The Prince's Poison Cup

Coming up today on Renewing Your Mind. Didn't seem fair that the king wouldn't let them drink from the fountain, so they decided to try it. But a terrible thing happened when the people drank the water.

Their hearts turned to stone. A well-told story has the power to engage and influence. Parents have always used stories to pass morals along to their children, and Dr. R.C. Sproul saw storytelling as an opportunity to do even more, to explain deep theological truths in a way a child can understand. So it's our pleasure today to hear him read his book, which powerfully illustrates the atoning work of Christ.

It's titled The Prince's Poison Cup. Here's R.C. You know, I've been writing children's stories for a few years now for this reason. First of all, everybody loves a story. Jesus communicated the truth of the gospel with parables, and nobody gets too old to enjoy stories.

And I love the children's books because the parents read them to the children. And what I'm thinking is that while they're reading these simple stories to their kids, they're getting new insights, I hope, to the truths that we're trying to communicate. And when we talk in this story of the poison cup that is given to the prince, we're going back to that event where our Lord was forced to sweat drops of blood over a cup that the Father had set before him. And in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, from the depths of his soul, cried out to the Father and begged him, let this cup pass from me. It was a dreadful cup, a deadly cup, but he had to drink from that cup to save our very lives. And so that's the biblical basis, background, and foundation for this children's story.

I hope that this story will help your understanding become deeper of what it cost Jesus to save you and your children. The Prince's Poison Cup. One morning not so long ago, in a snug house in a small town, a little girl was feeling sick. Her name was Ella Ruth, but her family simply called her Ella. Ella had a bad tummy ache, so the doctor had given her some medicine. Ella's father poured some of the medicine onto a spoon. But as soon as Ella saw the medicine, she frowned, and she said, oh, Daddy, this medicine looks yucky.

Do I really have to take it? Her father smiled and said, yes, dear, you have to take your medicine if you want to get well. So Ella worked up her courage and finished the medicine just as her father told her. But then she asked, Daddy, why does medicine taste so bad if it's going to make us well? Well, her father said, that's a question you should ask Grandpa.

He always can answer your hard questions. He's coming to visit this afternoon, so get some rest, and you'll be feeling better when he gets here. So Ella took a nap and woke up when Grandpa arrived. He hugged Ella and asked her how she was feeling, and she told him that she was feeling much better. Then she looked up at him and said, Grandpa, may I ask you a question? Grandpa nodded and said, of course, my dear. Grandpa, why is my medicine so yucky if it's going to make me well?

Grandpa looked thoughtful. Now, that's a very good question, Ella, he said. Some things that look or taste or smell wonderful are really awful.

But sometimes things that seem terrible are actually very good. I even remember a story in which both of these strange things were true. Would you like to hear it? Oh, yes, Ella said. She loved the stories Grandpa told to explain things.

So Grandpa sat down and Ella snuggled up close beside him. Grandpa began by saying, once upon a time, there was a great king. He was called the king of life because he had the power to make anything, even living things like plants and animals and people. The king made a beautiful park filled with trees, streams, lakes and meadows. And every day the king came to the park and visited with his subjects, the people he had made.

They were very happy as they walked together in the beauty of the park. In the center of the park, the king placed a fountain and up from the fountain bubbled beautiful water that looked cool and sweet. But the king told his people, you may drink from all the streams in the park, but you may not drink from this fountain. The water in this fountain will harm you.

Do not drink it. At first, the king's subjects enjoyed spending time with him so much that they didn't even go close to the fountain. They loved the king and wanted to please him, but they began to get curious. They wondered why he didn't want them to drink the water of the fountain, which looks so pure and refreshing.

One day, a stranger in a long black cloak appeared in the park. People didn't know it, but the stranger was the king's arch enemy. He told the people that the water in the fountain wasn't bad at all. He said that if they would try it, the water would do wonderful things for them.

It would make them as great as the king himself. By now, the people were very curious about the water. It didn't seem fair that the king wouldn't let them drink from the fountain, so they decided to try it.

The stranger filled a cup with the water from the fountain and gave it to the people, and they drank it. But a terrible thing happened when the people drank the water. Their hearts turned to stone. After that, they no longer felt any love for their king. They didn't even want to be with him anymore. They stopped coming to the park to spend time with him, and instead, they moved to a desert far away from the park, and they built themselves a city.

They called it the City of Man. The king of life was angry that the people had disobeyed him. He knew that because of the people's terrible violation of his command, he would be justified in destroying their city. But the king still loved his people and felt sorry for them in their pain. The king was very wise and had known that the people would drink from the fountain, and he already had a plan to help them. He went to his son, who was the prince of the kingdom, and said to him, I want you to help heal our subjects. At that point in the story, Ella stopped Grandpa and asked, What did the king want the prince to do?

Oh, it was an awful task, Grandpa said. The king gave the prince a golden cup and told him to go to the City of Man. There in the central plaza of the city, the prince would find another fountain. But this fountain was not filled with sweet water. It was filled with terrible poison, and the poison was made up of the king's anger over the people's disobedience.

One drop of the poison would kill a strong man. The king told the prince to use the golden cup to drink a whole cupful of the poison from the fountain. He said if the prince would do that, his subjects would be healed and could come back to the park. Now, the prince loved his father and his people.

