The Cup He Refused to Drink

Driving home: And that cup was nothing more or less than the full, the pure, the non-vindictive wrath of God against the sins of his people. And it was that cup that our Lord willingly drank, and drank until he drained its last, last …

A paragraph from Mr. Leahy's devotional book 'The Cross He Bore' suggested the idea for the sermon series 'The Three Cups of Our Lord'.

A series of studies was suggested to me by just a little paragraph in that lovely little devotional book recently published by Mr. Leahy entitled, The Cross He Bore. And in the first of those meditations, we focused our attention upon the first of those three cups, the one that I entitled, The Cup That He Drank. And it is this cup to which our Lord made reference.

3:03 - 3:32 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And that cup was nothing more or less than the full, the pure, the non-vindictive wrath of God against the sins of his people. And it was that cup that our Lord willingly drank, and drank until he drained its last, last …

A stanza from Ann Cousins' hymn 'O Christ, what burdens bowed thy head' is quoted to vividly describe Christ draining the cup of God's wrath, making it empty for believers.

And that cup was nothing more or less than the full, the pure, the non-vindictive wrath of God against the sins of his people. And it was that cup that our Lord willingly drank, and drank until he drained its last, last dark drop. In the very accurate words of the hymn writer, Ann Cousins, it is captured in the second stanza of that marvelous hymn, O Christ, what burdens bowed thy head. Death and the curse were in our cup.

4:10 - 4:51 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explores two possible reasons for the offer: either as an act of compassion by women following rabbinic tradition (Proverbs 31:6-7), or more likely, as an act of…

The controlled pain alleviation administered by hospice to a dying cancer patient is used as an analogy for the compassionate motive behind offering drugged wine, if it came from the women.

and if it were presented from their hands through the soldiers, it was an act of compassion in order to alleviate his impending agony. It would be very similar to the controlled pain alleviation administered by hospice to someone dying of cancer, in which the proper use of concentration of concentrated narcotics is expressed as an act of compassion to alleviate human suffering and agony. But if it had been concocted

9:37 - 10:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explores two possible reasons for the offer: either as an act of compassion by women following rabbinic tradition (Proverbs 31:6-7), or more likely, as an act of…

The example of very weak criminals momentarily possessing superhuman strength when facing execution is used to explain why hardened soldiers might offer drugged wine – to make their job easier by subduing the condemned.

Well, remember, these were experienced, hardened soldiers, perhaps those who were somewhat expert in execution by crucifixion. And they had seen firsthand what some of us have only seen and heard about secondhand, that a man very weak in constitution, someone greatly weakened by starvation and physical illness, when brought to the place of execution, can be possessed momentarily of almost superhuman strength in resisting those that would put on, as it were, the final strokes to his execution. And it could be that these soldiers,

12:05 - 12:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Commit yourself anew to drink in submissive faith whatever cup God places to your lips.

A stanza from hymn number 94, 'What e'er my God ordains is right,' is quoted to illustrate the believer's submissive faith in drinking bitter cups, knowing they are not tinged with God's wrath.

What e'er my God ordains is right. Though now this cup in drinking may bitter seem to my God, My faint heart, I take it all unshrinking. How can I take it unshrinking?

29:33 - 29:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: For whatever cup He places to your lips, no matter how bitter it may seem, this much you know, the bitterness has not a dram of God's wrath in it. All the bitterness was in the cup that He drank.

The metaphor of believers 'constantly spitting out anything that isn't as sweet as Kool-Aid' is used to rebuke their unwillingness to accept bitter providences from God, contrasting with Christ's refusal of the drugged wine.

Shame on us, that we're constantly spitting out anything that isn't as sweet as Kool-Aid.

30:51 - 30:58 Read in full sermon