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"With vehement cries and tears..."

Text: Hebrews 5:7c

PRAYERS ARE MORE THAN BEAUTIFUL WORDS

Prayers can be phrased in beautiful language. They can be deeply moving. But prayers involve much more than well-articulated petitions. The following phrase further describes how Jesus prayed.

“Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up
prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tearsâ?¦”
Hebrews 5:7

1. With vehement cries (“meta krauges ischuras”)

a) The preposition “with” (“meta”) is not without significance.

b) Petition in the form of words were uttered in prayer.

c) But these words were accompanied by “vehement cries”.

d) The word “vehement” may simply be translated by the adjective “strong”.

e) The word “cries” depict a person who speaks out of feelings of painful agony.

f) Jesus felt every word He uttered in prayer:-

i) The desperate cries of the desolate were felt.

ii) The despairing pleas of the hopeless were felt too.

iii) He offered prayers on their behalf as if those prayers were for Himself,

2. And tears (“kai dakruon”)

a) The conjunction “and” (“kai”) must not be dismissed.

b) It joins “vehement cries” with “tears”.

c) Jesus wept for the people He prayed for:-

i) He wept for Jerusalem.

ii) He wept for the unbelief of the multitudes.

d) The ministry of prayer must have been deeply exhausting.

Jesus’ priestly ministry in prayer is truly awe-inspiring!