I am sure most of us are familiar with these three words used together, “Blood, Sweat, and Tears.” They are simply fluids that the body emits in particular situations. Yet, when used together, they have taken on another meaning in the English language. In modern day usage they imply a huge amount of effort, dedication, and hard work. When someone wants something really badly, or accomplishes something with great effort and sacrifice to themselves, it is said that they put their blood, sweat, and tears into the endeavour, such as an education that earned them a PhD, or an athlete training for the Olympics.
The expression was used by Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, in May 1940 in a wartime speech in which he declared: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” His intention was to warn the British people of the hardships to come in fighting WWII.
Although Churchill has often been said to originate the phrase, it existed centuries before he lived. In 1611 John Donne wrote (First Anniversary), “. . . ‘tis in vaine to dew, or mollifie it [this world] with thy teares, or sweat, or blood.”
Ultimately though, it came from the Bible. A man named Christmas Evans, a Welsh preacher, spoke a sermon in 1837 on the subject. He stated: “Christ the High Priest of our profession, when He laid down His life for us on Calvary, was bathed in His own blood, sweat and tears.” It is said that he knew the Bible by heart and took his choice of words from Luke 22:44 in The King James Bible. “And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:44. Although in this verse, Jesus sweated literal blood, we can definitely say (as the saying indicates), that Jesus put His blood sweat and tears into the salvation of mankind.
Churchill, although not a preacher or Bible Student, borrowing the phrase, “blood, sweat, and tears” for his famous wartime speech, he can be given credit for making it a popular saying in the everyday English language.
The thought for us to seriously consider is that, as Christmas Evans pointed out, Jesus put His blood, sweat and tears into our salvation. That is what it took on His part. Nothing less would suffice. Jesus gave up all His heavenly power to live like us. He was sinless; yet, Jesus fought for our salvation with cries and tears, discouragement, and exhaustion. Tears of grief, betrayal and heartache. It was in Gethsemane that Jesus was wrestling with the greatest decision of His earthly journey. He was deciding whether to go to the cross or not. Every aspect of His humanity was crying out against submitting to this awful ordeal. Yet, He decided to submit to His Father’s will—for you and for me. It is impossible for finite man to comprehend the intensity of His anguish as He bore the weight of the sins of the world. Never forget this struggle.
sweat and tears into obtaining salvation. Why? Is it fair? He asks, not in a selfish manner such as, “Misery loves company.” Or. “I suffered to provide this opportunity for you so now you have to suffer also to make it.” No, that is far from the God we serve. He died to spare us any more suffering than is necessary. So why are we being expected to put our blood, sweat, and tears into our salvation?
Some Christians leave all the sorrow, suffering, blood, sweat, and tears to Jesus. They feel He has done all the suffering and sacrificing for them and their sin, and now they can drift into heaven. All they have to do is to claim to believe in, and to love, Jesus. They sing His praises, but they make no effort to change their lives or to help others. They believe there should be no suffering on their part. They think that they need make no effort because Jesus will change their character when He comes. While it is true that we cannot atone for our sins in the least by our actions, yet we are told, “We are to do all that we can do on our part to fight the good fight of faith. We are to wrestle, to labor, to strive, to agonize to enter in at the strait gate. We are to set the Lord ever before us. With clean hands, with pure hearts, we are to seek to honor God in all our ways. Help has been provided for us in Him who is mighty to save. . . The true worker will have divine power to aid him, but the idler will not be sustained by the Spirit of God.” –Faith and Works, p. 48
“The work of gaining salvation is one of copartnership, a joint operation. There is to be co-operation between God and the repentant sinner. This is necessary for the formation of right principles in the character. Man is to make earnest efforts to overcome that which hinders him from attaining to perfection. But he is wholly dependent upon God for success. Human effort of itself is not sufficient. Without the aid of divine power it avails nothing. God works and man works. Resistance of temptation must come from man, who must draw his power from God. On the one side there is infinite wisdom, compassion, and power; on the other, weakness, sinfulness, absolute helplessness.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 482
There are definite spiritual lessons to be learned from these three elements. Blood represents life. The shedding of blood results from a physical injury. Sweat reflects that for which you are willing to work, a result of physical exertion. Tears are an emotional response in an extreme situation such as overwhelming stress or joy. Let us look at each one of the elements separately.
