The Cup Jesus Drank

In the garden Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me” (Luke 22:42). What cup was He talking about?

Not a cup on a table. Jesus was not holding a cup that night. The cup was a picture. In the Bible, to drink a cup can mean to receive what God has poured out for you, good or hard.

A cup in the Lord's hand. A psalm says, “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down” (Psalm 75:8). It is a picture of God's anger against sin.

What God's anger is like. God's anger is not like a person losing his temper. It is His holy and right answer to sin. Sin spoils His good world and hurts the people He made.

The prophets saw it too. God told Jeremiah, “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it” (Jeremiah 25:15). Jerusalem and Judah drank it first (25:18). Isaiah called to Jerusalem, “You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord The cup of His fury” (Isaiah 51:17).

Whose cup was it? The cup belonged to sinners, and that means all of us. “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Not His cup. Jesus never sinned at all, so the cup was not His. Many Christians see the cup Jesus prayed about as this cup of God's anger, which He would drink in our place.

Why He asked. Jesus knew exactly how terrible the cross would be. That is why He asked if there was any other way. Then He said, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Settled in prayer. Later that same night, Jesus said, “Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” (John 18:11). He had settled it on His knees. He was ready, because He had already said yes to His Father.

At the cross. The next day Jesus took the punishment for our sin. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Then He died, and on the third day He rose again.

Sorrow and love. Now we can understand why Jesus was so full of sorrow in the garden. He was looking at the whole weight of our sin. He went to the cross anyway, because He loved us.

What to do. When you think about Jesus praying in the garden, remember that He was thinking about what He would do for you. Thank Him for it today.

Jesus went to the cross and took God's anger against sin. Because He did, something wonderful is true for everyone who trusts Him.

A promise long ago. God's people had already been punished for their sin. Then God told Jerusalem, “See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it” (Isaiah 51:22). Trembling means shaking with fear.

Even better news. Through Jesus, God makes an even greater promise to everyone who trusts Him. Jesus drank the cup of God's anger at the cross, so they never will.

Saved from anger. “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9). Justified means made right with God. Wrath means God's anger against sin.

Not guilty. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Condemnation means being judged guilty.

Another cup. Earlier that night at supper, Jesus had said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

The cup of salvation. A psalm writer whom God had saved asked, “What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116:12-13). He could never pay God back, so he lifted up the cup in thanks and called on His name.

A gift, not a payment. We can never pay God back either. Salvation is “the gift of God, not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We receive it by trusting Jesus, and then we thank Him.

Calling on His name. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Romans 10:13). To call on His name is to ask Him to save you and to trust that He will.

Thankful hearts. People who have been saved live thankful lives. They thank God, they obey Him because they love Him, and they tell others how they can be saved too. They do not need to be afraid of God's anger anymore, because Jesus took all of it.

What to do. If you have never called on the Lord, you can do it today. If you have, thank Jesus for going to the cross for you.