The Cup the Lord Drank
Pastor Tan Thai · Apr 8, 2017
This Good Friday sermon explores the meaning of the 'cup' Jesus asked the Father to take away at Gethsemane. That cup encompassed His physical suffering, humanity's sorrow and despair caused by sin, the accumulated sin of all human history, and the righteous wrath of God — all of which Christ voluntarily drank on our behalf.
This Good Friday sermon, delivered on Thursday, April 13, 2017, is grounded in two Scripture passages: Matthew 26:38–44 and Luke 22:47–53. The central question posed is: what is the 'cup' that Jesus prayed three agonizing times for the Father to take away? The answer is developed through four progressively deeper layers of meaning, leading the congregation to the heart of the Gospel.
The first layer is the cup of personal suffering — betrayal by Judas, being sold for pieces of silver, physical torture, mockery, and a shameful death on the cross. Isaiah 53:5–6, written 500 years before Christ, is cited to show this was not an accident but a redemptive plan long foretold. The second layer is the cup of humanity's sorrow, tears, and despair caused by sin. The preacher uses the character Chi Dau from Ngo Tat To's novel 'Tat Den' (When the Light Goes Out) and the story of Kieu from Nguyen Du's 'Doan Truong Tan Thanh' to illustrate the depth of human suffering — noting that even those living in the most prosperous society on earth are not free from tears and hardship.
The third layer is the cup of humanity's accumulated sin throughout all of history — from Adam and Eve, to Cain's murder of Abel, to modern atrocities such as chemical weapons used in Syria. The preacher explains that human nature is inherently sinful (Romans 3:23–25) and the world lies under the dark power of Satan (Matthew 4:8–9), so no one can save themselves through self-reformation or moral effort. The fourth and deepest layer is the cup of God's righteous wrath against sin. The preacher argues that a Holy and Just God cannot ignore evil — He must punish sin — and that punishment was poured out on Jesus in our place, as depicted in Revelation 20:11–15.
The sermon concludes with a clear Gospel invitation: Jesus drank the bitter cup so that we may one day drink the new wine in the eternal kingdom of heaven. He was punished so we would not be punished; He shed His blood so we would not shed ours. The promise of eternal life for all who believe in the Son of God is confirmed through 1 John 5:11–13, calling the congregation to respond to this extraordinary grace in faith.