The Weak Christ

In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord, in the midst of His passion, said to his disciples, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death" (Matt. 26:38).

His "soul" (ψυχή). Translations of the New Testament can give the word "soul", "heart", "life", or even "mind" to translate ψυχή.

It recalls to mind the words of the Prophet Isaiah concerning the Christ, He was a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (Isa 53:3).

He did not just take on the weakness of the human body, but also of the human soul. In the Garden, he was not just contemplating the break down of His heart, lungs, and brain. It was also the pain of betrayal, and most of all the weight of bearing our sins.

What great consolation it is to know that our Savior, too, reached the depths of the pain we know in our souls, and not just our bodies?

The consolation is not so that we might be instantly delivered from the pain, but that we might know EXACTLY where to go and what to do with it:

"For we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. LET US therefore come BOLDLY unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb. 4:15-16)

Lastly, it brings to mind the "both"/"and" of Catholicism. We are often familiar with the Strong, Omnipotent, and Glorified Christ who will return to judge the living and the dead. And yet, the Divine Spirit breathed into Scripture the ongoing reliance upon the weak Christ who, for a time, experienced all of our weaknesses.