Reposting daily through Easter – excerpts from The Cross He Bore by Frederick S. Leahy
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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.
Matthew 26:36-37
What cup (John 18:11)?
‘THIS CUP’—not some future cup.
The cup that was symbolized in the feast (Matthew 26:27-28) was now actual: God was placing it in the Saviour’s hands and it carried the stench of hell.
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 26:39
Was the Father indifferent to the Son’s passionate pleadings in Gethsemane? Did he ever for a moment cease to be well pleased with him?
Far from it.
The writer to the Hebrews assures us that the Saviour ‘was heard because of his reverence’ (Hebrews 5:7). The proof of his being heard is his resurrection from the dead. In that sense he was ‘saved from death’.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Consider today what cup you are being asked to drink.
- More from Ch 1 - Man of Sorrows
- More from Ch 2 - Prayerful Submission