Blood
Blood is associated with injury. It can be a minor wound that needs a little band-aid, or a major wound, that needs stiches. It can be a surgical wound—hurt to heal. “I wound, and I heal.” Deuteronomy 32:39. “For He maketh sore, and bindeth up: He woundeth, and His hands make whole.” Job 5:18. Or it can be a fatal wound leading to death. It took a fatal wound to the Son of God, to obtain salvation for you.
Christianity is built upon the fact that we have a Saviour who shed His blood on the cross so that you and I can have eternal life. The ceremonial laws in the Jewish nation, in the Old Testament, included many animal sacrifices. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11. Blood holds a high place in the plan of salvation. The blood of Christ is repeatedly described as the vital element in redemption. Remove the doctrine of the blood and blood atonement from the Bible and we are left without a Saviour. By His death Christ paid the penalty and satisfied the claims of the law. Jesus sweat great drops of blood, showing the extreme struggle and stress He was going through for your salvation.
We read, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22. Whose blood? Yes, Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all sin; however, for us to be saved, we must follow Jesus to Calvary. Paul wrote, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. It requires our blood also in that our old nature must be crucified with Christ—killed.
In addressing the struggle against sin, the Apostle Paul stated that “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:4. You must resist, as did Jesus, unto blood if that is what it takes. You must resist the enemy even if you sweat blood, or are wounded—wounded unto death. Still resist. The martyrs in ages past, resisted unto death.
Blood is shed when a physical injury occurs. “And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee
for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:30. Jesus uses figurative language here. A fox may gnaw off its paw if held in a trap in order to escape. A lizard will sacrifice his tail, or a crab its claw. However, no person in their sane mind would wilfully injure themselves unless in an extreme situation. “To prevent disease from spreading to the body and destroying life, a man would submit to part even with his right hand. Much more should he be willing to surrender that which imperils the life of the soul.” –Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 60. “All our sins must be put away. Every darling indulgence that hinders our religious life must be cut off. The right eye or the right hand must be sacrificed, if it causes us to offend.” –Our High Calling, p. 155
The word “mortify” means to put to death. Blood will flow when someone is killed. This word is used twice in the New Testament. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Romans 8:13. Those who live after the flesh, it is inevitable—they will die. Paul then writes in present tense “do mortify”, which would indicate a continuous process of putting to death. Something has to die. Either our sins die, or we must die. No man can be saved in his sins.
“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5. What are we told to put to death? Paul lists: fornication (sensual desires), uncleanness (moral defilement), inordinate affection (passionate desire), evil concupiscence (evil desire) and covetousness (desire for more). These are all selfish desires. Ask yourself if you still have any of these desires alive in your self? If so, they must be put to death—now.
We are to kill the old man in order to live with Christ. “Those who would rather die than perform a wrong act are the only ones who will be found faithful.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 53
“Again the Son of God was seized with superhuman agony, and fainting and exhausted, He staggered back to the place of His former struggle. His suffering was even greater than before. As the agony of soul came upon Him, ‘His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’ The cypress and palm trees were the silent witnesses of His anguish. From their leafy branches dropped heavy dew upon His stricken form, as if nature wept over its Author wrestling alone with the powers of darkness.” –The Desires of Ages, p. 689
Inanimate nature witnessed the seriousness of Jesus’ agony, while the disciples were sleeping. Are you sleeping? Or are you resisting unto blood—agonizing for your salvation?
Sweat
When do we sweat?
