth; lips punctured by teeth, and swollen; blood pouring from the mouth from teeth that have been loosened or knocked out. Cheeks, chin and forehead badly bruised with broken skin, and ears swollen. But Jesus’ nose and jaw were not broken. Scripture was fulfilled – not one of his bones was broken.

At one stage, on His way to the Cross, Jesus said to the women, “Do not weep . . .” Could Mary, His mother, have remained dry-eyed? And Mary Magdalene and all the other women? How could we not cry for this perfect, 33 year-old Man, whose features were so brutally marred!

3.  DROP BY DROP – ROMAN TRIAL  –  HIS BACK

Jesus was then taken bound to Pilate, to the Praetorium, the Roman Military Headquarters, early in the morning, around six o’clock. Pilate could find no fault with Jesus, but in order to please the Jews, he granted that Jesus be handed over to the Jews, and ordered that He be scourged.

The Scripture does not go into detail as to what scourging entails.

The “offender”, usually a trader or a slave was stripped naked. His wrists were tied high up to a wall or a wooden post, to pull the skin taut. It was the worst punishment that the Roman soldiers could inflict on a human being. Scourging consisted of thirty-nine lashes, using a whip with nine tails, and tied to each end of the tails, was secured a piece of metal and bone from sheep or cattle. The whip was about 7 feet long, tied to a wooden handle. With the flip of the wrist, the burly Roman soldiers would deliver their blows that would then cut into the skin, the metal and bone would then shred and catch pieces of muscle, that would draw them through the gashes. The criminal would be whipped starting from the top of the arms, down his back, over his buttocks, and down his legs to his calves. Internal organs, including the kidneys, were exposed with severe lashing. This is what Jesus suffered!

Many people died as a result of the lashing. Jesus did not – no one could take His life from Him. Once again, the cold night air, was probably responsible for the blood vessels being constricted, preventing death by means of hemorrhage.

4.  DROP BY DROP  -  HIS HEAD

Jesus was mocked by the soldiers who placed a CROWN OF THORNS on His head. The thorns in Israel are about one-and-a-half  to two inches in length, and are extremely sharp. The crown was placed with force on His dear head, in order that the thorns would pierce through His vascular scalp, and through to the outer, dense, boney layer of His skull. The soldiers then took a reed, the thickness of a broom handle, and beat the thorns into His head.

“SO HIS VISAGE WAS MARRED MORE THAN ANY MAN.” (Isaiah 52:14) Jesus no longer looked like a human being, and people stared at him with astonishment.

Did SIMON OF CYRENE, appear on the scene by accident? No, this man was passing from Africa, through Jerusalem to his destination, and God chose that man to bear Jesus’ cross for Him. Simon had two sons, Alexander and Rufus, and theologians believe that this man, Simon, accepted Jesus as his Savior. Later in Romans we discover that a certain RUFUS was one of Paul’s faithful men. “greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord.” (Romans 16:13)

Say, Christian, did you accept Jesus by chance? Did you surprise God by being enlisted as a follower of His dear Son? As was the case with Simon, God orchestrated the very year, month, day, hour and second that you and I would accept His Son, Jesus, as our Savior. How we aught to praise God for our eternal salvation! We will never have to face a lost eternity in hell. Why? Because Jesus suffered:

(1) Hematidrosis in the Garden of Gethsemane – “DROP BY DROP”!

(2)  A traumatic and injurious beating to His precious face which caused Him to

       lose blood “DROP BY DROP”!

(3)  Scourging and life-threatening lacerations, losing more blood “DROP BY DROP”

(4)  Excruciatingly painful piercing by cruel thorns, which caused blood loss “DROP

       BY DROP”.

(5)  And there was still more  . . . . . . .  refer to Part 2 of this account of Jesus’

       suffering and loss of blood “DROP BY DROP”.

“FOR US?       Yes, He did it for us. He paid the price for our sin with His blood – “DROP BY DROP”, so that we might go free!

See Part 2 of “DROP BY DROP”  -  EASTER 2011