Usually, when Christians speak of “the cup” we’re talking about the communion cup. I’d like to look at another cup, though, the cup Jesus spoke of in the Garden (Matt. 26:39):
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
I have always just believed He was speaking of the torturous death He was about to face, the scourging and crucifixion, but now I think there’s more to it.
I’m not sure Jesus was terrified of crucifixion. The Bible seems to tell us He wasnt. Look at Mark 10:32-34:
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
Here, Jesus and His disciples are on their way to Jerusalem just before Passion Week. According to the passage, Jesus was fully aware of what was in store for Him. But, note in verse 32 Jesus is ahead of the disciples. He’s not timidly heading for the crucifixion He will face. He’s not hanging back. He was going to Jerusalem ahead of everyone else to pay the price for you and me.
In Hebrews 12:2, we’re told Jesus faced the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. That joy was the result of the sacrifice He offered for our salvation. So, I don’t think a Roman scourging and crucifixion were all that Jesus was speaking of when He speaks of the cup in the garden.
During that same conversation in Mark chapter 10, Jesus tells the disciples they will share in the cup He will drink from:
39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
I believe this cup and baptism speak of His execution, of a martyr’s death. But, I believe there is something else in the cup that was only for Jesus Himself, the wrath of God. In the Old Testament, God’s cup is often a cup of wrath (Isa 51:17)
The effect of God’s wrath can be widespread, even universal (Jer. 25:15 and 51:7). So, that wrath is for all sin universally.
Why do I think God’s wrath is involved? Hab. 1:13a, speaking of God, says, You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong. God cannot look upon evil.
So, in Mark 10, if Jesus is speaking of the cup He is about to drink – and it seems He is – then the portion of the cup the disciples would share is what He just described to them, a martyr’s death. I believe Jesus had a deeper more dreadful portion He needed to face, the breaking of His relationship with the Father.
In the Garden, we’re told Jesus asked for the cup to be taken from Him if possible. He then told the Father His will should be done. It is then that Jesus sweats “great drops of blood”(Luke 22:44). This is a rare condition called hematidrosis and is caused by incredible stress.
On the cross, Jesus says “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). When Jesus took on the sins of the world, past, present, and future, the Father had to turn away from Him and execute His wrath on Jesus. He couldn’t look upon sin, and His response to sin is His wrath. Jesus had never felt separation from the Father before. It was excruciating.
Speaking about this, the Billy Graham organization says this: “But in reality His words point to something far different. They point to the fact that when Jesus died on the cross, all our sins—without exception—were transferred to Him. He was without sin, for He was God in human flesh. But as He died all our sins were placed on Him, and He became the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. And in that moment He was banished from the presence of God, for sin cannot exist in God’s presence. His cry speaks of this truth; He endured the separation from God that you and I deserve.” (https://billygraham.org/story/did-god-abandon-jesus-on-the-cross-billy-graham-answers/)
In an earlier blog post I talked about the fact that God isn’t just loving, He is love personified. God is love (1 John 4:8). So, as with all God’s attributes, God’s love is infinite, Jesus’ love for the Father was and is infinite as well.
Think of the person who you love most. Now think of how you would feel if that person not only turned from you, deserted you, but also brought their wrath fully upon you. In an infinitely greater sense, that is what Jesus felt on the cross, the desertion and fury of God the Father upon Jesus Who carried the sins of us all.
I believe that is the cup Jesus wanted to be removed, desertion of the Father from their close relationship and facing the Father’s anger due to the sin Jesus assumed on our behalf. This was the greater sacrifice.
Why is this important?
I’ve tried to convey how much God loves us by showing how much Jesus, God the Son, sacrificed for you and for me. It wasn’t just taking on the form of a man when He was previously in the form of God. It isn’t even His physical sacrifice for our sins. It is the fact the Father turned from the Son and brought His wrath to bear on the Sin Bearer.
While this wasn’t the purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice, it was the greater Personal consequence of taking our sins upon Himself, and He did it willingly.
That’s how much God loves you.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 