Which sport would you say is the most physically demanding? I suppose it depends on how you understand “demanding”? If you equate “demanding” with “punishing”, then you would probably think of boxing or Mixed Martial Arts. If you equate “demanding” with grueling, then you would probably think of cycling in the Tour de France or running the Western States Endurance race. However, if you understand “demanding” as something that requires every fiber of your being to flex under the strain of the effort leaving you exhausted and gasping for breath, then I am not sure you can find a more demanding sport than wrestling.
Now I am not talking about the carefully choreographed “wrestling” Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Macho Man Randy Savage performed in WrestleMania. Leaping off the top turnbuckle, atomic pile drivers, and hitting each other on the back with folding chairs may be entertaining to little boys and inebriated men, but it is not wrestling. Wrestling, true wrestling is much less entertaining. Wrestling is a compact intermingling of contorted and contracted muscles. Wrestling requires an individual to hold the body weight of two people off the ground with the muscles in their neck. A wrestler’s fingers need to be as strong as their opponent’s biceps. A wrestler’s ankles need to be as strong as their opponent’s leg’s. A typical wrestling match consists of three two-minute periods, but it is a very demanding six minutes. As far as I am concerned there is no sport more physically demanding than wrestling.
In our old testament lesson for today the line between physical wrestling and spiritual wrestling is blurred. In Genesis 32:24 we read, “Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Jacob’s wrestling opponent is here described as “a man”, but by the end of the match we are convinced that this is no ordinary man. This man is able to dislocate Jacob’s hip with a touch of his hand, Jacob asks the man to bless him, this man says Jacob has struggled with God, and at the conclusion of the match Jacob acknowledges that he “saw God face to face”. The man Jacob spent the night wrestling with is none other than the second person of the trinity, often referred to throughout the Old Testament as THE angel of the Lord but more commonly known in the New Testament as Jesus. Jacob spent the night physically and spiritually wrestling with the preincarnate Jesus.
To understand what caused Jacob to do such a thing we need to understand the issue that weighed heavy on Jacob’s heart. You see Jacob was about to be reunited with his brother Esau. If you know anything about the relationship between these two brothers, you will understand why Jacob was, let’s say “apprehensive” to meet his brother Esau. To say these brothers had a sibling rivalry is an understatement. These brothers came out of the womb fighting. Some of the highlights from their tumultuous childhood involve Jacob swindling Esau out of his birthright in exchange for some lentil stew and stealing their father’s blessing by putting on a disguise and pretending to be Esau. Jacob, it turns out is appropriately named. The name Jacob means supplanter, usurper, deceiver and in his dealings with his brother Esau, Jacob was all those things. Esau became so angry with his brother that he threatened to kill him, and Jacob had to run for his life.
Out of the two brothers we like Jacob the best because he is the one the through whom God continues the story of our salvation, but there is no denying as a young man Jacob was a jerk to his brother Esau. So, when God told Jacob to return home and face his brother Esau his heart grew understandably heavy as he got closer to home, even more so when he learned that Esau was on his way to meet his brother with 400 men (that’s the size of a small army). Jacob was so concerned about his brother’s intentions that he divides his family into two groups, reasoning that when his brother Esau attacks one group the other will have time to flee to safety. Jacob is rightfully worried that his brother is out for revenge; Jacob is scared for his life and the lives of his family, that is why Jacob spends the night wrestling with Jesus.
Even if you are not guilty of swindling your siblings out of the family fortune, chances are you have a family issue that is weighing heavy on your heart. Maybe you or someone in your family is sick, dying, or has died and the sadness is crushing you. Maybe there is an old grudge or a new grievance that has wedged itself between you and a family member, and you are not sure how to get past it. Maybe there is abuse or addiction in your family and you don’t know how to deal with it. Maybe the problems in your family stem from the sins of your siblings, or maybe, like Jacob, they are a result of your own sin. Some of you have shared with me the things that are weighing heavy on your heart, but I suspect many others are either too ashamed and embarrassed or too discouraged and cynical to share the burden of their hearts with anyone. But I have yet to meet a person whose heart is not in some way burdened by sin.
