Imagine This...
Have you ever been really sick? Maybe your tummy hurt. Maybe you had a bad fever. Then a grown-up brought you some medicine. It looked yucky. It smelled bad. You did NOT want to drink it!
Now imagine someone you love — your mom, your dad, your big brother or sister — said: "Give that to me. I will drink the yucky medicine FOR you, so you don't have to." And after they drank it, YOU got all better! How cool would that be?
That is just what Jesus did for us — but with something much bigger than medicine. The Bible tells us about a very special cup. Let's find out what it is!
Section 1 — God Has a Special Cup
Did you know the Bible talks about a cup that belongs to God? It is not a cup like the one you drink juice from. This cup is a word picture. It is a way of saying that God sees all the bad things people do. And one day He has to deal with them.
In the book of Psalms, a man named Asaph wrote a song about this cup:
"For the LORD holds a cup in his hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours out the wine in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs."
— Psalm 75:8, NLT
What does that mean for kids? God is holding a cup. It is full of yucky stuff. The yucky stuff stands for what happens when people keep doing bad things and never say sorry. One day, the people who do wrong will have to drink it all up. That is not a fun cup!
God is fair. He is good. He can't just say "It's okay" when people hurt others. Bad choices have to have consequences — just like when you break a rule at home.
The Hebrew Word for "Cup"
כּוֹסSay it: "KOHS"
This is the Hebrew word for cup. That's what they called it in Bible times!
Section 2 — People Made Bad Choices
Why does God have this cup? Because people kept doing wrong things. They told lies. They were mean to each other. They stopped talking to God. They prayed to fake gods instead. Over and over and over again.
God warned them! He sent helpers called prophets (a prophet is someone who shares God's words). The prophets said: "Please stop! Come back to God!" But most people did not listen. So the cup got more and more full.
God makes the rules
because He is good
People break the rules
again and again
God warns them:
"Please come back!"
The cup fills up
with yucky stuff
But here is the amazing thing — God did not want anyone to have to drink this cup. He loves people SO much! So He made a plan. It was the most wonderful plan ever.
Section 3 — Jesus Drank the Cup For Us
The night before Jesus went to the cross, He went to a garden. The garden was called Gethsemane (say: "geth-SEM-uh-nee"). He got down on His knees. He put His face on the ground. He prayed to His Father. He was very, very sad. He knew what was coming.
And this is what He said:
"My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."
— Matthew 26:39, NLT
What does that mean for kids? Jesus was saying: "Dad, this cup is SO scary. I really don't want to drink it. But if this is what you need me to do, I will do it." He was brave even though He was scared.
Do you see what Jesus called it? "This cup of suffering." He was not holding a real cup. He was talking about the same cup we learned about — the cup full of yucky stuff for all the wrong things people ever did!
Jesus did not want to drink it. It was the worst thing ever. But He loved us SO much that He said: "I will drink it so they don't have to."
And that is what He did. On the cross, Jesus drank the whole cup — every last drop. Every lie, every mean word, every bad choice anyone ever made — Jesus took it all for us.
Jesus drank the yucky cup so we would never have to!
Section 4 — We Get the Good Cup!
Now here is the best part! Because Jesus drank the bad cup, we get a totally different cup. The Bible calls it "the cup of blessing":
"When we bless the cup at the Lord's Table, aren't we sharing in the blood of Christ?"
— 1 Corinthians 10:16, NLT
What does that mean for kids? When we drink the little cup of juice at church, we are sharing in what Jesus did for us. We are saying: "Thank you, Jesus! You drank the bad cup so I could have this good one!"
The bad cup is gone. Jesus drank it all up. Now all that is left for us is blessing, love, and forgiveness. Jesus took our bad cup and gave us His good cup. What an awesome trade!
🍵
The Bad CupFull of yucky stuff
OURS
✨
The Good CupBlessing and love
OURS NOW!
Activity Time: Draw It!
Get your crayons and paper! Draw two cups next to each other:
- Cup 1 (the bad cup): Use dark colors — brown, black, grey. Make it look yucky and scary. Then draw a big X over it! Jesus took this one away.
- Cup 2 (the good cup): Use your favorite bright colors — gold, yellow, orange, rainbow! Make it glow and sparkle! This is the cup of blessing that is ours!
- Under the dark cup, write: "JESUS DRANK THIS"
- Under the bright cup, write: "WE GET THIS!"
On the back of your picture, write (or ask a grown-up to help): "Jesus took my cup so I could have His!"
Memory Verse
"My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."
— Matthew 26:39, NLT
Pleasant Springs Church — PS-Kids Discipleship
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