In the New Testament, Jesus confronted the leaders of Israel for their part in the continued rejection of God’s servants who were sent to Israel. By their rejection of Jesus, they were complicit in the persecution and blood shedding of all the prophets and righteous men throughout Israel’s history.

And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute. That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. ~ Luke 11:46-54

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. ~ Matthew 23:29 -38

These two sections of scripture may seem as if they have absolutely nothing to do with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, but in fact, they do because they are part of the backdrop that leads to the scandal of the cross. 

With these two sections of scripture in mind, let’s read again from Matthew 21:33-42 where Jesus gives the parable of the vineyard.

Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. ~ Matthew 21:33-39

Notice how the parable of the vineyard runs parallel with the words of Jesus to the leaders of Israel in the two opening sections of scripture above (Luke 11:46-54 and Matthew 23:29 -38).

Within the story of Israel, the death of Jesus is the culmination of the rejection of the God of Israel by his people. This is a sobering truth, but it is also one that will bring us into a greater sense of humility and love for the grace and mercy of God because we all deserve judgment.

Thankfully, the parable of the vineyard does not end at verse 39 with the death of the Son. We have 3 more verses that lead our eyes to the resurrection of God’s Son.

When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? ~ Matthew 21:40-42 

Jesus is the stone the builders rejected, and as we move forward we are going to unpack that even further, but for now I want to draw you attention to what is said immediately afterwards, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.

The rejected stone (rejected by men) is the stone that God has chosen as the cornerstone. According to the scriptures, this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!

In the Bible, when we read about Jesus as the stone the builders rejected, this refers to the sufferings of Christ. When we read about Jesus as the cornerstone, that is resurrection language. The resurrected Christ is the foundational stone of the house of God in God’s new creation.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. ~ Isaiah 28:16

In the parable of the vineyard, Jesus asks “Did ye never read in the scriptures that the rejected stone would become the cornerstone?”

This was God’s foreordained plan and is that which had been told to us by the prophets. The stone which the builders refused has become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. ~Psalm 118:22-23

I can not stress enough how important it is for us to grasp the impact of these words, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” This is the Lord’s doing. Not the theories, but this. In our first lesson I referenced that there are multiple theories (views) that are taught regarding the atonement. These theories serve as a framework endeavoring to explain the cross. Yet none of them have as their foundation the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone, which is the Lord’s doing within the story of Israel.

The theories (moral influence, ransom, Christus victor, satisfaction, penal substitution, governmental, and scapegoat theory), all have aspects of truth, but none of them can open our understanding regarding the cross and resurrection like the biblical narrative can.

We are just getting started in this study, and I hope you will continue to follow along. Until our next lesson, remember that Jesus, who was rejected by men, was chosen by God and this is the Lord’s doing! And when you see it, it will be marvelous in your eyes. 

Until lesson #3, blessings…

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, 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 26:36-39

It has been suggested that the cup to which Jesus makes reference is none other than the cup of God’s wrath. But is it? Those who advocate that Christ suffered under the wrath of God will sometimes refer to this mention of the cup as evidence to support their theory.

Indeed, there are scriptures which reference the cup of God’s wrath. For example: Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15-17; Ezekiel 23:32-34; and Habakkuk 2:16 all use the cup as a metaphor to refer to God’s wrath which comes on the ungodly and not on the godly.

Consider for example the following from Psalm 75.

But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. ~ Psalm 75:7-8

Now notice what the Psalmist says next:

But I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. ~ Psalm 75:9-10

When Zacharias (the father of John the Baptist) was filled with the Holy Spirit, he prophesied saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David… ~ Luke 1:67-69

Jesus is the horn of our salvation. In 2 Samuel David declared, The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. ~ v.3

In Psalm 89 we read the following: Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. ~ v.15-17 

Jesus never ceased to be the horn of our Salvation, thus he never ceased to be the one God favored and in whom we find favor. What so many fail to understand is this all points to the power of the resurrection of Jesus.