Jacob’s heart was burdened so he spent the night wrestling with Jesus. But it is important for us to notice that before the wrestling match began and after the wrestling match was concluded Jacob was actively trying to solve the problem. Jacob wrestles with Jesus with all his heart, the prophet Hosea tells us Jacob “wept” and “begged”[1] during the match, but Jacob does not expect Jesus to miraculously solve his problem. Read the verses before and after our section and you will see Jacob using the mind God gave him and employing the resources God had put at his disposal to provide an opportunity for God to work through natural means. Jacob divides his family into two groups to be prepared for the worst and Jacob sends gifts ahead to his brother as he hopes for the best. Martin Luther went so far as to suggest that the person who does not employ every device and means available to them to solve the problem is tempting God.
In the midst of employing his every available device and means Jacob wrestles with Jesus. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the match is how well Jacob does. In verse 25 we are told “the man saw that he could not overpower him.” This is remarkable when we remember “the man” is Jesus. Jesus could not overpower Jacob! How is it that the second person of the trinity; the all-powerful God who spoke creation into existence, cast the devil and demons from heaven into hell, and commands the wind and the waves where to blow, how is it that Jesus could not overpower a middle-aged Jewish man who is described as a quiet man who preferred to stay among the tents? Well, as the God of omnipotent power Jesus could have easily overpowered Jacob, but as the God of grace Jesus made Himself too weak to overpower a believer whose heart was full of faith.
As the wrestling match between Jesus and Jacob continues we cannot help but also notice how bold Jacob is. In verse 26 Jesus says to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob refused to let Jesus go; instead he demanded a blessing Him. What caused Jacob to be so bold that he would demand a blessing from God?!? Jacob had neither earned nor deserved the right to be blessed by Jesus. Jacob, better than anyone else, knew how unworthy he was of God’s blessing, for his name was, as Jesus so pointedly reminded him, Jacob. He was a man who had sinned against his brother with his lies and deceit. He was a man who deserved to suffer the consequences of his actions here on earth and forever in hell. He was in no position to demand a blessing from Jesus… And yet he does. What would make such a sinner bold enough to demand a blessing from God? Jesus. Jesus had made Jacob so bold. You see prior to this wrestling match Jesus had promised Jacob that “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring”[2]. Jesus had promised to send Jacob a savior from his sin and Jacob clung to that promise. Jacob was bold as he wrestled with Jesus not because he thought he had earned or deserved a blessing, but because Jesus had made him a promise.
Jacob limped away from his wrestling match with Jesus with a renewed sense of confidence. Jacob said, “30… I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Jacob understood more than his physical life was in danger. Yes, he was concerned about what his brother Esau might do to his body, but of greater concern was what his despair could do to his soul. Jacob was the kind of guy who could talk himself out of anything and into everything. All you have to do is read about the time Jacob spent doing business with his uncle Laban and you will get an idea how cleaver and crafty Jacob was. Jacob was a self-reliant person, but then he found himself in a situation that was beyond his control. 400 men were marching his way and there was nothing he could do to stop them. Jacob was near despair, but after spending a night wrestling with Jesus, Jacob had learned to rely on someone else. Jacob threw himself on God’s mercy, he put all his trust all his confidence in “the man” who condescended to wrestle with him and promised to bless him, and in so doing Jacob’s despair was replaced with hope. Jacob still did not know how things were going to work out with his brother Esau, but after spending time wrestling with Jesus, Jacob was at peace.
I may not know what specific burden is weighing heavy on your heart, but whatever it is I encourage you to spend some time wrestling with Jesus. Wrestle with “the man” who made Himself so weak that men and women of faith, such as yourselves, cannot be overpowered by Him. Wrestle with “the man” whose promise of salvation makes you bold enough to ask for His blessing. Wrestle with “the man” who, despite the uncertainty that swirls around you, gives you hope and fills you with peace. When your heart is heavy with the burdens of life, do what Jacob did, wrestle with Jesus. Amen.
[1] Hosea 12:4
[2] Genesis 28:14