THE GARDEN CUP, WHAT WAS IT?

And he . . . began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even UNTO DEATH . . . And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let THIS CUP [not thy cup] pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt . . . He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if THIS CUP [not thy cup] may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done . . . And he left them, and . . . prayed the third time, saying the same words. -- Matt. 26:37-44

And he . . . began to be sore AMAZED, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding SORROWFUL UNTO DEATH . . . And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, THE HOUR might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away THIS CUP [not thy cup] from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. -- Mark 14:33-36

And he . . . kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove THIScup [not thy cup] from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, STRENGTHENING him. And being in an AGONY he PRAYED more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. -- Luke 22:41-44

For some time, we have been skeptical of the traditional explanation of these passages, which is often parroted from one pulpit to another. The traditional explanation goes something like this: Jesus looked into the cup and saw His suffering on the cross and asked the Father to remove the cross experience from Him. Or Jesus looked into the cup and saw the vile sins that he would have to bear and was repulsed from the cup, asking the Father to remove the vile cup of sins from Him. Our suspicion is farther aroused, when something planned from the foundation of the earth is prophesied and set down in scripture and then supposedly requested to be set aside by the second member of the Godhead after He already agreed to it.

Which Cup?

. . . take away THIS CUP [not thy cup] from me . . . Mark 14:36

. . . remove THIS CUP [not thy cup] from me . . . Luke 22:41

. . . let THIS CUP [not thy cup] pass from me . . . if THIS CUP [not thy cup] may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done . . . Matt 26:39, 42

Mat 20:22, 23 Areye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with . . .

Mar 10:38, 39 . . . can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

John 18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Proponents of the traditional theory are on good ground, here, regarding the cup as meaningDEATH. The cup does mean death, metaphorically, but does not mean sin in these passages. It is also symbolic of Lord's Supper “CUP” passages in regard to His VOLENTARY death on the cross. This becomes obvious by cross referencing all the passages. Moreover, the cup of John 18:11 does refer to His death on the cross, but it is the cup that the Father has given Him not the non-voluntary cup of death that the devil wants to give Him. Still, what is not so obvious, regarding "THIS CUP" is when, where, and why the term is used in the passages under question in context?

Which Hour?

. . . he . . . prayed that, if it were possible, THE HOUR might pass from him . . . --Mark 14:41

. . . no man laid hands on him, because HIS HOUR was not yet come. -- John 7:30

. . . no man laid hands on him; for HIS HOUR was not yet come. -- John 8:20

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, THE HOUR IS COME; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: -- John 17:1

Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, SAVE ME from THIS HOUR: but for this cause came I unto THIS HOUR. -- John 12:23,24, 27

Proponents of the traditional theory are also on good ground in regard to the "hour" in that it usually does refer to the events of the cross but not always. Still, Jesus Himself showed that it was unlikely that He would ask the Father to save Him from "THIS" HOUR, a cause for which He came, which is clearly the hour of the crucifixion events. THE HOUR (Garden Hour) and HIS HOUR (Crucifixion Hour) are two different hours. The confusion over the wrong cup and the wrong hour leads to the mistaken idea that Jesus must drink every cup, and He must experience every hour. Obviously, another cup and hour are referred to in the Garden as opposed to the crucifixion cup.

The prophesied events of the cross must take place exactly as stated by the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and the prophets. Lying is impossible for God, and it is impossible for God the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost not to know Jesus’ ultimate destiny of the cross, especially when they were ordained before the foundation of the world. It is impossible for the scriptures to be broken (either Testament). God knows HIS works from the foundation of the earth. Jesus did not ask to be saved from the crucifixion hour for which reason Jesus came.

Jesus Was Nigh unto Death

My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even UNTO DEATH. . . he went a little farther, and fell on his face . . . -- Matt 26:38, 39

And he . . . began to be sore AMAZED, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding SORROWFUL [contrast with the joy that was set before Him] UNTO DEATH [devil tries to kill him]: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground . . . -- Mark 14:33, 34

And being in an AGONY he PRAYED [to escape Satan's onslaught] more earnestly: and his sweat wasas it were great drops of BLOOD falling down to the ground. -- Luke 22:43, 44

What could be plainer? Christ was close to death! He was in AGONY. His sweat was as drops of blood! His soul was exceedingly sorrowful EVEN UNTO DEATH! Jesus had not yet received His glorified body, and the agony, sorrow, and stress, on His then mortal body, were too much.

Yet why? Because Satan was trying to kill Him so that Jesus could not bruise the old serpent's head, at the cross, by bruising His own heel, something that God had told Satan that the Seed of the woman would do (back in the GARDEN of Eden -- Gen. 3:14,15)! You see. Satan remembered the GARDEN. What better place for him to defeat and kill Jesus that the place, where God pronounced Satan’s fate?

The noticeable phrase, in all three accounts, regarding these expressions of sorrow, is the term "UNTO DEATH." Could it be that the Saviour was nigh unto death in the garden and undergoing great physical damage because of his AGONY in that the Lord sweated great drops of blood (or as it was great drops of blood), causing Him to weakly fall to the ground and begins to approach death? If so, His death in the garden would mean that He would not go to the cross and the victory would belong to Satan. Whatever Satan is, he is no dummy.

