AGONIA

[sami]

(Luke 22:44) "But he was in such AGONY that he kept praying more earnestly; and his sweat became as drops of blood falling to the ground.

Why does the scripture use the word AGONY to describe Jesus inward struggle that produced outward manifestations?

Jesus was suffering what is described in the Koine Greek as, an AGONIA. that is a (heightened) severe mental struggle, anxienty, anguish....it was a personal struggle from the pressure he felt about what he was to suffer on behalf of mankind..... betrayal, severe physical abuse and death as a criminal, in order to reconcile the human race (offspring of Adam) to Jehovah God from whom we had been alienated. Christ's act of love and mercy made us acceptable to Jehovah allowing communication (prayer) through the mediation and reconciliation of Christ's sacrifice.

What was Christ's response to such agony? The scripture informs us of his actions "HE KEPT PRAYING MORE EARNESTLY" This sort of intense prayer is a SUPPLICATION and as we know...ALL SUPPLICATION IS PRAYER BUT NOT ALL PRAYER IS SUPPLICATION.

Jesus supplicated so intensely until his perspiration mixed with blood fell to the ground.
Yes, a mediator that had such intense love for mankind that he was willing to suffer the humiliation of being put to death as a criminal and enduring the most painful and sadistic physical torture in order to reconcile men to God. A perfect and righteous mediator indeed!

 

A mediator is one who interposes between two parties at variance to RECONCILE them; an intercessor; an intermediary agent, or go-between. In the Scriptures the term is applied (ONLY) to Moses and Jesus, the mediators respectively of the Law Covenant and the New Covenant. Galatians 3:19;  THE SCRIPTURE EXCLUDES ANY IDEA OF MEDIATRIX, SAINTS, RELATIVES, ETC.  

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus,"1Timothy 2:5
To reconcile means to bring back into harmony or cause to be friendly again; also to adjust or settle, as in reconciling differences. In Greek, the words related to reconciliation are derived from the verb ALLASSO which, basically, means “change or alter.”Acts 6:14; Galatians 4:20,
The compound form KATALLASSO, while meaning, basically, “exchange,” came to have the meaning “reconcile" Romans 5:10  
In Paul’s letter to the Romans and in several other letters, he uses ka·tal·lasʹso and a·po·ka·tal·lasʹso (an intensified form) in dealing with man’s being reconciled to God by means of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

 

This reconciliation was necessary because an alienation has existed, a separation, a lack of harmony and of friendly relations and more than that, a state of enmity. This came through the first man Adam’s sin and the resultant sinfulness and imperfection inherited by all his descendants. (Romans 5:12; compare Isaiah 43:27.) Paul could therefore say that “the minding of the flesh means enmity with God, for it is not under subjection to the law of God, nor, in fact, can it be [due to its inherited imperfect, sinful nature].

 

 Enmity exists because God’s perfect standards do not allow for his approving or condoning wrongdoing. (Psalm 5:4; 89:14) Of his Son, who reflected his Father’s perfect qualities, it is written: “You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness.” (Hebrews 1:9) Hence, even though “God is love” and even though “God loved the world [of mankind] so much that he gave his only-begotten Son” on mankind’s behalf, the fact remains that mankind as a whole has been in a state of enmity toward God and that God’s love toward the world of mankind was love toward enemies, a love guided by principle (Gr., a·gaʹpe) rather than affection or friendship (Gr., phi·liʹa).  1John 4:16; John 3:16; compare James 4:4.

 

Since God’s standard is one of perfect righteousness, he cannot countenance, or view with favor, sin, which is the violation of his express will. He is “gracious and merciful” and “rich in mercy” (Psalm145:8, 9; Ephesians 2:4); but he does not disregard justice in order to display mercy. As correctly observed in M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia (1894, Vol. VIII, p. 958), the relation between God and sinful man is thus “a legal one, as that of a sovereign, in his judicial capacity, and a criminal who has violated his laws and risen up against his authority, and who is therefore treated as an enemy.” This is the situation into which mankind was brought because of the inheritance of sin from their first father, Adam.