Turning away, Jesus went again to His place of seclusion and fell facedown. The humanity of the Son of God trembled in that trying hour. The awful moment to decide the destiny of the world had come. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. Christ could even now refuse to drink the cup allotted for guilty humanity. He could wipe the bloody sweat from His brow and leave us to perish in our iniquity. He could say, “Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father. Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty?” “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” HH 319.3
Three times He drew back from the last, crowning sacrifice. But now He sees that the human race is helpless. He sees the power of sin. The woes of a doomed world rise before Him. He sees its impending fate, and He makes His decision. He will save humanity at any cost to Himself. He has left the halls of heaven to save the one world that has fallen by transgression. And He will not turn from His mission. HH 319.4
Having made the decision, He fell dying to the ground. Where now were His disciples, to place their hands beneath the head of their fainting Master? The Savior trod the winepress alone, and from the people there was none with Him. See Isaiah 63:3. HH 319.5
But God suffered with His Son. Angels witnessed the Savior’s agony. There was silence in heaven. No harp was touched. In silent grief, the angelic host watched the Father separating His beams of light, love, and glory from His beloved Son. HH 319.6
Satan and his allies in evil watched intently. What answer would come to Christ’s prayer, repeated three times? In this awful crisis, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the Sufferer, the mighty angel who stands in God’s presence came to Christ’s side. The angel did not come to take the cup from Christ’s hand, but to strengthen Him with the assurance of His Father’s love. He assured Him that His death would result in the complete defeat of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High. He told Him that He would see a great number of the human race saved, eternally saved. HH 319.7