Re: Sweating Blood. I would like to ask a follow-up question regarding Luke 22:44, which describes Jesus’ prayer on the mount of Olives before His crucifixion. Does the verse actually say that Jesus sweated blood? I’m not questioning whether it’s possible, but doesn’t the scripture say that His sweat was “like” or “as” great drops of blood? Wouldn’t it be more likely that Luke 22:44 was simply using the phrase “as great drops of blood” to emphasize the agony that Jesus was experiencing?
Luke 22:44 reads, And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. In my opinion, the only reason to compare the Lord’s perspiration to “great drops of blood” would be if it had that appearance. That would only be possible if His perspiration contained some blood as well. Had Luke said the Lord was sweating blood, it would mean blood and nothing else. But since he said it was like drops of blood, I think it’s reasonable to conclude there was enough blood in the perspiration to give it the appearance of blood. This would satisfy both the intent of the original language and the definition of hematohidrosis, as the condition is known in medical terms.