THE CUP

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

There are many uses of the word “cup” in scripture. It can be used metaphorically to represent the condition of your life (Psalm 11:6, Matthew 23:25‑26). It can be an expression of sympathy (Proverbs 31:6, Mark 9:41). It may have reference to thanksgiving given to God (Psalm 116:13). It can also refer to sensual allurement (Proverbs 23:31). It can represent blessings from God (I Corinthians 10:16) as well as the wrath of God (Revelation 14:10).

 

But there is a cup mentioned in scripture that represents a task, which was of vast importance. This cup represented pain and suffering as well as life and hope. It was a cup that if refused, meant death for all mankind. It was a cup that had to be taken willingly. This cup could not be taken by just anyone. Whoever took this cup to call their own had to be someone who was perfect and holy, without sin in every single area of their lives.

 

Of course you know the cup I speak of is the one that Jesus is presented in Matthew 26. Jesus knew what taking this cup would mean. His comprehension of the cup is reflected in the following verse.

 

Matthew 26:39

“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.’”

 

Here we see our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, facing the realization of what would be required of Him to save all of mankind from eternal death. While Jesus was completely God, He was also completely man. Because of this, we see in the Garden of Gethsemane the human struggle of Christ as He faces the dilemma of fulfilling His Heavenly Father’s will in this situation. Christ experienced all the emotions of a human being facing this self-sacrificing act of love. Scripture tells us that we have a Savior who has experienced all the temptations and struggles we have. Hebrews 4:15‑16 states, “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.” We have a Savior who knows what we go through when we face life’s storms and trials. He can relate to us because He faced similar situations as we have.

We often take for granted what our Lord experienced that night in the garden. We focus on His physical suffering on the cross. We forget the emotional and spiritual torment He underwent when He wrestled in the garden with the knowledge of what this cup would require of Him and how it would impact His relationship with His Heavenly Father. His decision to partake of this sacrificial cup was so spiritually and emotionally intense, Jesus sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). This is a condition called “hematidrosis” where emotional stress becomes so dramatic that blood vessels around sweat glands burst and the person will sweat blood. I’m not sure we can ever understand or comprehend what Jesus went through. He knew completely the physical and spiritual experience He was about to undertake when He took this cup of sacrifice to demonstrate not only His Father’s love but His own as well. Foreknowledge of pain and suffering is never easy to endure. It is a tortuous prelude to the horrendous reality of pain and torment.

Have you ever had foreknowledge of pain and suffering you were going to face? Have you ever known you were going to have to go to the doctor to have an invasive or painful medical test or surgery? How did you sleep the night before? Have you ever stumbled and as you fall towards the ground, you know it’s going to hurt when you hit? You close your eyes and recoil as you anticipate the pain to come. These are situations where we have foreknowledge of pain and suffering. We dread facing these circumstances and if given a path of escape will certainly choose to avoid them if we are able.

 

Jesus faced such a situation. He knew the horrible pain and torture He would face if He took this cup. Jesus knew He would suffer not only great physical and emotional torment but spiritual pain as well. He knew that His deeply intimate relationship with His Heavenly Father would be severed, even if for a short period of time, this would be horrendous emotionally and spiritually for Him to endure. Here in Matthew we see Him fall on His face onto the ground as He struggles with the awareness of the burden He was to bear. We see Him cry out to His Father in Heaven not once, but twice, Matthew 26:42 says, “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.’” Jesus was in a spiritual battle in the garden but He knew He was committed to doing the will of His Father. His love for Mankind as well as His Father was motivating Him to accept this cup of suffering.

 

This cup that Jesus willingly took required payment for the sins of all mankind. Taking this sacrificial cup would cause it to pour out upon His body the pain and suffering that would equal the penalties for all the sins of everyone who had ever lived and those would yet live in the future. This cup did not just represent payment for those who would accept Jesus as Savior; it also represented payment for those who would deny Him as well. Jesus sacrificed Himself for all individuals, not just those who would accept Him as Lord and Savior. It’s one thing to suffer for those who love and appreciate you. It’s quite another to suffer for those who despise and hate you. Jesus did just that. He took this cup knowing that some of those He was dying for would reject His sacrifice. He also knew that some men and women He was dying for would refuse His act of love on the cross and even hate Him. He also knew that while His sacrifice for the world was adequate to cover the sins of all mankind, it was only effective to save those who accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

 

Jesus did not deserve the judgment of this sacrificial cup. He was perfect in every way. God’s perfection and holiness requires a penalty be paid for sin. The penalty is death. Jesus willingly took this cup of death upon Himself which He did not deserve. We all desire for life to be fair. We have a court system in our country which attempts to distribute fairness to all those who live here. We value fair play and reward those who play by the rules. We feel it is unfair when the innocent suffer. Jesus was innocent, yet He chose to take this cup of punishment so that we could receive salvation. What a God, what a man, what a Savior.

 

When we accept Christ as our Savior we choose to identify ourselves with our Lord and Master, Jesus. This means we must be willing to take those cups of sacrifice that He allows to come into our lives. These are not cups that give any of us salvation. They are cups that contain ministry opportunities for service to others that may contain aspects of personal challenge or denial. They are cups that require standing for God’s truth even at the risk of persecution. They are cups that require us to rely on God for strength and power as we endure the hardships they contain. We could never accept such cups on our own strength, but with God’s love and power filling us, we seek to emulate the dedication to our Heavenly Father that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ demonstrated in His own life. We have a calling to live as He lived because the Holy Spirit who lives within us convicts us to do so and our love for our God motivates us to fulfill our holy calling. We know as we walk as Jesus walked, these cups will require more of us than we can accomplish on our own. That is when we learn how important it is to rely upon our Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus did when He chose to drink of the bitter cup of self-sacrifice.

 

Do we drink from cups that represent dedication to our Lord? Do we drink from cups that are filled with a desire for God’s will? Do we drink from cups overflowing with holiness and purity? Such cups may contain bitter circumstances and trials, but they also provide the necessary ingredients for spiritual growth and maturity. They also provide opportunities for the expression of the power of God in us, the weak vessels God chooses to demonstrate His omniscient power through.

 

If we avoid drinking of these cups the Lord brings into our lives, we become spiritually weak, our witness becomes tarnished and God’s will for our lives and the lives of others is hindered. The Christian, the follower of Jesus Christ, has a calling to seek to drink of the cups that God brings into their lives so that God can be glorified, others can be saved and we can spiritually grow into the person God desires us to be.

 

I Corinthians 10:21‑22 tells us that, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s Table and the table of demons.” We cannot claim to drink from both cups. We are either drinking from the cup of the Lord or the cup of Satan. If we call ourselves Christians we need to make sure we are drinking from the correct cup. If we drink from the cup of salvation, the cup of deliverance, the cup of obedience, we are blessed with the grace and power of God and truly and completely experience both the presence and love of God. Let us not miss out of this glorious experience, of this wonderful fellowship with our Savior, of the calling we have so little time to fulfill. Let us drink from the cup that Jesus presents us in our lives.

 

Psalms 23:5

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”