Cup of Wrath

Biblical Texts

The "cup of wrath" is an expression that likens the anger God sends as judgment to a cup of wine that people must drink.

In the Old Testament it appears in several books.

• Psalms 75:8 says that "all the wicked of the earth" will drink the cup in the hand of the LORD down to its dregs.
• Isaiah 51:17, 22 says that Jerusalem has drunk "the cup of his fury" and "the cup of trembling" to the dregs, but that God will take the cup out of her hand so that she will drink it no more.
• In Jeremiah 25:15, Jeremiah is commanded to take "the wine cup of this fury" and cause the nations to drink it.
• The same image appears in Ezekiel 23:31–34, Habakkuk 2:16, and Lamentations 4:21.

In the New Testament it appears in Revelation 14:10 and 16:19. According to 14:10, whoever worships the beast "shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation." According to 16:19, the great city Babylon receives "the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath."

In the Gospel accounts of the prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42), Jesus prays, "let this cup pass from me." This cup, too, is commonly read in light of the same image.

Background

The word "cup" is kos in Hebrew and potērion in Greek. In the Old Testament, a cup could also signify the portion allotted to a person (Psalm 16:5; 23:5). The picture of someone drinking strong wine, staggering, and collapsing was used to depict the condition of one who has been struck down by judgment and rendered powerless. In the prophets, the one who hands over the cup is always God, and those who drink from it are sinful Israel or the Gentile nations.

Significance Across Scripture

The cup, a symbol of judgment in the Old Testament, develops along two lines in the New Testament.

• The final judgment: Revelation uses the image directly to portray the final judgment.
• The cup Jesus receives: The Gospels transfer the image to scenes in which Jesus willingly accepts the cup. In John 18:11, Jesus says, "the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"

Many interpreters connect the promise of Isaiah 51:22, that God will take the cup out of His people's hand, with Jesus drinking that cup in their place.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The wording of the text: The Gospels do not explicitly call the cup in Gethsemane the "cup of wrath." That designation is an interpretation grounded in Old Testament usage.
• The substitutionary reading: The Reformed tradition regards this cup as the wrath of God that sinners deserve and understands Jesus to have received it in their place. This understanding, that He paid the price on behalf of others, is called substitution and is treated in detail in the article on atonement. Question 37 of the Heidelberg Catechism confesses that Christ bore the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind. This interpretation is explained alongside Isaiah 53:4–6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and the sayings from the cross (the Seven Last Words), and it is widely accepted in Korean evangelical churches.
• The reading as suffering and death: In Mark 10:38–39, Jesus tells His disciples that they too will "drink of the cup that I drink of." On this basis, some interpret the cup more broadly as the whole of the suffering and death accepted within the will of God. Some theologians are cautious about language describing the Father as angry with the Son, and they also distance themselves from explaining the atonement solely in terms of penal substitution.
• What the text does not say: Explanations that Jesus sought to avoid the cup out of fear of death itself, or accounts that describe in concrete detail the agony contained in the cup, go beyond the text. Hebrews 5:7–9 says only that Jesus prayed "with strong crying and tears."

In the Korean Church

The theme is frequently addressed in sermons during Holy Week and at services of the Lord's Supper. A common contrast holds that because Jesus drank the cup of wrath, believers receive "the cup of blessing" (1 Corinthians 10:16).