Depression: Elijah to Jesus to Paul

1

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE…?

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19:3-9

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION:

Prolonged sadness or unexplained crying spells

Significant changes in appetite and sleep patterns

Irritability, anger, worry, agitation, anxiety

Pessimism, indifference

Loss of energy, persistent lethargy

Feelings of guilt, worthlessness

Inability to concentrate, indecisiveness

Inability to take pleasure in former interests, social withdrawal

Unexplained aches and pains

Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

They say if you have five or more of these symptoms then you have clinical depression. It appears Elijah had changes in his sleep and eating patterns, was pessimistic, lethargic, anxious, feeling worthlessness and having thoughts of death. He certainly went into social withdrawal. 

I wasn’t online in almost a month before I wrote this essay. I haven't entered updates on Facebook and certainly haven't tweeted on Twitter. I even avoided church or socializing with people. I was considering closing down my blog. I had retreated to a cave.

It took me a while to realize that I was depressed. I should have recognized it immediately. After all I have dealt with the symptoms most of my life. My wife was diagnosed as a manic-depressant, what they now call Bipolar Disease, many years ago.

But I have never been prone to depression. I am an optimist. I’m one of those people other’s love to hate, a guy who wakes up early and happy about it. It’s not I never get down.  Long gloomy days can sap my energy and there were periods in my life when bad things knocked me down.

This time was different. There was a spate of rainy weather that didn’t help, but nothing one could point to as “seriously bad”, although I am currently in a perfect storm of unsettling changes.

It made me wonder, did Jesus get depressed? I decided to research this.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Matthew 26:36-38

I found several essays and sermons claiming that Jesus had suffered from depression and they all cited this passage from Matthew 26. Does this show that Jesus was depressed?

Jesus was both human and Devine. As a human, I believe he experienced the emotions we all feel as well as the temptations, hurts, joys and all that is human...except depression. I do not believe Jesus was ever depressed. Sorrow, even deep sorrow, is not synonymous with depression. Heart-retching sadness could key a bout of depression, but doesn't always. The passage quoted is the night of His arrest, the eve of His Passion. He has gone to a quiet, private place to pray. He took three Apostles with Him, but left them on the perimeter so he could pray alone. He told them he was deeply troubled and asked them to keep watch. But other than an expression of this sorrow, I don't see the signs of depression here.  Let's see the whole event as told in Matthew.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 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 it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" Matthew 26:36-46

Look again at the nine symptoms of depression. The test is if you can apply five or more of these to a person, then they are in depression. Can you find five that fit the description here? I can't find one.

He certainly isn't indifferent or lethargic. He doesn't show feeling of guilt or worthlessness. Is he indecisive? No. He went off alone to pray, but is hardly in social withdrawal since he keeps returning to speak to the Disciples. Certainly he had thoughts of death, but that was His purpose. At the end of the passage He is alert and ready to go. 

But there is something here that gives us the reason why Jesus never suffered depression. His focus is on the will of God. 

Now I am the last person who'd claim depression is because someone is out of the will of God. My wife, remember, has suffered greatly in her life because of a chemical imbalance in her brain which throws her moods into turmoil. There are clinical reasons for depression.

In my case I don't have such an imbalance. I am like Elijah. I took my eyes off God and looked at self. I took too much on myself, felt overwhelmed by it and headed in a desert and ended up in a cave.

Being Christian does not bring us life without troubles and sorrow. It is not wrong to feel sad. We are still flesh and blood in this world and it is possible to fall into depression. We find people in Scripture who were caught in the cave of depression.

 I needed only to look to the title of my Blog to be reminded of one such person.

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? 
Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"

 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

Why are you downcast, O my soul? 
Why so disturbed within me? 
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:8-11

 There is the way out of depression, putting hope in God. Pray this is where I am at and that I have taken steps out of my cave into the guiding light of the Lord.

We need to set aside our own voice and listen so we can hear God ask, "What are you doing here?" Then we can move on down His path.

2

DID JESUS BECOME DEPRESSED?

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrew 4 :14-16 (NIV)

Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. Hebrews 4:14-16 (The Message)

QUESTIONS ASKED:

1. Is depression a sin?

2. Is it just an emotional slump?

3. [Are] emotional situations sin? 

