What Does Mark 14:36 Mean?
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Carry this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.THE KEY
Surrender here does not erase the desire for release; it lets that desire be spoken while the outcome is yielded.
THE MEANING
This prayer lets your wish for release be spoken plainly while the outcome is entrusted to the Father. Desire and surrender occupy the same moment, so trust does not require pretending the cup is welcome.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that surrender requires you to pretend you do not want relief.
THE ROOT
θέλω
thelō
GROWS FROM
θελ-
thel-
To want, wish, or desire.
The Greek verb θέλω (thelō, “to want or desire”) lets “what I will” carry the sense of “what I want.” The same verb frames both sides of the sentence, so the request for removal remains honestly named beside the Father’s desire.
ALSO GROWS
thelein: to want or wish
θέλειν
This form keeps the focus on desire as something actively expressed.
thelēma: will; what is wanted or desired
θέλημα
It names the desired choice or purpose that the prayer yields to.
ποτήριον
potērion
GROWS FROM
πιν-/ποτ- (pin-/pot-, drink)
Drinking; the act of taking in a drink.
The Greek noun ποτήριον (potērion, “drinking cup”) belongs to the πιν-/ποτ- (pin-/pot-, “drink”) word family. The image joins the vessel to the act of drinking, so the request reaches beyond removing an object to asking that its contents need not be taken in.
ALSO GROWS
pínō: to drink
πίνω
The verb makes explicit what the cup is for: drinking.
póma: a drink; that which is drunk
πόμα
This branch draws attention to what the cup contains, the portion the speaker asks not to take in.
δυνατά
dynata
GROWS FROM
δυνα-
dyna-
Ability or capacity; being able to do something.
The adjective δυνατά (dynata, “possible”) belongs to the family of δύναμαι (dýnamai, “to be able”). The sentence places divine capacity beside the request, then leaves the outcome to the Father’s will: what is possible and what is chosen are not the same thing.
ALSO GROWS
dýnamai: to be able; to have power
δύναμαι
This verb names the capacity behind the statement that all things are possible.
dýnamis: power; ability
δύναμις
This noun makes the root’s sense of capacity explicit.
THE PATTERN
A request for release can be spoken plainly while the outcome is entrusted to God.
But if he says thus, I have no delight in you. See, here I am, let him do to me as is good in his eyes.Saying, Father, if you are willing, carry this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.So let those who suffer according to the will of God place beside him the keeping of their living souls in doing good, as to a steady Creator.THE THREAD
But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be immersed in the immersion that I am immersed in?Mark 10:38 uses the same Greek word ποτήριον (potērion, “drinking cup”) and immediately asks whether the disciples can drink it. The cup in Gethsemane is more than a vessel to remove; it is a portion whose contents must be taken in.
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