The Cup And The Clock

INTRODUCTION

Opening Statement: Julius Caesar said “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” And Jesus Christ, the Son of God knew that he would offer up the supreme sacrifice for the world and He would have to do that patiently.

Explanation: As we think on these things, there are two images that I want you to put your mind on today.

The Cup

One is a cup; the other is a clock. Jesus figuratively referred to “a cup” in His Gethsemane prayer. In the OT, the cup was linked to God’s wrath (Is.51:17). In His humanity, He did not want to drink that cup. That cup involved extreme suffering. It involved feeling the separation from the Father as Jesus was made sin in our behalf. Nevertheless, regardless of how bitter it might be, Jesus surrendered to God’s will. He drank the cup!

The Clock

While Matthew, Mark, Luke and John use the term “cup” to refer to Jesus’ sufferings, John also used the “hour” motif or the “clock” to express the anticipation of a time in Christ’s life when suffering and pain would have to be endured and separation from the Father would have be experienced. The clock or hour motif serves to remind us that God is not only involved in certain events, but that he also orders their timing.

The Hour – An Allusion to Jesus’ Passion

The Hour

Scripture References in John’s Gospel

Jesus’ hour has not yet come.

2:4 Jesus replied, “Woman, why are you saying this to me? My hour has not yet come.”7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.8:20 (Jesus spoke these words near the offering box while he was teaching in the temple courts. No one seized him because his hour had not yet come.)

Jesus’ hour is coming

4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, a hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, because an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice…

Jesus’ hour has arrived

12:23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.13:1 Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end.17:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you…

Conclusion: These two motifs helps to set up the end of the Gospel stories. In fact, all of the Gospels have been described as “passion stories with extended introductions.” One of the most moving parts of this passion story of Christ is the time in the Garden of Gethsemane when in desperation Jesus turned to His Father in prayer.

Background: For three years he had taught. For three years he had healed. For three years he had tried to make a difference in his world and to point people to his Father. And now it had come down to this. One of his followers had already cut a deal with the enemies and he knew deep within his heart that this was already the beginning of the end.

Text: And with those thoughts racing through his mind, he gathered a few close friends, went to His favorite garden, and he fell to his knees and began to pray.

Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Mark 14:36 He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Luke 22:41 He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”

John 18:11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath! Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

Title: The Cup and the Clock

Question: Do you have a cup to drink from this morning? Have you been drinking from a bitter cup and you feel drunk with the pain? Have you endured an hour when life seemed to stand still and minutes seemed like days? Has life unfolded a chain of events that seemed to push you to the precipice of death?