Scripture: Matthew 26:36-46
In the Garden of Gethsemane, we get a very intimate glimpse into the private prayer life of Jesus. We know from the gospel accounts of Christ’s life that he often went off alone for times of prayer and meditation. The prayer in the garden is one of the few instances in which we are allowed to “listen in” on his communion with his father. The heart of this prayer was focused on the incredible suffering Christ was facing in the steps leading up to and during the crucifixion. The agony associated with the contemplation of his death was so great that his sweat became as great drops of blood and it was necessary for the angels to minister unto him in order that he might continue with the plan necessary for our salvation.
Christ knew in perfect detail exactly what he faced before and during the crucifixion. Although he was fully man, in the sense of his fleshly body, he was also fully God with perfect knowledge of all that was to take place in the coming hours. His prayer “O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” was the summation of his desires and the subjugation of those desires to the will of his father. As our redeemer and savior he willingly took upon himself the responsibility of going to Calvary. However, in this prayer we see a view of the son asking the father if there was any other means by which the work could be completed.
Why did Christ use the metaphor of drinking a cup?
What did this cup contain that would make the Son of God himself wish he did not have to partake of it? In a word, SIN. The contents of this cup represented the concentrated essence of all mankind’s sins from the first sin in the Garden of Eden, to the last sin which will be committed at some point in the future. None were too insignificant or too heinous, all were included.
When Christ looked into that cup, he saw…
- The jealousy in Cain’s heart as he slew his brother Abel after God found Cain’s sacrifice to be unacceptable.
- A young girl as an adult she trusted molests her for the purposes of his own sexual gratification.
- A thief stealing the money a person worked hard to obtain in order to provide for their family.
- King David sign Uriah’s death sentence to cover up his adultery with Bath-sheba.
- The broken heart of a mother whose precious child has run away from home and living on the streets because of an addiction to illegal drugs.
- A father addicted to gambling losing the money he needs to feed his children.
- A young mother allowing the life of her unborn baby to be ended because she has accepted the views of a society that allows her to see her unexpected pregnancy as a mistake to be “corrected.”
- A con artist taking advantage of unsuspecting and innocent senior citizens to cheat them out of their life savings.
- A drug dealer selling illegal drugs to elementary school children in order to make a little money.
- A young boy huddling in the corner waiting for the pain as his drunken father pulls his belt off in preparation for the beating the boy had learned to expect when his father was drunk.
- The loneliness and depression of an elderly mother whose children neglect her and consider her to be burden and obstacle to the carefree lifestyle they wish to live.
All of this dark evil and much more was contained within this cup, and Christ knew after communing with his father, that it must be drained to the last drop if mankind was to be saved from our sins. He then rose from his prayers and with the simple statement “Rise, let us be going…” he turned and without hesitation walked to the altar on which “The Lamb of God” was to be slain for the sins of the world, and there he laid down his life for us.
From the moment of his arrest in the garden, through the illegal and biased trials he said not a word in his defense. Through the excruciating torture of the scourging and the abuse he suffered at the hands of guards, soldiers, and witnesses, not so much as a whispered cry passed his lips. Even when being nailed to the cross, with his shoulders pulled out of joint as the cross dropped into its socket we have no record of him so much as a groaning in pain.
However, at the moment the cup was placed to his lips on the cross, and God the Father allowed “…him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,” a cry of indescribable agony burst forth from him as his father, from whom he had never known a moment of separation, had to turn his back on Christ. God in his righteousness cannot even look upon sin, and it was this separation from his father that he foresaw in the garden and he wanted so fervently to avoid.
God was gracious enough to shroud this time of agony within a veil of darkness that descended over the face of the earth. No man was allowed to look on his son as he took upon himself the entire punishment for our sins. Only once the last dregs had been drained from that awful cup did he declare “It is Finished.” I am so thankful he drank the cup.
Chuck Sprayberry 