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And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will. ”
Mark 14:36 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Please remove this cup from me. However, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
  • KJV 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.
  • BSB “Abba, Father,” He said, “all things are possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”
  • NASB And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”
  • NLT “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus prays 'Abba, Father,' asking that the cup be removed, yet yields fully to the Father's will. This is the model of trusting submission in suffering.

Overview

'Abba' expresses intimate trust, and 'the cup' signifies the suffering and divine judgment Jesus must drink. He honestly asks for relief but surrenders his desire to the Father's purpose. Here the second Adam obeys where the first failed, securing salvation through perfect submission to God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Gal 4:6And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
  • Rom 8:15–16For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
  • John 5:30I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don’t seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.
  • Heb 5:7–8He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear,
  • John 12:27“Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time.
  • Phil 2:8And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
  • John 18:11Jesus therefore said to Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?”
  • Mark 10:27Jesus, looking at them, said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.”
  • John 6:38–39For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
  • 2 Tim 2:13If we are faithless, he remains faithful. For he can’t deny himself.”
  • John 4:34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.
  • Ps 40:8I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
  • Matt 6:9Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
  • Gen 18:14Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son.”
  • Jer 32:27“Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?
  • Titus 1:2in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
  • Matt 26:39He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
  • Luke 22:41–42He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed,
  • Heb 6:18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 14:36YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 14:36 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.