His Prayer Request, Granted or Denied?

Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up PRAYERS and supplications with strong CRYING and tears unto him that was able to SAVE HIM FROM DEATH, and WASHEARD in that he feared . . . [When did all this happen, pray tell] -- Heb. 5:7

And there appeared an ANGEL unto him from heaven, STRENGTHENING HIM. -- Luke 22:43

Jesus prayed for the removal and taking away of the GARDENCUP, whatever it was. But was His request granted or denied? Those, who advance the traditional theory, would have to say that Jesus’ prayer was denied and not answered. Christ's prayer, in the days of His flesh in the garden, was filled with strong crying and tears. It was a "troubled" prayer to God, who was able to save Christ from the premature GARDEN DEATH CUP at the hands of Satan in the GARDEN [death started in the Garden of Eden]. Moreover, God both "heard" Him audibly and also heard Him in answer to His prayers. The Father answered His prayers by sending an angel to strengthen Him. (He was troubled before without trying to escape the crucifixion --John 12:27). But strengthen Him from what? Strengthen Him in His fight against Satan and death! If he were tempted in all points as we, He must have been tempted in regard to physically harmful anguish and agony of soul. Nevertheless, He was victorious over it! We insist that His prayer was both heard and answered. If not, what meaneth this passage in Hebrews concerning His BEING SAVED FROM DEATH by praying with strong crying and tears, and when, pray tell, did this happen?

Did Jesus Fail or Enter Into Temptation?

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation . . . -- Mat 26:41

He shall not fail nor be DISCOURAGED . . . -- Isa 42:4

We have heard for years the scenario, which teaches that Jesus shrank from the cup of the crucifixion in the garden, almost to the point of sin, failure, and discouragement. We never had any peace about such an interpretation. In the garden, Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray that they should not enter into temptation. After this, He prayed a second and third time regarding the removal of the "cup." We must believe that He was practicing what He preached and that watching and praying also would do for Him what it would do for them. He did neither enter into temptation nor sin nor did He doubt His Father nor fear the cross! Hebrews tell us that He, as the suffering servant, was heard in that He feared the Father (Heb. 5:7). Did Jesus sorrow? Yes! Was Jesus troubled? Yes! Was Jesus tempted? Yes! The Father and the Holy Spirit were tempted. Did Jesus drink the crucifixion CUP? Yes! Did Jesus drink the Garden CUP? No! Did Jesus ENTER into temptation? No! Was Jesus discouraged? No! Did Jesus Fail? No! Did Jesus pray to fail? No! Was Jesus prayer answered? Yes! Did He die at that time? No!

Did Jesus Change His Mind?

And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit . . . Now is my soul troubled; and WHAT SHALL I SAY?Father, save me from this hour: but FOR THIS CAUSE came I unto THIS HOUR. -- John 12:23, 24, 27

Father, if it be possible, LET THIS CUP PASS from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt . . . He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if THIScup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. -- Mat 26:39-42

The agony in the garden was not the first time that Jesus was sorrowful and troubled. In this particular account (John) of such agonizing, the Lord makes it very clear that His reason for coming was to be crucified else there would be no fruit, if He did not die. He also makes it extremely clear that he had no intentions of asking the Lord to save Him from the crucifixion hour, given to Him by the Father. So, what will the proponents of the traditional theory tell us in this regard? That He changed His mind and requested to be exempted from the cross? We think not! Jesus was in perfect spiritual shape, yet, He was not in perfect physical shape. Still, His human suffering did neither detract nor separate Him from His deity nor His perfect spirituality. He was always in His father's will, never doubting nor questioning nor contradicting Him on what they had agreed upon BEFORE the foundation of the world.

Conclusion

If there is room for speculation here, we do not wish to be excluded. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. We conclude, after ALL the evidence is in, the devil tried to kill the Lord in the garden to prevent Him from going to the cross. Jesus prayed not to drink nor experience that Garden cup of death, knowing that His prayer would be heard and answered, knowing that the Father was able to save Him from death. The Lord prayed not to be exempted from the Cross cup/death but from the Garden cup/death, and His prayers were heard and answered by the Father, who sent angels to strengthen Him and stop Him from dying there and then in the Garden. Jesus never prayed a prayer that the Father did not answer.

What was in the garden "cup?" Premature Death, at the hands of Satan? The crucifixion? The Garden Cup was not a cup that MUST be drunk; the God ordained crucifixion cup MUST be drunk. This cup contained the satanic plans of the old Serpent for Jesus' premature death and failure. Jesus was troubled, and He agonized over Satan's intentions to prevent God's plan from being fulfilled; to prevent mankind from being redeemed; to prevent Satan's head from being bruised, and to cause the scriptures to be broken. And all these were prevented as He DID NOTdrink THIS garden cup but did drink the crucifixion cup!

-- by Herb Evans