Bible Dictionaries
Struggles of Soul

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Stripes

Next Entry
Stumble, Stumbling-Block

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

STRUGGLES OF SOUL.—The Gospels use varied language in describing the conflicting emotions of Jesus. At the grave of Lazarus He groaned in the spirit or in Himself (John 11:33; John 11:38, Gr. ἑνεβριμήσατο and ἐμβριμώμενος, from ἐμβριμάομαι to snort in, to be very angry, to be moved with indignation, Mark 14:5; sternly to charge, Matthew 9:30, Mark 1:43); He was disturbed inwardly by pity for the mourners, by grief at their hopeless view of death, and by disappointment at their lack of trust in Him. His feeling found expression in tears (Mark 1:35). When restoring hearing and speech by the unusual means of putting His hands in the ears and touching the tongue, prayer, and the word ‘Ephphatha,’ He sighed (ἐστέναξεν, Mark 7:34). Unbelief either in the sufferer or in the multitude seems to have been felt by Jesus as a hindrance to the cure, to which His pity moved Him (cf. Matthew 13:58). Soon after, when asked for a sign, He ‘sighed deeply in spirit’ (ἀναστενάξας τῷ πνεύματι, Mark 8:12), distracted by His desire to win the nation and His purpose not to use any illegitimate means (cf. the second temptation, Matthew 4:6). When the Greeks sought an interview with Him, He confessed, ‘Now is my soul troubled’ (τετάρακται, John 12:27); the possibility of finding faith among the Gentiles, and the necessity of His sacrifice on account of Jewish unbelief, were probably the thoughts that so distressed Him. The knowledge that Judas would betray Him troubled Him in spirit (ἐταράχθη τῷ πνεύματι, John 13:21), love, grief, disappointment, indignation struggling together. His emotions in Gethsemane are described in varied phrases by the Evangelists (see Agony). There, as Bengel comments on John 12:27, ‘concurrebat horror mortis et ardor obedientiae.’

Besides these descriptions of the Evangelists, we have other indications of the struggles of soul of Jesus. His prayers on other occasions than Gethsemane were probably strenuous efforts to discover and to submit to the Father’s will. He withdrew for prayer after the first Sabbath of healing in Capernaum (Mark 1:35), after the cleansing of the leper (Luke 5:16), and after dismissing the multitude which He had fed (Mark 6:46). He was prepared by prayer for the choice of the Twelve (Luke 6:12), and for His willing acceptance of death (Luke 9:28). But inward conflict arose also from temptation (see Temptation), for ‘he was in all points tempted even as we are’ (Hebrews 4:15). This experience was not confined to one occasion, for, as Luke (Luke 4:13) states, the tempter ‘departed from him for a season,’ and it is not improbable even that the narratives of the Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13) bring together a series of trials, separated by intervals of time. The language He used shows that He felt as temptations to turn from His Divinely appointed path, His mother’s appeal at Cana (John 2:4), and Peter’s remonstrance at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:23); and even the request of the Greeks for an interview (John 12:27). Gethsemane must also be regarded as a time of temptation (Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38; cf. Luke 22:40; Luke 22:46). His dread of encouraging curiosity or wrong belief by His miracles (John 4:48) came in conflict with His desire to help and comfort; and when the Evangelists call attention to compassion as the motive of His performing a miracle, we may conclude that there had been such a struggle of soul (Matthew 14:14; Matthew 15:32; Matthew 20:34, Mark 1:41, Luke 7:13). So also this feeling of sympathy came in conflict with His desire for rest and privacy (Matthew 9:30, Mark 1:44; Mark 6:31). His conflict with the scribes and Pharisees regarding Sabbath observance, fasting, ceremonial washing, and intercourse with sinners must have distressed His spirit; for He too would need to face the issue—would He follow custom or conscience? We have more distinct evidence of the inward strain felt by Him, because His regard for Jewish prejudice and exclusiveness in relation to the Gentiles, in order that He might not estrange His countrymen, compelled Him to assume an attitude of aloofness to the Gentiles (the Roman centurion, Matthew 8:10; the Syrophœnician mother, Matthew 15:26; the Greeks, John 12:23).

What struggles of soul must have resulted from the thwarting of His love and grace by the misunderstanding or unbelief of His relatives (Mark 3:31-35), His disciples (Matthew 15:17; Matthew 16:9; Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:27), His fellow-townsmen (Mark 6:6), and the Jerusalem which He so loved that He wept over it (Luke 13:34; Luke 19:41)! He strove to turn Judas from his betrayal (John 6:70, Matthew 17:22; Matthew 26:23, John 13:27, Luke 22:48), and to save Peter from his denial (Luke 22:32). His struggle of soul culminated, severe and grievous as it had often been, in the agony and desolation of the Cross, when the beloved Son of God was so made sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) and a curse (Galatians 3:13) for mankind, that in His darkness and loneliness He felt Himself forsaken of God (Matthew 27:46).

Alfred E. Garvie.