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What did you give up for Lent?

Subhead
Built on a Rock
By
Pastor Andrew Palmquist, Bethany Lutheran Church, Luverne

“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” Matthew 26:36
Jesus arrives in the Garden of Gethsemane “to be with the Father for an interlude before his betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven open before him” as one commentator recounts that night.   Jesus knew the hour was fast approaching for his betrayal and his painful crucifixion.
Jesus prays for “this cup to pass,” referring to the prophet Isaiah describing it as the cup of God’s holy wrath. This cup contains the full fury and fierceness of God’s holy wrath poured out against all sin. We discover in Scripture that it’s intended for all of sinful humanity to drink. It’s your cup … and mine.
C. J. Mahoney says, “In the vivid imagery of the Old Testament, this cup is filled with ‘fire and sulfur and a scorching wind’ like some volcanic firestorm, like all the fury of Mount St. Helens’ eruption, concentrated within a coffee mug. No wonder Scriptures say that tasting from the cup caused the drinker to ‘stagger and be crazed.’  No wonder that, when Jesus stares into the detestable vessel, he stumbles to the ground.”
Listen to this verse as if for the very first time: “For God so loved the world …” that he’s silent at this moment when his Son appeals for an alternative.
Jesus is going to the cross to bear our sins. He is experiencing utter distress and total abandonment with absolute wrath from his Father on the cross because of your sins … and my sins.
In the darkest hour for our Savior, do you recognize his love for you? 
“Yet not what I will, but your will.”
Jesus says, “Father, I will willingly drink this cup, I will drink it all.”  He did not leave a single drop, so that we might be saved from God’s wrath for sin.
He drank it all. He drank it all so your sins and my sins can be forgiven.
Take time to consider what a wonderful Savior we have.

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