Bex:

What God out there can claim to have suffered and died such an atrocious death for His people? and then rise again? What God went around healing the sick and raising the dead and giving hope to the poor and wretched? What God can relate to our pains intimately as Christ can? Once I found Christ, there was no other God. He is God.

Jeanie: And even so, what he suffered in Gethsemane - taking on the sins of the world - was probably even worse.... He bled from every pore. Then because of the physical affects of that bleeding which was due to the immense strain no mere human could even endure... taking on all the pain from sin and ALL kinds of suffering of every human being who had or ever would live... Because of this very rare condition of bleeding from every pore (brought on by uncomprehendable stress)... his skin was very delicate and painful already before he was even flogged which made the torture all the more painful and damaging.

I have a paper which was in JAMA by Doctors who researched the physical aspects of what Christ went through.... Its not something I like to dwell on, (it hurts) but necessary to realize. I have a hard time sitting through The Passion of the Christ. But, again, Mel focuses most on the physical suffering and it was actually as hard if not harder actually taking on our sins in the garden.... I don't think His agony was from the dread of what was to come. It was from the agony of taking on all the pain in the world....and THEN dealing with the other traumas. Other people have been crufified and tortured, but on one else has taken on all the pain and suffering of the world - nor could they. (nor could they have withstood it)