Cup of Sorrow

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26:36-39, 42, 44‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:39-45‬ ‭KJV‬‬

In Luke's depiction of the Garden, he talks about Jesus‘ tears turning to blood. That is ALOT of sorrow and grief! In all my trials, I've never wept so hard that my tears turned to blood. It tells of God sending an angel to strengthen Jesus.

If Jesus needed strengthening in His greatest need, it stands to reason that we will too!

There is a lot of debate about what the "cup of sorrow" was. I am not a theologian, so I‘m not going to join that debate. I just take God's Word for what He says.

As the Son of God He took the cross with Joy (Hebrew 12:2)

As the Son of Man, He knew the suffering was going to be horrendous! Nothing like anyone else before or after Him faced or ever will face again!

Is this the cup and why had God sent an angel to strengthen Him?

I’ve heard some say that Jesus was God so He wasn‘t weak in ANY way. I don’t believe this at all! I believe He suffered great physical weakness in the garden or Satan wouldn’t have come to tempt Him. He was ALL God and ALL Man! If he didn’t the weaknesses we suffer He wouldn’t be able to tell us in Hebrews 4 that He was tempted like us, yet without sin!

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Jesus got physically weak and he got tired. At times He needed to be strengthened and refreshed just like you and I. He also felt emotion and He wept with those that wept and rejoiced with them that rejoiced.

We know this from the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus!

Here’s another possible question. Was the “cup” that He knew because He was literally becoming sin for me, and because of this, His Father would forsake Him?

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27:46‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Jesus suffered many things for me that I will never have to face! Only one of them being that His God and Father turning His face away and forsaking Him as He died...for ME!

Yet God in His great love and mercy has promised me..."I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"(Hebrews 13:5; John 14:18)

Jesus came as Emmanuel(Matt. 1:23)- God with us! Then after salvation, we have the Comforter, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Not just God *with* us but God *in* us!

Sometimes, in our lives, the will of God is a bitter cup. We, like Jesus, are allowed to ask God to remove it. We are allowed to ask God why it's happening! Job did!

But we also must humble ourselves, and pray like Jesus. "Not my will, but thine be done".

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is in Philippians 2,

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:5-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As I was looking for the Ron Hamilton song on YouTube, I came across this piece!

Please take a listen!

https://youtu.be/znCDcWxS2W8

I know that many of my doors in my life land me in "the hallway". The waiting rooms, the procedure rooms, and the offices of lost doctors.

I know that if I didn't have all the health issues that I do, I wouldn't be able to minister to the hurting people who need the Hope of Jesus Christ!

I also know that when God heals me, He will maybe send along a different ministry opportunity. But until then, I wait, and pray, and serve in the Hallways. 💕

Friend, I don‘t know what your “bitter cup” is today, but God does! Let Him come and strengthen you! Humble yourself, be obedient, and trust the Savior! Jesus Never Fails! 💜

Rest and Rejoice in Hope!

💗🙏🏻💚⚔