Jesus knows what is coming, and He does not turn to the right or to the left. Right out of the gate in this chapter we see Him repeat this warning and reminder to His disciples for the very last time, "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion" (v. 2). The suffering He's anticipated and predicted is about to descend upon Him.
There is prophetic fulfillment displayed in the way Jesus enters His suffering. He has the resolve Isaiah anticipated when he wrote that the Servant would "set his face like flint" (Isaiah 50:7). But paired with this steadfast determination, we also see the tenderness of His humanity on display. Jesus is deeply grieved. He falls on His face and pleads with the Father to take the cup from Him.
Jesus could have stopped everything. As He makes clear to Peter, in an instant, He could call upon His Father for more than "twelve legions of angels" (v. 53). But He doesn't. Because, "How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?" (v. 54)
Jesus is deliberately stepping into what God has planned. As Luke reminds us in His gospel, Jesus, "Set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). There is never a point in His life, including this time when he is face to face with death, that Jesus was caught in circumstances beyond His control. Even during the last Passover meal we see Jesus remind His disciples of the willingness with which He is offering the true Passover sacrifice. He takes the bread and the cup and explains that His body will be given and His blood poured out "for forgiveness of sins" (v. 28). John's gospel account articulates how Jesus freely gives Himself over to the Father's will, "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father" (John 10:17-18)
And then at the end of this portion of Matthew's gospel record, we have Peter's failure on display. While Jesus remains steadfast and faithful, Peter denies the Lord three times. The contrast in painful. As the suffering begins to reign down upon the Messiah, He locks eyes with one of His most trusted friends, and in that moment, Peter remembers the words of His beloved Rabbi and he breaks. Bitter tears begin to flow.
Peter is a painful reminder to us all. Our salvation does not rest on our strength. It does not rest on our resolve. It does not rest on our ability to sidestep failure. It rests on the faithfulness of Jesus, the one who willing drank the cup that rightfully belonged to each one of us. Our salvation rests on Him drinking that cup down to the very last drop.