This Cup

³⁶ Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." ³⁷ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸ Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me." ³⁹ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matt 26:36-39).

There have always been questions about this. What was Jesus praying about? What are the ramifications to "prayer" when Jesus asks for something that He doesn't get? What "cup" was He concerned about?

Of course, most of the questions are not as big as they seem. For instance, Jesus got exactly what He prayed for: "Not as I will, but as Thou wilt." Still, what was it that had Jesus so worked up? What was that "cup"?

Here's what I think. Jesus was about to go to the Cross. Certainly He was fully aware of the pain that would entail. "Come on," some might urge, "take it like a man!" Yeah, yeah, but I don't think the physical and emotional torment was in view here. I think Jesus had a specific cup in mind. In Scripture the term "cup" is used often in terms of life's situations. It is also used quite often in terms of judgment. In Psa. 116:13 it refers to "the cup of my salvation." Elsewhere:

God is the Judge; He puts down one, and exalts another. For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs (Psa 75:7-8).

That concept is in many places. Isa. 51:17 talks about "the cup of His anger." Jer. 25:15 speaks of "this cup of the wine of wrath" from God. In Rev 14:10 we read of "the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger." (You know ... the origin of the lyric "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.")

When Jesus went to the Cross, God Incarnate, the Holy One, took on Himself the infinite offense of human sin. The Infinite God bore the infinite wrath of God. Jesus's final cry was the "cup" that He dreaded but took anyway: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" It was the wrath of God He bore that was the cup He dreaded, the cup He drank, and the payment He made on our behalf.

Now that's something about which to worship.