One week. Just one week. Sunday to Sunday.
What a whirlwind.
Palm branches waved as the crowds shouted, welcoming Jesus as King as He entered Jerusalem. There was an undeniable stir—people couldn’t get enough of Him. But Jesus knew. He knew this week would be the end of life as He had known it.
As He rode in on that donkey, He knew that the same voices crying “Hosanna” would soon shout something very different. Instead of welcoming Him as King, they would reject Him. And not just reject Him—they would mock Him and torture Him and ultimately kill him.
They dressed Him in a cruel imitation of royalty—a crown of thorns pressed into His skin, a robe of deep royal tones draped across His shoulders, a staff placed in His right hand like a counterfeit scepter. They knelt before Him in twisted reverence, their words dripping with scorn: “All hail, King of the Jews.”
They struck Him.
They spat on Him.
They blindfolded and insulted Him.
How ironic.
The very thing they mocked Him for was true. Jesus was—and is—the King of kings. They meant to ridicule, yet they spoke reality.
A cruel parody that proclaimed truth.
They saw weakness. But can you imagine the strength it took to remain? To endure? To allow it all to unfold? He could have stopped it. He had the authority. He now sits at the right hand of the Father.
And yet He stayed.
For them.
For us.
For a fallen humanity—broken, rebellious, blind.
They were killing Him because He claimed to be God…
and in the greatest irony of all, He would prove it by conquering death.
This Holy Week, my attention was drawn to all four Gospels and the week leading up to the resurrection. As I read, I found myself noticing Jesus’ emotional state and trying to put myself in His shoes.
He overturned the tables of the money changers in righteous anger as He witnessed the selfishness and profit being made in a place meant to be a house of prayer and contrition. What was sacred had been turned into something self-serving—a marketplace of greed.
And He knew.
He knew He would soon become the ultimate Passover Lamb.
As He stood in the temple, seeing the corruption—hearing the noise, watching the exploitation—He called it what it was: “a den of robbers.” But He also knew that He Himself would be the sacrifice that would make a way for true worship to be restored.
Tensions with the religious leaders ramped up to a fever pitch as they tried repeatedly to trap Him, looking for any opportunity to arrest Him. He openly condemned their religiosity and hypocrisy, calling them whitewashed tombs. He did not hold back his contempt for the way they had twisted Scripture and tradition, completely missing the heartbeat of God.
His innermost circle was about to betray Him, fall asleep when He needed them most, deny knowing Him, and scatter.
As I reread the narrative through the lens of each gospel writer, I was struck with the fact that Jesus was emotionally struggling throughout the week. He was fully God, but also fully human. He knew the pain He would endure. Physically tortured, emotionally broken by the fickleness of those He loved, mentally in anguish, and spiritually the sinless one who would take on the sins of the entire world – past, present, and future.
That’s a lot. More than we could ever begin to imagine.
It made me think about my life and when I feel overwhelmed emotionally. The concept of emotional dysregulation has been on my radar this year, not just recognizing it in my life, but also in the lives of the people I interact with. A good definition of emotional dysregulation is when emotions intensely flood the body and it becomes difficult to manage and respond appropriately. When we are dysregulated it can be difficult to reason well or relate to others well.
I became curious about Jesus. He was in the garden just a short time before His arrest, and the Gospels describe His emotional state as anguish and agony. Luke tells us that His sweat was like drops of blood.
Did you know that is a real medical condition caused by extreme stress? Tiny capillaries near the sweat glands can rupture, mixing blood with sweat. Jesus’ emotional intensity literally impacted His body. His body was reacting to sorrow, grief, fear, and the anticipation of carrying the weight of the sin of the world. It’s safe to say He experienced emotional intensity beyond what any other human has endured.
And yet—without sin.
I became inquisitive about how Jesus handled the emotional weight of all that was culminating that Holy Week. It’s safe to say His feelings intensified during those final days. Scripture shows this clearly across all four Gospels.
We catch a glimpse of how He navigated incredibly torrential emotions: He prayed. He healed. He confronted sin. He called out sinners. He answered questions and sometimes remained silent. He invited belief in Him. He ate. He celebrated the Passover, fully aware He was the sacrificial Lamb. He spent time alone. He washed dirty feet. He taught. He told the truth. He shepherded His disciples. He flipped tables. He prophesied. He explained the end times. He predicted His death. He cared deeply for the emotional state of those who would soon disappoint Him.
