Yesterday, we left Jesus on His face in Gethsemane.
Today, we listen to what He prays:
“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
— Matthew 26:39
This prayer has to make us pause...
Because Jesus asks a real question:
If it is possible…
Is there another way?
Can this cup pass?
But wait, what is the "cup" He's speaking about?
Throughout the Old Testament, the image of a cup is repeatedly connected with God’s judgment against sin.
Isaiah speaks of:
“the cup of his wrath.”
— Isaiah 51:17
The Psalms use the same imagery:
“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup… and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.”
— Psalm 75:8
So when Jesus looks toward the cross and speaks about drinking the cup…
He isn’t just thinking about the nails.
Or the crown of thorns.
Or even physical death.
Something far greater is happening.
The sinless Son is preparing to bear the judgment our sin deserves.
And suddenly His prayer raises a tough question for each of us.
If humanity could’ve been reconciled to God through simply…
being sincere,
living a moral life,
doing enough good,
following another spiritual path,
or just trying our best…
then why does the Father allow the Son to drink the cup?
Jesus asks:
If there is another way…
And yet the request is not granted.
The cup does not pass.
The cross still comes.
Why?
Because Christianity doesn’t claim Jesus is our** helpful road** to God.
Jesus Himself says:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
— John 14:6
The words sound narrow in a world that wants every road to arrive at the same destination.
But then we have to reckon with Gethsemane.
God does not send His Son through unimaginable anguish because He’s another spiritual option that would be useful.
Christ goes to the cross because our problem is something we can’t solve ourselves.
Sin has created a debt our morality can never erase.
Good intentions will not undo guilt.
Religious works cannot make a guilty person innocent.
We needed a Savior.
And there’s another biblical story looming large behind this garden.
Scripture began with another man in another garden.
Adam was given the will of God...
and chose his own.
Now Jesus kneels in Gethsemane knowing exactly what obedience will cost Him.
And He says:
“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
— Matthew 26:39
In one garden, humanity said, “my will.”
In another, Jesus said, “Your will.”
Where Adam's disobedience brought sin and death into the human story...
Christ's obedience is carrying Him toward the cross where He will deal with both.
“For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.”
— Romans 5:19
He sees the cup.
He understands its weight.
And what does obedience require of Him?
He must drink the cup.
The cup of judgment Scripture had been warning about for centuries.
And chooses to submit Himself completely to the Father.
Not because the road is easy.
But because we could not be rescued without Him walking it.
If another road could have brought us home…
Gethsemane would have been the moment to take it.
Instead…
Jesus drank the cup.
Full submission to the wrath of the Father.
And praise be to God,
it was so we—the ones who trust in Him—
wouldn’t have to.
— Drew
P.S. It’s one thing to believe that Jesus is the only way.
It’s another to understand why He had to be.
That’s the kind of faith I want to help build—
a faith that doesn’t just know what it believes,
but can understand and explain why it’s true.
Someone you love
may need to hear this.
If a person came to mind while you were reading,
forward this to them.
Maybe it answers a question they’ve been carrying...
Maybe it starts a conversation about Jesus...
Maybe they simply need to be reminded of what He was willing to endure to bring us home.
Don’t just read it. Pass it on.
And if today’s letter raised a question for you, hit reply.
I read and respond to every one.
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Join other believers discovering not simply what they believe—
but why it’s true.
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