Before trying to give any answer I need to define depression.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health there is not a simple definition of depression, but are several flavors, none particularly tasty:

Major depressive disorder, also called major depression, is characterized by a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person's ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once–pleasurable activities. Major depression is disabling and prevents a person from functioning normally. An episode of major depression may occur only once in a person's lifetime, but more often, it recurs throughout a person's life.

Dysthymic disorder, also called dysthymia, is characterized by long–term (two years or longer) but less severe symptoms that may not disable a person but can prevent one from functioning normally or feeling well. People with dysthymia may also experience one or more episodes of major depression during their lifetimes.

Some forms of depressive disorder exhibit slightly different characteristics than those described above, or they may develop under unique circumstances. However, not all scientists agree on how to characterize and define these forms of depression. They include:

Psychotic depression, which occurs when a severe depressive illness is accompanied by some form of psychosis, such as a break with reality, hallucinations, and delusions.

Postpartum depression, which is diagnosed if a new mother develops a major depressive episode within one month after delivery. It is estimated that 10 to 15 percent of women experience postpartum depression after giving birth.₁

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is characterized by the onset of a depressive illness during the winter months, when there is less natural sunlight. The depression generally lifts during spring and summer. SAD may be effectively treated with light therapy, but nearly half of those with SAD do not respond to light therapy alone. Antidepressant medication and psychotherapy can reduce SAD symptoms, either alone or in combination with light therapy.2

Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness, is not as common as major depression or dysthymia. Bipolar disorder is characterized by cycling mood changes-from extreme highs (e.g., mania) to extreme lows (e.g., depression). 

"We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all...", that's the gist of Hebrews 4:15 isn't it? That is to give us assurance that Jesus (God) understands what we experience as humans because He has also experienced it, isn't it? 

So then, did Jesus suffer depression?

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." Mark 14:32-34

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate." Luke 13:34-35

John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Matthew 14:12-13 

It certainly sounds as if Jesus may have known depression. Here he is deeply distressed and overwhelmed with sorrow.  There he is mourning over the fate of Jerusalem. Here he is going off to a solitary place.

But do these things equate to the medical definition of depression? If so, then what do we have as our savior, a man suffering from a mental disorder or a chemical imbalance? If so, which problem did he have? We can immediately rule out postpartum depression. That was easy. It is probably just as easy to rule out Seasonal Affective Disorder. But our other choices aren't very good. 

Critics, skeptics and nonbelievers would choose psychosis, saying Jesus was a man who had broken with reality, seeing hallucinations of descending doves, taunting devils and hovering angels, loss in the delusion he was God. But that's better than the "Jesus was a wise and good man, but..." arguments. If you cannot accept Jesus was God, then you must describe him as a mental case. Assuming Jesus suffered from psychotic depression is as good an excuse to refuse the logical evidence as any.

That leaves bipolar disorder, but I have some first-hand experience with this. My wife was diagnosed as a manic-depressant twenty-five years ago. This was not when she developed bipolar behavior, this was when we discovered what the problem was and it explained a lot. It took a while longer for her to accept this and take any medication, but when she did it make all the difference. There is nothing in the life of Christ that qualifies for those kind of manic periods or depressive periods that go with bipolar.

We see nothing in the ministry of Jesus where he is not completely in control of the situation. So what about those instances sited where Jesus seemed to exhibit possible depression?

John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Matthew 14:12-13 

What is the circumstance here? John the Baptist has been beheaded by Herod. John's followers, after burying John, come and tell Jesus, who goes off in a boat to a solitary place. Is there anything outside of normal behavior here? Did he go off to grieve? Perhaps he went to pray. Whatever the reason he hardly was withdrawing from society or became incapable of functioning. What happened immediately after his withdraw? Crowds began flocking to where he went. Did he tell them to "go away, leave me alone"? No, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. We don't have a man feeling sorry for him self, a man going into a shell.  We have a man who is concerned for others and serving them.

And as he is doing this, his disciples come. Where did they come from? They had been out going through the countryside spreading the news and were now reporting back. They told him everything they had done and seen, but so many people kept coming and going they couldn't rest or eat. Jesus then tells them to get in the boat and they go to another solitary place. Is this so Jesus can withdraw into his cave of depression? No, this is to allow his disciples a chance to rest from their journey. They really don't get much rest. People find out where they went and followed until there were 5,000 men plus women and children surrounding them. Jesus then begins teaching the crowd until late in the day and then he feeds this mass using some loaves of bread and a couple fish. (Reference Matthew 14 and Mark 6.)