He sweated blood. He asked the Father to “glorify Your name.” He reminded Himself of His mission. He saw beauty in being anointed with oil. He healed the ear of one of His captors. He carried His cross. He asked His Father to forgive the very people driving the nails into His hands and feet—the same people mocking Him and casting lots for His garments.
Through it all, He modeled perfect humanity—feeling deeply, acting faithfully, loving relentlessly, and never sinning. Truly remarkable.
When I think about the minuscule things that dysregulate me and compare them to the magnitude of what Jesus went through, I’m humbled. I get dysregulated over the potential of trouble running through my head and heart in the form of anxiety. I get worked up about things that aren’t even real.
I can get dysregulated when someone offends me, fails to treat me with the dignity I think I deserve, hurts my feelings, disregards me, or unloads their frustrations onto me.
I sometimes get dysregulated because my hormones are out of balance, because I’m jealous, triggered, or simply mentally overwhelmed.
And yet, Jesus faced real fear, real grief, real betrayal, real pain—and even the weight of the sin of the world—and never once lost His obedience, His love, or His composure before the Father.
I get it… we aren’t Jesus. We are sinners through and through. We will never do life perfectly, but I do believe we can learn from the example of Jesus in how to handle our emotions.
First, Jesus acknowledged and fully felt His emotions. Fully human, He experienced the full gamut—from compassion to anger, from love to frustration, from sorrow to joy. I love that the Bible records this. Jesus was not a robot. He was fully human, and a big part of humanity is feeling emotions.
In the Scriptures, we see that Jesus chooses obedience over giving in to fleshly desires. He intentionally spends time with His Father when He senses the need to refocus His gaze. He asks for God to be glorified through His life. He shares His feelings with people, yet without sinning. He doesn’t bottle them up; instead, He speaks the truth out of a deep love for humanity. Sometimes, He is incredibly confrontational, not mincing words when sin must be addressed sharply. We see Him forgive the unforgiveable.
I’m so thankful for an example of how to manage emotions. I’m grateful that Jesus did not sin so that we can live forever in eternity with Him.
We can bow before the righteous King, clothed in radiant, royal priestly robes, as He sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father, ruling with justice and majesty. There is no mocking His authority. Revelation 19 tells us He is crowned with many crowns. He has defeated death, and King Jesus reigns supreme over all creation. He deserves our true worship and reverence. As Philippians 2:10-11 declares, “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Oh come, let us adore Him… Christ the Lord.
Next Steps: Application
Spiritual Practices
Spend some time in worship. This is such a powerful song. Close your eyes and imagine Him being enthroned above.
Mental and Emotional Practices
Jesus was emotionally regulated even though He experienced intense emotions.
Think back over your last week. Take a piece of paper out and record any intense emotions you may have felt. If you need help putting a name to the emotion, google the “emotion wheel” and read through the words. If any resonate with you, write them down.
What were your actions or reactions to those emotions? Spend some time thinking and praying through the feelings and ask God to show you any actions or reactions that were dysregulated.
Journal and pray through your dysregulation… You may need to confess to God or another person. You may need to release your feelings or situation to God. You may need to come up with a plan for the next time your emotions take you down a path that isn’t honoring to God, yourself, or others. Ask God to lead you as you explore honoring Him with your emotions.
Physical Practices
Grab a mat and lay on your back. Put on some quiet music and intentionally breathe deeply and slowly. Long inhale through your nose. Hold. Long Exhale through your mouth. Hold. Repeat and each time extend your count.
Our breath is the quickest way to regulate.
Relational Practices
Ask God to show you if you have been out of line when you have been dysregulated. Go to that person and have a humble conversation. Tell them you have felt conviction over the way you handled your stress. Ask them questions and really listen. Ask for forgiveness.
This takes courage. This takes humility. This rebuilds relationships.
If you aren’t sure about doing this, imagine someone in your life who has offended you. How would you feel if they came to you and apologized and asked you questions and listened to you? How would you respond to them if they approached you in humility and truly cared about the impact of their emotions on you? If it were me, I’d have a lot of respect for them and I’d be thankful that they valued me.
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