That Bitter Cup

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

There is a bitter cup of virulence

Deadly to mortal man’s condition

A toxic cup of poison so intense

Only Christ could drink at His volition

We all have witnessed the pain and suffering of those who have chosen to drink from the cup filled with the bitterness of life – a cup brimming with anger, hate, or fear – a cup full of  bad choices, habits, and addictions.  This cup is usually prepared by the person’s own hand and consumed without regard for its consequences.  Often palatable at first, the bitterness is felt later in both body and soul.

Not all bitter cups are concocted by us.  As we drink freely of life’s experiences, our cup may also be filled with virulent elements sipped unwittingly or unwillingly - dregs that saturate our body’s cells and organs with disease, ill-health, and sickness.  Such cups of physical pain and anguish are a product of our genetic inheritance or life-choices, or accidents. They may also be a schoolmaster sent to humble, refine, and purify our mortal tabernacles to make them more habitable for our spirits.  These too, are cups of bitterness, usually awful to the taste, painful and sometimes life-threatening; but each sip carries with it the possibility of greater sanctification.

The imagery of the “cup” comes from many scriptural and historical sources.   As part of the Jewish Passover observance, four cups of wine mixed with water were and, for some observers, are still consumed – each a symbol of an exodus event or doctrine – First, the Cup of Salvation and Blessing (with the telling of the story of the miraculous exodus from Egypt) – Second, the Cup of Deliverance before eating (eating of the food with bitter herbs), Third, the Cup of Redemption after supper (with songs of thanks) and Fourth, the Cup of Elijah known also as the Cup of Restoration.  (see Ex. 12:26–27, Luke 22:17, 20; 1 Cor. 10:16, and Ps. 113–18)

As Jesus and his disciples observed this ritual, He took the third cup and offered a new saying – signifying the fulfillment of the ancient ritual and the ushering in of the New Covenant, “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  (Matthew 26:27-28) Little did those present in that day, nor do many today, realize the prophetic importance of those words. 

Only a short time later, in Gethsemane, Jesus, in earnest prayer, began to take upon Himself the bitterness of the sins of the world. Thus commenced the Atonement.  As He prayed, He referred again to the Third Cup of Redemption – for Him, “That Bitter Cup.”  For that cup required suffering and pain whose intensity would be unimaginable to us. This prayerful plea to remove that cup would be asked three times.  “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.  39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:38-39)

As Christians, we believe that IF we turn to Our Father in Heaven, humble, repentant, and obedient to His laws, covenants, and ordinances, THEN, according to His grace and will and plan for us, He, because of Christ’s Atonement, may modify, moderate, or eliminate the consequences of our drinking from the bitter cup.   

Our meditative verse reflects upon “That Bitter Cup” and suggests that:

If we would pass upon our sip of the bitter cup

We must walk in the low valley and the plain road

From the Fount of all Righteousness we must sup

Refreshed by its purity and power upon us bestowed

That Bitter Cup

And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

Book of Mormon   3 Nephi 11:11

There is a bitter cup of virulence

Deadly to mortal man’s condition

A toxic cup of poison so intense

Only Christ could drink at His volition

That bitter cup of man’s indignation

Full to the brim with troubles and grief

Broiling and roiling without cessation

A toxic wine of worries with no relief

That bitter cup full of ills and sin

That only the Savior could consume

Drinking the dregs to their bitter end

Ending the power of death and the tomb

Thus, Christ did the Father’s will

In all things that the Father asked

That the Savior might save and fulfill

God’s plan and creations first to last

 If we would pass upon our sip of the bitter cup

We must walk in the low valley and the plain road

From the Fount of all Righteousness we must sup

Refreshed by its purity and power upon us bestowed

Larry Doyle Crenshaw