When we have physically exerted ourselves. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” Genesis 3:19. The yoke is a symbol of labour; a symbol of service to make cooperative effort possible. The purpose of the yoke is not to make the burden heavier, but lighter. “You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ, –to bear His burden, to lift His cross.” –Christian Education, p. 118. “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” Lamentations 3:27. This is something that needs to be encouraged and taught to young children. A man is fortunate who has learned this lesson in his youth, then the remainder of his life will be tempered with patience. Then, “the youth may have principles so firm that the most powerful temptations of Satan will not draw them away from their allegiance.” –Maranatha, p. 82. “God calls young men in the vigor and strength of their youth to share with Him self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering.” –Maranatha, p. 121. Every Christian is called to put his/her sweat into the work of the Lord.
When we are scared, anxious or stressed. In this scenario, certain reactions occur in our body, and we may sweat. Some Christians may fear losing salvation due to the recognition of their sinful nature. To these Jesus says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30. “In these words Christ is speaking to every human being. Whether they know it or not, all are weary and heavy-laden. All are weighed down with burdens that only Christ can remove. The heaviest burden that we bear is the burden of sin. If we were left to bear this burden, it would crush us. But the Sinless One has taken our place. ‘The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ Isaiah 53:6. He has borne the burden of our guilt. He will take the load from our weary shoulders. He will give us rest.
The burden of care and sorrow also He will bear. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him; for He carries us upon His heart.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 328–329
When we are sick with a fever. The spiritual condition of the natural man is very sickly, “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” Isaiah 1:6
Sin causes sickness—spiritual sickness. When we are sick it is natural to search for a remedy. There is only one remedy for sin and Jesus is wanting to discuss it with you. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18. In this promise the worst of sinners can find comfort and healing. With the help of God, any and all sinners, regardless of how guilty, may obtain purity, holiness and complete mastery over every besetment. Solomon wrote: “Whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. “No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin.” –Conflict and Courage, p. 302
Sometimes the sweat can be good. A fever will kill the pathogens (enemy), cleansing the soul.
The Lord allows sickness sometimes in order to keep a person humble. Paul was sick for his salvation. “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” 2 Corinthians 12:7
Of Elisha, the faithful prophet of God, it is written, “Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died.” 2 Kings 13:14
Of Ellen G. White, the prophetess of the end times it is written, “We arrived on the campground Tuesday noon. Wednesday I was stricken with sickness. A burning fever came upon me, and for three days and almost four I was not dressed. The prospect of my laboring looked very dark.” –Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, p. 359. Many times she was sick.
Sickness is not always a punishment from God for our unhealthful life habits. Sometimes, it is a test in the permissive will of God to keep one humble who would otherwise be prone to be proud.
Jesus sweat great drops of blood in extreme agony. As time gets closer to the end, the enemy will become more angry and aggressive towards God’s faithful children. During the time of Jacob’s Trouble, God’s faithful children will be found agonizing in prayer. They will possibly be sweating in agony also.
Tears
“Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” Psalm 56:8. We all have shed tears at one point or another in our lives, whether tears of sorrow or tears of joy. Jesus has a very tender regard for the sorrows of man and makes note of every tear that you shed.
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35. Yes, Jesus wept. This word in Greek (dakruo) used here literally means to “shed tears.” What was the scenario? He wept when he came to the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Lazarus had just died and Jesus was sad when He saw all the people weeping and wailing. His humanity was touched with human sorrow, and He wept with the sorrowing, not because Lazarus had died, but because of the people’s expressions of sorrow. He knew that Lazarus would be raised up shortly.
Jesus did not weep for Himself in a pitying fashion as many do today, “poor me”. In fact, on the way to Calvary, He told the weeping women, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Luke 23:28. Jesus did not disdain their sympathy, but He was looking ahead to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. when many would perish at the hands of the heathen.
