Connect Isaiah 51:17 with New Testament teachings on God's judgment and redemption. Setting the Scene: Isaiah’s Warning and Promise “Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath; you who have drained it to the dregs—the goblet that makes men stagger.” (Isaiah 51:17) • Isaiah pictures Judah as having already tasted the LORD’s righteous anger. • The “cup” is not a mere figure of speech—it represents God’s real, deserved judgment poured out to the last drop. • Yet the chapter (vv. 21–23) promises that God will one day remove that cup from His people and place it in the hands of their oppressors. Judgment and redemption appear side-by-side. Seeing the Cup in the Gospels • Jesus repeatedly speaks of “the cup” He must drink: – “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) – “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?” (John 18:11) • The cup Jesus refers to is the very wrath foretold in Isaiah 51:17. He intends to drain it in place of His people. • By willingly taking that cup, the Lord answers Isaiah’s promise—God’s wrath is removed from His people because it is poured out on His Son. Paul’s Perspective: Wrath Satisfied, Righteousness Received • Romans 3:25—“God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice, through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness…” • Romans 5:9—“Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!” • 2 Corinthians 5:21—“God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Key take-aways: – The cup was not ignored; it was emptied. – Justice is upheld (God’s wrath truly falls), and mercy is secured (it falls on Christ, not on believers). – Believers stand clothed in righteousness, forever shielded from that cup. The Book of Revelation: Final Judgment for Those Who Refuse the Substitute • Revelation 14:10 warns that the worshiper of the beast “will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath.” • Revelation 16:19 shows the same cup poured out on Babylon. • Those outside Christ must still face Isaiah’s cup; those in Christ never will (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Living Response: Confidence and Sobriety Today • Gratitude—Christ has taken what we could never endure. • Assurance—God’s justice is satisfied; no double jeopardy for the redeemed. • Urgency—Others still stand beneath the cup; the gospel remains their only refuge. |
    |