UN/Broken - Day 30

Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:38-39

In the first-century Greco-Roman world there were particular attributes of the ideal man (Conway, 2015), although it is unclear what percentage of men actualized them. One attribute was mastery, being overall non-men, and having high self-control. Another was achievement, proven in competition with other men. Being masculine was also a moral quality, as being seen as manly was always positive, even when women displayed the characteristic; conversely, being effeminate was always seen as morally negative.

In Gethsemane Jesus being overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death would have appeared to be effeminate, a loss of his manly control, as would asking for the cup to be taken from him. The Greco-Roman ideal was to endure hardship and pain without complaining or giving in (Asikainen, 2018, p. 157-158).

However, it is a powerful demonstration for us, particularly men, that Jesus did not care very much if he broke constraining cultural norms. Jesus showed emotion and did not appear to have achieved very much when he died, neither of which called to mind the essence of manhood. Christian men might be mindful that Godly character development could pull them out of the cultural norm, which is not a problem.

JOURNAL:

• What do you think is the cultural norm for men these days? 
• How should Christian men reflect Jesus’ idea of what masculinity is? 
• How have you had Christian masculinity defined for you?