None of this indicates the behavior of someone suffering deep depression.

 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate."

Jesus had been traveling through the villages preaching salvation. Some one asked if only a few would be saved. He answers that the door is narrow and many who try to enter through it will not be able to. He explains how people will come pleading, but he will answer I don't know where you came from, away with you. He ends by saying, "Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."

At this point, Pharisees (who would have seen themselves as the first) told Jesus to go elsewhere, that Herod wanted to kill Him.

He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

Jesus is stating his purpose firmly. There is decisiveness in this statement. There is certainly compassion and sadness, but no sign of self-pity. I see no signs of depression, no irritability, anger, worry, agitation, anxiety, pessimism, indifference, loss of energy, persistent lethargy, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, inability to concentrate or indecisiveness.

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." Mark 14:32-34

This seems the strongest argument for Jesus ever being depressed. Those are strong negatives: distressed, troubled, and overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Jesus is on the eve of his torture and death. He knows what lies ahead and he knows why. When we face trials in our lives, even though they are far below what Jesus was about to go through, we feel distressed, fear, even sorrow. Still, there is nothing what follows that would point toward any medical definition of depression.

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" Mark 14:35-42

First, he doesn't go a bit further into the garden to hide. Again, he is not entering a cave. He goes to pray and his focus is not on himself, no why me, but on doing God's will. He keeps returning to his sleeping disciples and he expresses concern for them, with perhaps a little disappointment.

Then a-sudden Judas and the soldiers appear to betray and arrest him. When this happens, we see Jesus taking complete control of the situation. This is not the behavior of someone in depression.

Here is the Merriam-Webster definition of depression. "(1): a state of feeling sad: dejection (2): a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies -- Merriam-Webster

I do not believe Jesus ever suffered a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder called depression. But there is another definition: a state of feeling sad: dejection.

This is an emotional reaction to events in life. Jesus felt sad about the death of John the Baptist. He felt sorrow for those who were lost in this world. He felt dejection about those who reject his sacrifice.  In other words, like all of we humans, he experiences down moments.  We may say I'm depressed, but this is a perfectly normal human reaction and short-lived. We get over it and go about the business of living. We quickly control our depressed feeling and don't let our feelings interfere with what we do.  I see no indication anywhere that Jesus ever let His feeling interfere with his purpose, anywhere that emotions caused him to not control the situation.

We still haven't answered the question if depression, either clinical or emotional, is a sin, have we?  Be patient and don't let the wait get you depressed.

Illustration: "Gethsemane" by James C. Christensen

3

I’D BE REALLY DEPRESSED IF DEPRESSION IS A SIN

Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven."  And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes." Matthew 9:1-2 (NASV)

The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out. John 9:30-34 (NIV)

There was a time in the late 'sixties and early 'seventies when I was a Hippie. I lived in an apartment in Philadelphia, doing free-lance writing and hanging about on the streets a lot with other Hippies. There was a woman of indeterminate age who wandered the same streets. She was worn around the edges, unkempt if you wish, and walked with an odd waddle, occasionally talking to no one visible and making odd quacking sounds. If you got near enough to overhear her conversation you would hear one side of an argument interlaced with curses.

We called her the "Duck Lady".

Would you like to judge this woman? Was she deranged? Was she ill? Was she sinning with her curses? Was she sick because she sinned?

Now let's think about the quotes that opened this post. Jesus did a lot of healing of afflicted people during His ministry. Those quotes are two of them.

The first concerns a paralyzed man who was brought to Jesus by friends. Obviously these friends brought the man in faith that Jesus would cure him. But does Jesus say, "get up and walk." No, He says something completely out of left field, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven".

Does this mean the man is a sinner because he is a paralytic or is he a paralytic because he sinned? Is it that his disease is heavy with sin that Jesus says what he said?

There were some high-minded religious folk nearby, Scribes, who got all bend out of shape by this. "This fellow blasphemes."

And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home."

And he got up and went home. Matthew 9:4-6

So sin may or may not have had anything to do with the man's condition. That aspect is not being addressed. Jesus said what He said in order to show the paralysis in the hearts of those Scribes that prevented them from seeing the truth in Scripture. Remember these are Scribes, men whose life was the study of Scripture, yet they were paralyzed by tradition and unable to move to the fact the Scriptures had come true before them.

