The Cup of Suffering and Christ’s Crucifixion

Posted by L Sheldon

May 26, 2008

Christ's Suffering - Discipleship | Material | Basic Training

Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:38-39

I recently received several emails from the wife of a broadcaster whose husband was in the hospital. It seems, his cancer had returned and it had moved to his lungs.

There was this desperation in her emails. I could sense the two were close. She was his childhood sweetheart. They had been together for years and now her beloved struggled to stay alive.

After she described her husband’s symptoms, I knew he had little or no chance to survive, outside a miracle. I knew this because my brother had the same symptoms. And he passed away last summer.

However, when I responded to her and told her I knew how she felt, because my brother went through the same thing, I did not mention he died.

The next morning, she emailed us. She let us know how many of her husband’s friends had responded with kind letters and notes. She printed these out and placed them in a little booklet for her husband to read. She also felt more positive about his situation. She said he was feeling better and his appetite had returned.

Inside, I prayed she would see a miracle and his outcome would be different from my brothers. Within minutes another e-mail arrived. This time she announced her beloved husband left this world and entered glory.

The last email was different from the first few. The secon e-mail did not sound desperate, but hopeful. I could sense her faith had kicked in and her love for Christ told her, her husband was fine. He was with Jesus.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a lost loved one. It must be horrible. When I lost my mother, I grieved a little, but I knew she was with Jesus. And while we were not as close as we should have been, I have no doubt she is in heaven.

When I lost my brother, it was like someone had taken part of me with him. We were as close as two people could be. I always tried to protect my little brother. But this time, God chose to take him home. Only now, have I begun to come to terms with his leaving this world. I look forward to seeing him again one day, with my mother and the rest my family who went on before me.

I never imagined my world without my brother. I was the oldest. I should have been the first to go. This Christian woman never imagined a world without her husband. And Jesus never knew what it was like to experience separation from His Father, even for a moment.

We do not know why Jesus felt the way He did. Yet, we do know something caused our Lord to sweat blood the night before His crucifixion. Did it have to do with His separation from His Father? Or taking on the sins of the world? Or was it the physical pain He would have to endure? Or could it have been a combination of all three. Or maybe it was none of the above. We’re not told. However, something caused Jesus to ask His Father to find another way to redeem man, but if this was not possible, then so be it. He would carry out His Father’s will.

To me, it’s comforting to know we have a Savior who struggled with grief. Why the grief? We don’t know. Just knowing this helps me understand it was and still is human to grieve over the loss of my brother.

I have selected the writings of John Gill to give us some added insight to Matthew 26:38-39: “with strong crying and tears; “with a most vehement outcry, with a loud voice, as when on the cross; and though there is no mention of his tears then, or when in the garden, no doubt but he shed them: all that Christ did, and said, are not written; some things were received by tradition, and by inspiration; Christ wept at other times, and why not at these? and there are some circumstances in his prayers which intimate as much, (Matthew 26:38) (Matthew 27:46) (Luke 22:44) which shows the weight of sin, of sorrow, and of punishment, that lay upon him, and the weakness of the human nature, considered in itself: and it may be observed to our comfort, that as Christ’s crying and tears were confined to the days of his flesh, or to the time of his life here on earth, so shall ours be also.” [1]

Yes, death can be scary. Losing a loved one is painful. But the resurrection makes these easier to face. Obviously, this was Christ’s hope. He knew His Father would not leave Him in the grave. And the same Father who saved Him, saved the woman’s husband, my mother and my beloved brother will save us. This is the hope we have in Him. Yes, our suffering Savior suffers no more and neither do our loved ones, in Christ, who went home before us. The hope of life everlasting for all rests in our Lord and the knowledge of the resurrection.

Additional reading:

When he has tried thy soul with sadness

This makes it difficult for a Christian suffering with mental illness to seek the needed help (which ought to include proper pastoral care). Waters wrote about what a seminary professor taught him: He emphasized that it is essential in …

Suffering Much at the Hands of the Physicians

I have been experiencing some “discomfort” in my nether regions for the past year or so. Sometimes it feels as if the parts within my lower abdomen wants out and at other times it just burns. Most of the time it is just uncomfortable to …

New Word Alive: John Piper on suffering and the praise of God’s grace

John Piper began his second address at New Word Alive (here are my notes on the first) by expanding his statement that suffering is judicial. Romans 8:20 says that creation subjected to futility by him (that is, God) in hope. …

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Author Lynn E. Sheldon

Author writes and distributes discipleship material and articles to train believers in the Word.

Website: http://godfirerevival.org

email: godfirerevival@gmail.com

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