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Did Jesus ever get sick?

Philippians 2:6-8

6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.


There are notable scholars on both sides of this equation. Some believe the answer is no, Jesus never got sick. There are many reasons behind this view. First, Jesus came into contact with many, many sick people, but we do not hear about Him catching any diseases they had. Instead, they were subject to His healing and cleansing power. Next, many believe that since Jesus did not inherit a sin nature, He could not have gotten sick, either. Moreover, He had to be the sacrifice without defect. Would sickness be considered a defect? Their answer is yes, probably.

Others answer yes, Jesus did get sick. However, this would be due to the sinful world around Him, not any sin that He inherited or practiced. When Jesus came to this world, He humbled Himself to do it (Philippians 2:7-8). That means, being fully God, but also fully human, He willingly subjected Himself to the human condition. He got tired (John 4:6), hungry (Luke 4:2), thirsty (John 19:28) slept (Mark 4:38). Plus, He was tempted in every way that we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15). If He was subject to the physical conditions of humans, being human, it seems logical to say that He got sick.

In my research this week, theologians on both sides spoke about how the Bible does not say, definitively, if Jesus ever got sick or not. It is interesting that no one that I read mentioned that Jesus experienced hematidrosis. According to WebMD, it is a rare medical condition that causes a person to sweat blood due to periods of intense distress or trauma. Medical professionals believe it could be related to the body's "fight or flight" response. Apparently, tiny blood vessels in the skin burst. The blood inside them gets squeezed out through the sweat glands. I believed it happened to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, before He went to the cross (Luke 22:44). 

Although Luke tells us Jesus' sweat was like blood dropping to the ground, it is interesting that he didn’t just say His sweat was dropping to the ground. Why did he say like blood? I would say, probably because there was a crimson tint to it, or because it was more thick than usual. It is also interesting that the only gospel writer to mention it was Luke, who was himself a medical professional.

If this can convince some that Jesus did get sick, it wouldn’t mean He wasn’t God. It would just mean that He willingly subjected Himself to what we went through. He came as a human and was “all in,” as it were. 

In the grand scheme of things, your decision on this topic doesn’t affect your salvation or spiritual growth. These things should be fun and certainly not cause dissention. The point would be that Jesus loved (and still does) us enough to go to the cross in the first place. He didn’t have to, but He went through with it anyway because of His love for us. I hope you never doubt that Jesus loves you more than you can imagine.


Luke 22:44

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.