If you open up my cabinets, you will see what seems to be an endless supply of cups – specifically toddler cups. They come with and without straws and in a variety of colors. You would think I would never have a problem providing my daughter with a cup for her water or milk, but that is not always the case.
In my daughters eyes, each cup serves a purpose. It is either a cup for her water or a cup for her milk. It cannot be both. I may have 10 cups clean, but if they are water cups and she wants milk, you will find my scrubbing a milk cup clean. Because in her mind, there is no other option.
The other day, as I was making sure I had a milk cup ready for bedtime, I began to think about someone else who chose a cup that was made to serve one purpose.
In Matthew we find Jesus praying in preparation for the hardest battle He would ever face. And as He prays, He says a phrase that has replayed in my mind,
“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39
Jesus held in His hands a cup that no one before or after Him had or ever would. This was not the cup that anyone would have a desire to drink from. It was full of the sins of every person that had or would enter into this world. It was full of the pain, the consequences, and the filth of their sin. It was a heavy cup, a bitter cup, a cup that only He could bear.
And He didn’t want it. He knew the pain that would come from drinking of that cup. He knew that He would endure the brutality of the cross after they whipped and mangled His body if He drank of that cup. He knew He would be forsaken by the Father as He was covered in the unrighteousness of our sin. He knew His disciples would run and the people would mock. He knew that the cross would be heavy as He stumbled bloody and beaten down the road. He knew what was coming if He drank of that cup.
But He also knew that there was no other way. He did not have a cabinet full of cups to choose from. There was one cup and He was the only one who could drink of it. He knew that without it, we would continue to be dead in our sins. He knew that if He did not take the cup, there was no redemption for humanity. He knew that we could not carry the burden of our sins before the Father.
So He did.
He carried them as they beat him and whipped Him. He carried them as the disciples abandoned Him and denied that they knew Him. He carried them as they forced Him to carry His cross and then nailed Him to it. And as the sun sank, and He breathed that last breath on the cross, He carried them in death. Every sin. He bore it.
It was a bitter cup. It was full of filth and pain and agony, and He drank it all.
I know that Easter is coming and that He rose victorious over sin, death, and pain, but today I want to remember that He chose the bitter cup for me.
And He chose it for you. If you are feeling forgotten, hopeless, empty, or abandoned this Easter, hear me. He chose the most painful death, the most lonely place, and the most bitter cup for you.
The Bible tells us that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse our hearts and minds. The reason He can do this is because He chose the drink of the cup for you. He chose to make a way to redeem you, and to bring hope, love, and joy to the darkest parts of your heart.
He chose the cup because He chose you.
A Peace of My Mind 