No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
John 3:13-15
The Son of Man must be lifted up. In Luke's gospel we read:
John 3:13-15
The Son of Man must be lifted up. In Luke's gospel we read:
And he (Jesus) said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Luke 9:22
Jesus, the Son of Man, the one who came from heaven, must be lifted up, must suffer and must be killed. Why? What can such a death accomplish?
One of the things that characterised Jesus' 33 years of earthly ministry, was that there was not a single second that passed where he did not fail to do his Father's will. Jesus said:
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."
John 4:34
However, it is in the garden of Gethsemane where we see something for the very first time. Here we see Jesus, praying to his Father, asking that the cup pass from him.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:36-39
What is this cup? The image is a frequent Biblical picture of God's 'cup of wrath'. We read of how there is a cup of wrath prepared for the nations, a cup of wrath destined for the lips of those who continue to live in sin (Ps 60:3; 75:8; Is 29:9-10; 51:17, 21-23; Jer 25:15-29; Lam 4:21; Zech 12:2).
Matthew 26:36-39
What is this cup? The image is a frequent Biblical picture of God's 'cup of wrath'. We read of how there is a cup of wrath prepared for the nations, a cup of wrath destined for the lips of those who continue to live in sin (Ps 60:3; 75:8; Is 29:9-10; 51:17, 21-23; Jer 25:15-29; Lam 4:21; Zech 12:2).
With this in mind, Jesus is filled with agony over the prospect of experiencing the wrath of his Father. For all eternity he has known loving fellowship, and so the idea of a single moment of separation was too much for the Son to bear. Thankfully, for us, Jesus in full submission to his Father's will said, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”
Jesus knew that there really was no other way. Even upon his betrayal and arrest, when one of his followers attempted to fight back, Jesus turning to him said:
Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
Matthew 26:52-54
But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” (verse 56)
For you see, the Scriptures must be fulfilled. We can often think of the cross of Christ as God's plan B. He created the world, things went wrong, so he quickly tore open the protocol for the contingency plan. This could not be further from the truth. Writing to church in Ephesus Paul says:
...he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will...
Ephesians 1:3-5
The staggering truth is that God in his mercy, always knew that one day he would send his own Son to die on a cross. He always knew that people would turn from him, that sin would enter and stain his perfect world, he knew this yet allowed it all to happen as part of his glorious plan. We find this hard to understand. Yet the Bible says, God chose the folly of the cross to save those who will believe.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles...
1 Corinthians 1:21-23
There are little words to say that can truly describe what it meant for Jesus to drink the cup of God's wrath, on that Friday 3rd April, A.D. 33. What we do know is that he did this for us. The cup of wrath reserved for us, was instead given to Jesus. He drank every last drop so that we would never have to experience the wrath of God for our sin. Why would God do this for sinners like us? Because he is a God of infinite mercy and love. To end this rather long blog entry, here is how the apostle John put it:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:7-10
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
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