The cup. God took it, filled it up with all the sins of the world and placed it before Jesus: the cup of suffering. No wonder Jesus was “crushed with grief” (Matthew 26:38).
But God cleared up all the sin from our lives and put it upon Himself; there was nowhere else for the contents of that cup to go but down Jesus’ throat. How bitter the taste. How painful and heavy the cross we caused Him to bear.
Why did He do it? Isaish 53:11a: “When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied.” Every time that someone is born again, every time the Gospel spreads a little further, every time a Christian goes out into the world and bears fearless witness – Jesus sees it and He says, “It was worth it.” Every lashing, every jeer. It was worth bringing another child home.