The Cup

"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.'"  Matthew 26:39

"If we knew the Scriptures as Jesus does...we couldn't escape this reference. Isaiah 51:17 shows us this cup in God's extended hand--it's 'the cup of wrath,' and for those who drink from it, it's 'the cup of staggering.' This cup contains the full vehemence and fierceness of God's holy wrath poured out against all sin, and we discover in Scripture that it's intended for all of sinful humanity to drink.  It's your cup...and mine.

In the vivid imagery of the Old Testament, this cup is filled with 'fire and sulfur and a scorching wind' like some volcanic firestorm...That's why there's shuddering terror and deep distress for [Jesus] at this moment.  In the crucible of human weakness he's brought face to face with the abhorrent reality of bearing our iniquity and becoming the object of God's full and furious wrath.

What Jesus recoils from here is not an anticipation of the physical pain associated with the crucifixion.  Rather it's a pain infinitely greater--the agony of being abandoned by his Father.

As one commentator notes, Jesus entered the garden 'to be with the Father for an interlude before his betrayal, but found Hell rather than Heaven open before him.'  Knowing the hour for his death is fast approaching, Jesus has come here in need as never before of his Father's comfort and strength.  Instead, hell--utter separation from God--is thrust in his face.  

That is what bearing our sin means to him--utter distress of soul as [Jesus] confronts total abandonment and a rejection we cannot begin to grasp.  In this, our Savior's darkest hour...do you recognize his love for you?

~Excerpts from Christ Our Mediator by C. J. Mahaney