“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
Have you ever asked the question, “What was in the cup?” Throughout biblical history, the cup symbolized the wrath of God because of man’s sin (Jer. 25:15-17; 51:7; Psalm 75:8; Rev. 14: 8-11).
Several things we can learn. Sin is utterly disgusting and hideous. Metaphorically speaking, drinking the cup of sin (which brings forth the wrath of God) is like drinking a cup of urine, human excrement, and blood from sanitation waste (Isa. 30:22; Eze. 4:12-13). Nobody would dare drink anything as detestable as this. Not only would it taste utterly horrible because of its toxicity, you would position yourself for death.
When Jesus drank this cup by taking on our sin (2 Cor. 5:21), the wrath of the Father was placed on Him, which satisfied the justice of God (Isa. 53:10; Rom. 3:25-26). However, in those moments, it caused separation between the Father and the Son (Isa. 59:2; Matt. 27:46; Hab. 1:13).
If Jesus did not want to drink the cup of wrath which encased separation from God because of sin, why should we? Who in there right mind would delight in such toxicity that they know will lead to death? The person who would delight in such madness the Bible calls a “fool” (Luke 12:20).
The term “fool” means “a person lacking inner perspective as it regulates behavior, unperceptive.” Do not be fool. Give praise to the Lord Jesus, in drinking this cup on our behalf. Choose today to drink from the fountain of living water and forsake the polluted water of sin (Jer. 2:13).