Let's consider another man who was paralyzed, or perhaps just too weak to move. 

A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me."

Jesus said to him, " Get up, pick up your pallet and walk."

Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.  John 5:5-9 (NASB)

There is no mention of sin in this case. Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be well, then told him to get up and walk. And the man did, he picked up his pallet and walked. But here is an important statement following this, "now it was the Sabbath".

And wouldn't you know, there were some high-minded religious people standing near by and they got all bent out of shape because this was done on the Sabbath. (You can go to John 5 to see what happened next.) Jesus did this on the Sabbath to make another point. Often when Jesus healed it was to provide a lesson about salvation, mercy and right.

But neither of these answer any of our questions about illness nor sin, whether the Duck Woman of Philadelphia was sinning or whether depression is a sin. (I know, I'm such a tease.)

Perhaps the situation of the second quote will help clear the matter up. Here we have a man talking about being cured of blindness and some more high-minded religious Pharisees telling him to shut up. "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!"

Why did they say this? Well, one reason is people believed in those times that afflictions were from sin. So is this an answer? Was this man's blindness the result of sin?

As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. John 9:1-7 (NIV)

Who sinned? Why nobody sinned. Not as it resulted in this man's blindness anyway. This was another one of those lesson cures. Later we have this exchange between Jesus and those high-minded religious folk:

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." John 9:39-41

We haven't exactly answered our questions, but we have established that being ill does not necessary result from sin. So perhaps depression isn't a sin.

However, I will tell you, there are scriptures that tell us sinning can lead to illness. This essay is getting long, so I'm not going to put them here. Check out your Bible, you can find them. I am going to say it leads us to this idea. Illness of itself is not a sin. Illness may have nothing at all to do with sinning. Illness could be the result of sin. Well that really helps, doesn't it? Clears everything up.

Let's revisit the Duck Lady.

What could cause her behavior? There may be many reasons. Here are three possibilities because they all could have symptoms similar to hers; a strange gait when walking, bursts of cursing and making odd sounds. 

She could have an extreme case of Tourette's Syndrome, afflicted with bodily, facial and verbal tics, including coprolalia: exclamations  "of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks" (Tourette Syndrome Association). 

She could be schizophrenic. Quite a number of people you see acting strangely and talking to invisible characters are schizophrenic.

She could have syphilis. 

I don't think we would look at the first two possibilities other than a physical disorder and a mental illness. We would not say such a person is sinning because they themselves are incapable of controlling their behavior.

The third is different. We can say the behavior is not itself sinful because the person's brain has been infected by the bacteria Treponema pallidum.  But syphilis is a STD, a sexually transmitted disease, so it is quite possible it was the result of sin. Not necessarily, of course, a partner could infect a spouse unknowingly or a mother could infect a baby.

I am not saying the Duck lady had any of these conditions, either. I don't know what her affliction was.

But I think we can say this at this point. The medical condition of depression is not a sin, it is a disorder that may or may not be controlled by medical treatment. Now such conditions can have a complicated history in individuals. Depression may be passed on genetically or can be a chemical imbalance. It may result from some other disease the person suffers and that disease may be the result of sin, but it isn't necessarily so.  Hopefully, we can accept that depression as a medical condition is not sin.

Thus far then, we conclude that medical depression is not a sin and Jesus did not suffer from any medical depression.

That still leaves the question, is depression as an emotional state of sadness or dejection a sin?

Illustration: "Despair" by Edvard Munch, 1893-94

4

Paul Gets into the Act: Answering the Big Question

For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. 2 Corinthina 7:5-7

Is depression a sin?  Is it just an emotional slump?

Are emotional situations sin?

Did Jesus become depressed?

This series began as an attempt to answers those questions.

My conclusions so far are these:

1. Depression is defined by the dictionary as -- a.) Medical Condition and b.) Sadness, Dejection.

2. Medically-Defined Depression has various forms that may or may not be treated with medication and/or therapy as any other disorder or disease. Disorders or disease may or may not have resulted from engaging in sin (I.E. - STDs, drunkenness), but are not of themselves sin.

3. If Jesus had suffered from any of the medically defined depressions he would not be committing a sin; however, there is no indication from Jesus' behavior that he had any such disorder. He was always both aware of and in control of the situations surrounding Him; therefore, Jesus never suffered from a depressive disorder.

