What Did Jesus Mean When He Asked God “Let This Cup Pass from Me”?
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“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will’” (Matthew 26:39, NKJV).
When you look at the life of Jesus, one of the things that is very endearing about him is his nature. We know he was completely God and completely human as well. One of those places where we recognize and observe both his divinity and his humanity is the cross, and not just what happened on the cross, but the events that occurred on his journey to the cross.
Before he got to the cross, he had to first go through the garden of Gethsemane. It's there in the garden where Jesus prayed “let this cup pass for me.” What did he mean by that and why did Jesus pray let this cup pass for me? A closer examination will allow you to see a beautiful picture of both Jesus’ humanity and his divinity.
What Does Matthew 26:39 Mean?
To understand why Jesus prays “let this cup pass from me,” it's important to note what was about to happen in Jesus’ life. Prior to him going to the garden to pray, he had just completed the Last Supper with his disciples. He was fully aware that he was about to be betrayed by Judas and walk into the most difficult aspect of his journey and mission here on earth.
Because he was God, he knew exactly the amount of suffering and pain that was before him. He knew he was about to be arrested, whipped, beaten, and crucified. Even though he lived with this reality throughout his life here on earth, the moment had finally come. The fulfillment of his mission was now closer than it had ever been before.
In Jesus’ prayer, while facing the agony of what was in front of him, we see his humanity on display. He tells the Father “I don't want to go through this suffering.” Why this makes Jesus so endearing is because we as human beings have experienced the exact same thing. Have you ever prayed a similar prayer asking God to take this thing from you? Let this hurt, this pain, this trial, this suffering pass from me? I believe it is safe to say we have all been in places in our lives where we have experienced this.
These types of feelings and emotions were exactly what Jesus was feeling when he was praying “let this cup pass from me.” This prayer gives you a clear picture of the human nature of Jesus.
Did Jesus Not Want to Go to the Cross?
A question you might want to ask or consider is does this mean that Jesus did not want to go to the cross? The answer to that question is no.
The reason we know this is because of the rest of the verse, which says “nevertheless not my will but yours be done.” Again, this is where Jesus’ humanity and divinity come together. Jesus making this statement was not an issue of whether he had faith or did not have faith. This was not an issue of faith at all. The issue was one of surrender and obedience.
We know from Christ’s life and the entirety of his teaching and ministry that he came to complete and fulfill the will of the father. For him to do that, he knew the suffering he would endure on the cross. So, in this brief moment of time, Jesus in his humanity wrestled with fulfilling that mission.
Why Did Jesus Ask "Let This Cup Pass" if He Knew the Cross Was the Only Way?
You might be wondering why Jesus would pray “let this cup pass from me” if he knew the cross was the only way? To answer this, you must focus on Jesus’ divine nature.
As God, he knew what was about to happen. To help give you perspective, what was about to happen to Jesus were things he had never experienced before. He was about to be whipped and beaten. He had never experienced that before. He was about to be shamefully hung naked on a cross. He had never experienced that before. The sin of the entire world was about to be placed on him. He had never experienced that before. When the sin of the world was placed on him for a brief moment, he was going to be separated from the father. In all eternity that had never happened before. Finally, he would experience physical death which had never happened to him before.
Because Jesus as God knew what was about to come, we should not be surprised the cry of his humanity was “let this cup pass from me.”
What "Let This Cup Pass" Prayer Means for Us
When you look at the words Jesus prayed, there are three things I want you to think about from this verse.
1. Following God's will is going to cost you something.
We don't often like to talk about surrender or sacrifice in the Christian journey. It's not the most fun topic to talk about. We'd much rather talk about blessing or the gifts that God gives because that's fun and easy to discuss. We enjoy messages about God's love and faithfulness, but that is only part of the journey.
The truth is following Christ requires complete surrender, and it will cost you something. This road will not always be easy. However, in this moment in the garden, Jesus modelled surrender for you and me because that is the price you must pay to truly follow God.
2. Jesus can empathize with where you are and what you go through.
When I started this article, I mentioned how looking at the nature of Jesus makes him more endearing, and this is one of the reasons why. Consider this verse from Hebrews:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
This verse in Hebrews is a reminder that Jesus feels everything that you feel. He understands when you must do difficult things you don't necessarily want to do. He sees your struggle, understands your struggle, and loves you in it anyway. This is what makes Jesus so beautiful and so special. If you face a difficult place in life where you are wrestling with something God wants you to do, you have a savior who knows where you are.
Maybe God wants you to forgive someone who hurt you or maybe it's time to change careers and go in a different direction. Maybe God is calling you to move to another place or leave your comfort zone and step into something that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Whatever your difficult place is, whatever cross God is asking you to carry, you have a savior who had to make the exact same choice. You can be encouraged today because he understands exactly where you are.
3. You can be honest with God in prayer.
One of the reasons we often have a difficult time in prayer is we forget we can be completely open and transparent before God. Notice when Jesus prayed “let this cup pass for me,” there was no rebuke for how he felt, nor was he sinning. He was simply being honest. If you don't take anything from this passage, take this one simple thought: You can go to God in prayer and be completely raw, open, and honest before him. You can tell him exactly how you feel, and the best part is he can handle it. In fact, he encourages it.
Whatever your situation, your challenge, your difficulty, or how you feel about what is happening, go to your heavenly Father and let him know every emotion that is dwelling in you. You will discover that is a very safe place.
Approach the Throne with Confidence
I want to leave you with one verse to consider. That verse is Hebrews 4:16.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Because Jesus prayed this prayer, you can approach the throne of grace with confidence. God won't reject you because of your emotions or your feelings. He will not cast you aside because you are struggling with what he is asking you to do. What he wants is for you to come before his throne with confidence knowing he wants to help you. When you do, you will find grace to help you in your time of need.
Whether you are facing the difficult questions of life that seem to have no answers, or you are anxious about your future and where God is leading you, you can go to the throne of grace. Regardless of what it is, at the throne of grace you will find a savior who can empathize and knows exactly how you feel. This prayer that Jesus prayed gives you hope to know that Jesus understands every single area of your life. This is what makes him such a wonderful savior.
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