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The Cup of God’s Wrath
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”
Matthew 20.20-22a
What a question to be asked by Jesus: “Are you able to drink the cup that I am able to drink?” When I've read this passage in the past, I've often thought did James and John actually understand what Jesus was asking them? They were quick to answer, “Yes. We're able to drink that cup.” But did they really understand what the cup meant?
The idea of the cup is one that is seen throughout both the Old Testament and the prophets. References to this metaphor are found in Jeremiah and Revelation and Psalms. And the followers of Jesus should have been well aware of its meaning.
15 Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.” 17 So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day;
Jeremiah 25.15-18
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
Psalm 75.8
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”
Revelation 14.9-10
When Jesus spoke of the cup, He would use an expression that students of the Bible would have been well aware. They would have understood that Jesus was talking about God's judgment. His punishment and His wrath. Wrath that was reserved for those who chose to rebel against God. Jesus used this expression several times in the events surrounding the cross. When Judas brings the band of soldiers into the garden to take Jesus by force, Peter draws his sword to protect Jesus and he cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus says:
“Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
John 18.11b
Do you think Peter understood what Jesus meant when He said, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is alone, down on His knees fervently praying to the Father. Three different times He says, “My Father if it is possible, if there is any other way, let this cup pass from me.” (Matthew 26.39, 42, 44)
We can be sure that Jesus knew exactly what the cup meant. The torture. The humiliation. The suffering that was about to take place. But yet in the end the sinless Savior said, “Not my will, but your will be done Father.” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the One who committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten. The one true King, Jesus Christ, drank the cup so that we could drink this cup every first day of the week.
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Luke 22.20
Those are the words that Jesus said as He instituted the Lord's Supper with His disciples the night before He was crucified. He told His disciples, of whom we are, to do this in remembrance of Him.
Let us remember that the cup of God's wrath, that our sins have prepared for us, was taken by His only Son so that we could be made clean and children of His and to be able to commune with Him as we gather around His table.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