4. The second form of depression defined as sadness or dejection can be considered an emotional slump. 

5. Since Jesus experienced all the temptations and testing as we do, then I am going to concede that He had occasional emotional slumps where he was sad. He had times of emotional anger, joy, compassion and fear, why would He not have also experiences moments of sadness or dejection?  These moment seem to have been just that, though, moments. There is no prolonged periods and no pronounced symptoms of clinical depression.

If Jesus did have non-medical depression we are still left with a question? Is this form of depression sin?  We could be flip and say because Scripture tells us Jesus was without sin such depression cannot be sin. That won't satisfy inquiring minds.

I have heard it said by ministers that worry is a sin. They quote Matthew 6:25-34:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

But is depression and worry synonymous? 

"This study examined the strength and specificity of the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and worry with regards to depression in a nonclinical sample. The hypotheses were the following: (1) IU would be more highly and specifically related to worry than to depression; and (2) worry would be more highly and specifically related to IU than to dysfunctional attitudes (a cognitive process involved in depression). Two-hundred and forty (240) undergraduate students completed self-report questionnaires that assessed worry, intolerance of uncertainty, depression, and dysfunctional attitudes. Both hypotheses were confirmed: IU was more highly (although not significantly) and specifically related to worry than to depression; and worry was more highly and specifically related to IU than to dysfunctional attitudes. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and clinical implications." --  Dugas, Schwartz & Francis, Cognitive Therapy and Research Journal, Vol. 28, No. 6, December 2004

What this study boiled down to is that worry and depression are not the same thing. We worry because we are intolerant to uncertainty. Is my job in danger? Can I pay the rent? Depression is not as related to uncertainty as to events beyond our control. I lost my job and I can't pay my rent. (I realize I am simplifying, but this is essentially the case. The depression I have been suffering through did not involve worrying. It was the result of several events beyond my control occurring at the same time. 

Now you may ask, I said Jesus was aware and in control of all the situations surrounding Him, so am I saying now he never had an emotional slump for the same reason?

No, because there are situations where we, and He, did not have control because the event was not directly surrounding Him. John the Baptist's beheading was such a situation beyond His control. A friend dies or is killed we feel sad and we mourn, we have a moment of depression. Yet we had no control over the death of the friend. A disciple who has been with you and heard everything you have taught and seen all you have done, yet indicates a non-belief or just doesn't get it, can cause a feeling of dejection. We have no control over the ability of our friend to understand or grasp the truth.

In the quote, which began this post, we have Paul admitting that hardships had made himself, and those traveling with him, downcast. Here is an admission of depression caused by events out of the complete control of Paul. It isn't a sin, it's an emotional reaction to being through hardships and loss. But they are comforted and raised out of this mood by God and by the coming of Titus. They have moved through the storm, so to speak, and the change in the situation has ended any low feelings they had.

In fact, the emotional slump has been replaced by joy, and then Paul states this joy is made greater because of the Corinthians' deep sorrow.

What an odd thing to say, that you are joyful because of someone else's depression. But I see a lesson here that applies to these periods of emotional depression; a lesson and a hope.

 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this we are encouraged. 2 Corinthians 7:8-13

 We see here that depression can lead to repentance and salvation, as it did for me after the deep depression of losing our seventh child. I also see that depression can be like a slap up-side the head, something that wakes one up to seek control over the forces that have led to the depression. However, I see a warning here as well. There is worldly sorrow and that is when depression sinks to a point of no hope and the person gives up. This is not only the idea of suicide, but the idea that a person has no salvation because it is a depression where the person has turned completely away from God.

Jesus probably had moments of emotional despair, but He never loss sight of the Father or the Father's will in those moments. Emotional depression is part of the human condition and during this time of His ministry, he was human. We as humans may go through many of these slumps in our life, but this is not a sin. But it is a dangerous time if we lose sight of God. We Christians need to pray earnestly for anyone who slips into a depression and we need to be available to them, to help them, to raise them back up.

You begin being raised back up when you regain control over the direction of your life. Notice from Paul's statements how the Corinthians did take control over the aspects of their lives that had been a problem for them. Sometimes depression makes us realize we must make choices and changes that are difficult to make, but if we don't make the effort, we will not gain control and we will not escape our depression.