Is there another way?
What do you think when Jesus said “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me”?
“Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:38-41 KJV)
Surely Jesus is talking about the crucifixion and the whole process which He had to go through when He says “this cup”. He knew He had to go through the suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension in order to fulfill the scriptures, (e.g. Is 53, Ps 22). For the wages of sin is death and He was the eternal vicarious atonement for all mankind past, present, and future.
I believe Jesus said this not because He did not know the will of God the Father, for they are one and the same, but for our knowledge. The knowledge that there was and is no other way in which the wrath of God can be appeased against all sin for eternity. Jesus fulfilled God’s will and said “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:4 KJV)
This to me is the greatest epitaph epitomizing the life that we all should live for Jesus.
In Christ,
Greg