Sister Nana,
I would have to disagree. Jesus did suffer from anxiety.
Consider the verses in Luke 22:42-44
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.Being in anguish, prayed more earnestly, his sweat was like drops of blood. What are these signs of? Anxiety? Take a close look. This is anxiety. Jesus said, "Father, if you are willing,
take this cup from me;
yet not my will, but yours be done." Why would Jesus say take this cup from me...yet not my will but yours be done? He knows what's going to happen and He knows the great deal of suffering He must bear. Having anxiety has nothing to do with sin nor does being anxious means we are sinning.
You say:
Jesus is God. God made flesh - therefore He was not anxious. To be anxious is to sin. We are anxious because we do not know what to expect. Jesus was fully aware of what He was to face.
The definition of anxiety is: painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an
impending or anticipated ill. You are implying that anxiety is a sin. That is wrong. But I believe what you are thinking is that we have anxiety because we sin. Because we sin there is suffering. And because of this suffering we know what we will face, thus we suffer from anxiety. Revise you conception: JESUS SUFFERED FOR SINS THAT HE DID NOT COMMIT. Here is an illustration. Jesus was beaten by guards. To be beaten you would have had to done something wrong (sin) to have been beaten in the first place. I know with anxiety you are thinking...we are suffering from anxiety because we have sinned in teh first place, thus anxiety is sin. The reason is simple and we all know it. Jesus TOOK the punishment that belonged to all of us. Jesus did not sin. Jesus did suffer from anxiety but He never sinned and never deserved to suffer from anxiety. Jesus did suffer from physical beatings but He never sinned and never deserved to suffer from physical pain. Jesus did suffer from spiritual pain (when He asked why God would forsake him) but He never sinned and never deserved to feel forsaken from God.
Jesus was already suffering for us while he prayed at the Mount of Olives. His suffering was not only physical on the cross, also mental and spiritual. Do we not suffer all from physical, mental and spiritual pains? Then Jesus must have suffered in those ways that are unimaginable. He suffered for ALL sins for all the people that have existed in the beginning of time to the end of time.
Yes, Jesus was God but we cannot equate that to some super human who felt no pain. If Jesus did not suffer then how can that be a genuine sacrifice?
For the verses you pointed out, they are taken into account in the wrong context.
John 10:17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I might take it again.
18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down from Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. I have received this commandment from My Father.
This talks about Jesus's ability to allow himself to die and then rise again. Does not talk about the pain He would suffer. Jesus said, "No one takes it(life) from Me, but I lay it down from Myself" This means that Jesus had the power while he was being beaten, crucified, etc. that He had the power to stop it all! The people thought "Ha, WE killed Jesus" when in fact, it was Jesus who allowed it to happen. Through all that mocking "If you're the son of God why don't you save yourself?," Jesus never ever proved them wrong by taking himself off the cross and escaping death.
Matt 6:34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall be anxious for its own things. Sufficient to the day is the evil of it.
I dont know which bible version you use but mine says: Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Disregarding the semantics, Jesus is not talking about "impeding or anticipating ill" Jesus talks about the anxiety we have over whether we will have clothes or food. Jesus is saying, "God will take care of you because look at the birds they get food; look at the lilies, they're beautiful. Then if we are so much more valuable in God's eye how much more will he take care of us and meet our needs. Being anxious for some tribulation you must face is different. (For instance if you are to be sentenced to death for being a christian.)
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
This is what Jesus would give us. Jesus did not have the luxury or benefit of having another "Jesus" before Him who could provide that peace. No, Jesus had to face a tribulation that no one else could possibly do let alone be worthy enough (without sin).
2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Notice that the book was written after Jesus crucifixation. And notice that after Jesus's death did He give us the Holy Spirit. It was Jesus who gave us that spirit, not a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
This is from the NIV:
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
This fear refers to us. When we feel afraid because we have sinned and are awaiting punishment from God. This is exactly what anxiety is. It then says, "The one who fears is not made perfect in love." This verse may be the core of your post as to why Jesus did not suffer from anxiety and that anxiety would be sin. Again, this is out of context and does not apply to Jesus's sufferings. Look closely at "Fear has to do with punishment." As pointed out earlier, Jesus did not have to fear punishment for sinning because Jesus never sinned! The anxiety He felt did not stem from his own sin but because He was going to do God's will (Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I might take it again.) and suffer the world's sin.
Jesus did suffer from anxiety while he prayed at the Mount of Olives. His sweats were drops of blood, He prayed more earnestly, He was in anguish. For us, we suffer from anxiety for a lot of reasons. (1) We forget Jesus's teachings that God will always provide for our needs so we worry about whether we have enough money or whether we can make it through tomorrow. (2) We sinned and we are awaiting the consequences of our actions (we should remember that 'perfect love drives out fear'). (3) We know that there will be hardships in the future. (4) This is like the 3rd one but the difference is we suffer hardships for the sake of God. We know that there will be hardships ahead of us that we must face because we are servants of God.
This is the anxiety Jesus suffered
(5) I will face tribulations and death on the cross, I will take the punishment for all the sins of this world because I love my Father and I will do His will.