If we envision a God who suddenly turned on Jesus, we will never truly grasp the power and glory of his resurrection. Jesus was not abandoned by God nor was he the object of God’s wrath. Jesus always did those things that pleased the Father, and when he laid down his life it was as a sweet fragrance to God, in obedient surrender to the Father’s will.

When Jesus died, he surrendered all to the will of the Father, and lovingly forgave those who were putting him to death. This he did by the grace of God, not as the whipping board for God’s anger.

It truly is disheartening that some have to reach for such texts as Jesus asking for the cup to pass from him if possible and projecting onto that the idea of the cup of God’s wrath. God’s wrath does not come upon the innocent, the just, the pure, or the holy. To claim that this was the cup of God’s wrath is to literally change the very nature and character of God at the darkest hour when his Son trusted him.

If we could but envision a Holy God who raised his Son from the dead because he is just and exalts the righteous, the image of an angry God who needed to take vengeance would melt away.

With regards to the metaphorical language of the cup, we see it used in other ways in scripture that have nothing to do with God’s wrath. For instance, Jeremiah 16:7 speaks of the cup of consolation, Psalm 116:13 refers to the cup of salvation, 1 Corinthians 10:16 mentions the cup of blessing, and Psalm 23:5 tells of the overflowing cup. 

Consistently the word “cup” is used within scripture as a metaphor but what specifically does it refer to when Jesus employs the use of it in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Well, we can be certain that Jesus drank from the cup of suffering because he laid down his life for our sins. The wages of sin is death, not the wrath of God. The wrath of God comes on those who refuse to turn from their sin, who love their sin, and who despise truth and righteousness.

Now let’s consider what actually happened when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane. 

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. ~ Matthew 26:36-37

Notice that Jesus took with him Peter and the 2 sons of Zebedee. We’ll come back to this shortly, but let’s continue:

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, 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. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ~ Matthew 26:38-42

Notice that the cup is contextually the will of God for Jesus during this hour  –  if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Let’s continue:

And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. ~ Matthew  26:43-47

Jesus was to endure the betrayal, the arrest, the trial, the mockery, the humiliation, and the suffering of death. This was the cup he was to drink from. There is nothing in context that suggests that Jesus is referring to becoming the subject of God’s wrath when he mentions the cup he was to drink from.

Notice that Jesus took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. The sons of Zebedee (James and John) had recently been asked by Jesus’ “Are you able to drink of the cup that I am going to drink and to be baptized with the baptism that I am going to be baptized with?” To which they responded, We are able ~ Matthew 20:20.

Why would Jesus ask them if they could drink of the cup he would drink from, if his cup was the wrath of God? Notice what Jesus says to them when they said, we are able.

And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. ~ Matthew 20:23

Notice that Jesus affirms that they would indeed drink of the cup that Jesus himself would drink. This may very well be the reason he took them with him, along with Peter, as he prayed in Gethsemane. It seems that Jesus, even in this hour of grief, was teaching his disciples what it truly meant to drink from his cup, for they called to suffer for his sake.

When Jesus said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, there must have been a desire for his friends to be near him in his deepest time of trouble and sorrow. Jesus was tempted in all points as we are and just as we need friends near in times of distress, so Jesus must have longed for his friends to be there for him. Jesus asks, “…tarry ye here, and watch with me.” 

There certainly is strong evidence that the cup refers to the sufferings that Jesus was about to experience (v.45-46) and this becomes even more apparent when we consider John 18:10-11 along with Matthew 26:51-54 which refer to the same event

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? ~ John 18:10-1

Jesus’ response to Peter in John 18:11 would indicate that the cup was indeed his sufferings from the time of his arrest till his last breath on the cross. 

And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? ~ Matthew 26:51 -54

John 18:11 & Matthew 26:54 refer to the same event.

“The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” and “how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be.” are two expressions of the same truth, for the Son of man was destined to lay down his life for the sins of all men and be raised again and proclaimed as the Son of God with all power and authority.