We often weep for ourselves. “We are to grow daily in spiritual loveliness. We shall fail often in our efforts to copy the divine pattern. We shall often have to bow down to weep at the feet of Jesus, because of our shortcomings and mistakes; but we are not to be discouraged; we are to pray more fervently, believe more fully, and try again with more steadfastness to grow into the likeness of our Lord. As we distrust our own power, we shall trust the power of our Redeemer, and render praise to God, who is the health of our countenance, and our God.” –God’s Amazing Grace, p. 302
“The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. He is touched by our sorrows, and even the utterance of them moves His great heart of infinite love. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read, no perplexity too complicated for Him to unravel. Our Heavenly Father is not unobserving; He sees our tears, He marks our sighs, He notes our joys and sorrows. ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.’” –The Bible Echo, February 1, 1893
We weep for help during our trials and difficulties, but do we weep because our sins caused the death of Jesus? Do we weep because each time we sin we, “crucify . . . the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame?” Hebrews 6:6. We hurt the one who loves us the most. This should be a definite cause for weeping on our part.
Yet we are called to be happy. “As Christians we ought to praise God more than we do. We ought to bring more of the brightness of His love into our lives. . . .
“The Lord is not pleased to have His people a band of mourners. He wants them to repent of their sins, that they may enjoy the liberty of the sons of God. Then they will be filled with the praises of God, and will be a blessing to others. ” –In Heavenly Places, p. 94
The redeemed will cry tears of joy when they see Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven to take them away from the curse of this wretched world in which we live. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Revelation 21:4
“The yoke [sweat] and the cross [blood] are symbols representing the same thing–the giving up of the will to God. Wearing the yoke unites finite man in companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God. Lifting the cross cuts away self from the soul, and places man where he learns how to bear Christ’s burdens. We cannot follow Christ without wearing His yoke, without lifting the cross and bearing it after Him. If our will is not in accord with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give up our darling desires, and step in Christ’s footsteps.” –Our High Calling, p. 100
You must put your blood, sweat, and tears into your salvation. “In one way we are thrown upon our own energies; we are to strive earnestly to be zealous and to repent, to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts from every defilement; we are to reach the highest standard, believing that God will help us in our efforts. We must seek if we would find, and seek in faith; we must knock, that the door may be opened unto us. The Bible teaches that everything regarding our salvation depends upon our own course of action. If we perish, the responsibility will rest wholly upon ourselves. If provision has been made, and if we accept God’s terms, we may lay hold on eternal life. We must come to Christ in faith, we must be diligent to make our calling and election sure.” –Faith and Works, p. 48. “We are on the great battlefield of life, and let it never be forgotten that we are individually responsible for the issue of the struggle.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 337–338. “The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is, they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols.” –Messages to Young People, p. 118
Praise the Lord, we have a Redeemer who is by our side to help us every step of the way. “The forgiveness of sin is promised to him who repents and believes; the crown of life will be the reward of him who is faithful to the end.” –Faith and Works, p. 48–49
“Are we willing to welcome the Holy Spirit’s aid, and co-operate with it, putting forth efforts and making sacrifices proportionate to the value of the object to be obtained?” –The Review and Herald, February. 10, 1903. “God wishes us to have the mastery over ourselves. But He cannot help us without our consent and co-operation. The divine Spirit works through the powers and faculties given to man. Of ourselves, we are not able to bring the purposes and desires and inclinations into harmony with the will of God; but if we are ‘willing to be made willing,’ the Saviour will accomplish this for us.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 482–483
“Heaven will be cheap enough if we obtain it through suffering. . . . As I saw what we must be in order to inherit glory, and then saw how much Jesus had suffered to obtain for us so rich an inheritance, I prayed that we might be baptized into Christ’s sufferings, that we might not shrink at trials, but bear them with patience and joy, knowing what Jesus had suffered that we through His poverty and sufferings might be made rich.” –Child Guidance, p. 567. Jesus put His blood, sweat, and tears into your salvation. Are you willing to follow His footsteps by putting your blood, sweat and tears into working out your salvation? Jesus has promised to help you and, throughout eternity, you will never regret that you did. Amen
Wendy Eaton