|
Reading
Matthew 26:39, 42, 44
Introduction
The
Two Cups
|
Every word our Lord said was fraught with deepest meaning, and
all the more when in the garden of Gethsemane. It was there He
prayed, “All things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup
from me (Mk. 14:36). This statement automatically will lead to
the questions, “What did He mean by that prayer and what was the
cup He desired to be removed?” Herein we must make a
distinction. |
|
|
a) |
Matthew, Mark and Luke each refer to two cups. |
|
|
|
|
i) |
Matthew records, “He took the cup” (Matt. 26:27) and then, “let
this cup pass from me” (Matt. 26:39). |
|
|
|
|
ii) |
Mark wrote, “He took the cup” (Mk. 14:23) and then, “Take away
this cup” (Mk. 14:36). |
|
|
|
|
iii) |
Luke wrote, “This cup is the new testament” (Lk. 22:20) and
then, “Remove this cup” (Lk. 22:42). |
|
|
b) |
That which is clear is that there is a relationship between the
first and second references to the “cup” in each passage, but
that does not mean they indicate the same thing. |
|
|
|
|
i) |
The cup of Matt. 26:27; Mk. 14:23; and Lk. 22:20 was a piece of
pottery molded by the hand of man. |
|
|
|
|
ii) |
The cup of Matt. 26:39; Mk. 14:36; and Lk. 22:42 was the cup of
divine forsaking. This is the one we are considering. |
What This Prayer Was Not
|
When the Lord prayed this prayer He was not: |
|
|
a) |
Praying that He would be released from the agony of mind and
heart He was experiencing. He knew there was the need for Him
to be perfected by the experiences every saint could
experience. This was for Him to be fully qualified to be our
high Priest (Heb. 2:10). He must know the personal sorrow of
unreserved yielding to the will of God. |
|
|
b) |
An indication of a clashing of the wills between He and God in
which when He finally resigned to the inevitable. The Lord was
not putting on a spiritual front when He said, “Not my will, but
thine, be done” (Lk. 22:42). Let it be clear, there was never
any “putting on a front” or clashing of the wills between the
Lord and God. The Lord’s goal in life was, “I come to do thy
will” (Heb 10:9) and again, “I do always those things that
please Him” (Jn. 8:29). Had there ever been any divergence of
opinion between divine persons then Christ could never have been
a sacrifice for sin, for He Himself would have sinned, because
he would have been going against the will or purpose of God. |
|
|
c) |
Complaining to God. It has been said that the Lord complained
to God and then Psalm 22 is quoted. This is a failure to
recognize the distinction between what the psalmist said and
what the Lord said. When the Lord quoted the first clause of
Psalm 22, two matters are observed: |
|
|
|
|
i) |
This was never said to be the fulfillment of a prophecy! The
only utterance of the Lord from the cross, which was said in
order to fulfill the scripture was, “I thirst”. Note what the
verse says, “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now
accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith, I thirst” (Jn. 19:28). |
|
|
|
|
ii) |
The Lord quoted NOTHING from the Psalm apart from the first
clause, therefore, to quote the following words of the Psalm
with the indication
that the Lord said them is error. |
What The Lord Was Not When He Drank
The Cup
|
I want to state very plainly that in those three hours of
darkness when He drank the cup of God’s justice: |
|
|
a) |
He was not being “satanized”. To use John 3:14 to teach that
since the serpent is God’s way of describing the devil (Gen.
3:1), therefore, on the cross the Lord was “satanized” is
blasphemy. |
|
|
b) |
Neither does 2 Corinthians 5:21 when He was made “sin” teach
that He was made a sinner. When our Lord was being made an
offering for sin, He was most holy. In Leviticus 6:17 when God
gives directions concerning the offerings, He caused it to be
written, “It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it
unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is
most holy, as is the sin-offering, and as the
trespass-offering.” Prior to this the Lord had said, “The
Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” (Jn.
14:30). Thus, before Calvary He was holy, and on the cross He
was holy. The Lord did not say that the prince of this world
found nothing which he could hold against the Lord; nor in
anything He did; nor any judgment by Him; nor in when, how, or
what He said or did anything. There was no sin in Christ, no
sin nature to get a grasp of, and no hidden sin that no human
knew anything about. Christ was immaculately holy in every way,
every day. |
|
|
c) |
Neither did man have any part in the vicarious sufferings of the
Lord for our sins! The scriptures are clear, it was the LORD
who laid on Christ the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6). It was
the cup the Father gave Him to drink (Jn. 18:11). |
What Was That “Cup”?
|
The cup our Lord drank was the bitter experience of enduring the
rod of divine justice, the punitive sufferings for sins not His
own. It is illustrated by a “cup” containing that which goes
into an individual, whereas a “baptism” is that which
illustrates that which He went into. The “cup” is symbolized at
the memorial feast where: |
|
|
a) |
It indicates the ratification of the New Covenant (testament) (Lk.
22:20). |
|
|
b) |
It indicates the punishment for sin from the hand of the Lord.
“Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the
hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the
dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out (Isa. 51:17).
“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation”
(Rev. 14:10). |
|
|
|
|
|
Being the Blood of the covenant: |
|
|
a) |
It assures the security of that which is pledged. When God
promised the land to Abraham, it was and is an eternal guarantee
that can never be nullified (Gen. 15:7-18). It is the
foundation for the fulfilling of God’s purposes concerning
Christ as King (Zech. 9:9) and the deliverance of His people
(Zech. 9:11). Only by this can the covenant purposes of God be
fulfilled. |
|
|
b) |
It brings one under the rule of another to ultimately confirm
their character to His. This is shown by the ratifying of the
old covenant of which it is recorded, “And he took the book of
the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they
said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and
said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made
with you concerning all these words” (Ex. 24:7-8). |
|
|
c) |
It is the foundation for making us “perfect”, “thoroughly
fitted” for the work God has for us to do. “Through the blood
of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work
to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in
his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen” (Heb. 13:20-21). |
It is no wonder the Lord was “not
comfortable, not at home” in the
garden. That which He faced was
unnatural for Him. For the Lord to
be forsaken by God and entering into
death was unnatural. The “cup” the
Lord sought release from was the
execution of the judgment of God
against sin, which meant, His being
forsaken by God. These are depths
we have no comprehension of.
When we appreciate that “cup” and
its precious blessings to us
personally, “Shed for you” (Lk.
22:20); and applicable for the
whosoever, “Shed for many” (Mk.
14:24); praise God it is for, “the
remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).
. . . To be continued, Rowan Jennings |
