If it had been anyone else he could have been convinced it was a joke. He'd have seen the funny side eventually.
Jaina's buddy the archangel put Sam through some of the worst experiences of his life, and he does it for kicks. I mean honestly, if I was a worse person I'd find a way to hand him over to Lucifer just for that. There might even be a little bow involved.
I think people are over reacting. But Sam and Dean. They're not. And if Gabriel dies over this a lot of us won't shed a damn tear.