And even though his mission sounded very hard, he was determined to fulfill it. So he started on a journey to the City of Man, and several of his friends went with him. On the way to the city, the prince and his friends stopped by a pond. The prince stared into the water, which was beautiful, calm, and blue. But as he continued to gaze into the water, something strange happened. In his mind, he saw a large cup filled with a dark, murky liquid. And he knew that it was the cup of poison that his father had commanded him to drink.

The prince closed his eyes and shook his head to get the picture of the awful cup out of his mind. For a moment, he thought about turning back, but he remembered his father's order. He had to go to the City of Man, because he knew that that was where the poison was. When the prince and his friends arrived in the city, they saw that it was a terrible place. The streets were dark and filled with mud and trash.

Many of the homes were broken down, and the people were unfriendly and suspicious. Somebody recognized the prince as the son of the king of life. And because they no longer loved the king, the people began to treat the prince quite badly. They shouted curses at him, they spat at him, and they taunted him.

Some even tossed stones at him or slapped him as he passed. The prince trembled in fear and began to sweat. He loved his father, but he couldn't help wondering if there's some other way for the people to be healed. He wondered if he really had to drink the poison. He thought about the golden cup he was carrying, and he said to himself, I wish that I didn't have to drink from this cup. The prince struggled with his fear. He remembered the words of his father, You must drink the cup.

It's the only way to heal our people. More than anything else, the prince wanted to please the king. So right then and there he decided that he would not turn back, but he would drink the poison just as his father had asked. No matter what pain and suffering it might cost him, the prince's friends also became very frightened at the angry mob of people around them, so that one by one they all ran away. And soon the prince was left all alone in the midst of the angry people, but still he kept looking for the fountain that was full of poison. Finally he entered a great plaza, and in the center of the plaza was the fountain, and standing by the fountain was the man in a dark cloak. It was the king's archenemy, the one who had convinced the people to drink from the fountain in the park. The prince approached the fountain, and without saying a word, he took out the golden cup his father had given him and held it out to the man. With a cruel smile, the man filled the prince's cup with the water from the fountain and gave it to the prince.

The angry people of the city all gathered around the fountain to see what would happen. The prince looked down at the poison that filled his cup. It was dark, murky, and smelly. He was horrified and disgusted by it. He knew it would kill him, but as he looked around at the faces of the angry people, he remembered that their stony hearts would be healed if he drank it. He put his lips to the edge of the cup and began to drink. The poison tasted bitter. He wanted to spit it out, but he had promised his father he would drink it all. The poison burned his throat, but he continued to swallow it.

He finished it all right down to the last sip. When the poison was all gone, the prince bowed his head, closed his eyes, and he died. He fell to the pavement beside the fountain, and as soon as he fell, the man in the dark cloak laughed with glee because he thought he had killed the king's son, and all the people gave a great shout of triumph. But just then, someone else entered the plaza. This person wore a cloak that was a brilliant white, so bright no one could look at it. And as he walked, the ground trembled. He approached the fountain, and as he came, the man in the dark cloak stopped laughing. And in fact, in dismay, he tried to shield his eyes from the brightness of the newcomer's cloak, but it was impossible. He began to run away, and as he ran, he screamed, The king of life has come! Run for your lives!

All the people fled, hiding themselves in the alleys and doorways around the plaza. The king stopped beside the body of the prince. Falling down, he touched his son, and when he touched him, the prince opened his eyes. He was alive again.

The king of life had brought the prince back from death. And at that very moment, the liquid bubbling up out of the fountain changed. No longer was it dark, murky poison. Now that was beautiful, clear, sweet water. The poison quickly drained away, and the water filled the fountain. The water glittered in the sunlight and tinkled merrily as it fell into the fountain, and its sweet, fresh smell drifted across the plaza.

The water itself seemed to be alive. The prince stood up and found the golden cup. Going to the fountain, he held it under the falling water and filled it to the brim. Then he turned to the people and held the cup out to them.

If anyone thirsts, he said, let him come to me and drink. He called out, and the blowing wind seemed to carry his words throughout the plaza and among the people watching from the shadows. At that point, an amazing thing began to happen. The hearts of the people began to change, growing soft and warm once more. Oh, some people's hearts remained hard and cold, but all around the plaza, the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, old people, young children, rich merchants, and poor workers were changed.

They were transformed. Slowly, fearfully, those whose hearts were changed began to approach the fountain. They had always been repulsed by the horrible poison, but the prince and the water he offered looked so glorious, they could not hold back. Finally, one little boy approached the prince and timidly took the cup. Then he took a small sip and swallowed the water. The rest of the people watched anxiously, but nothing terrible happened. Instead, the boy simply looked up at the king and the prince with love and gratitude.

He had been taught to hate them, but now all of that hate is gone. Seeing that nothing bad had happened to the boy after he drank from the cup, many other people quickly followed his example. They no longer wanted to run and hide from the king. Instead, they came to drink from the golden cup, and all of those who drank praised the king and the prince for healing them. They saw that the terrible poison the prince had drunk was wonderful medicine for them. Although it tasted awful to the prince and had caused him to die, it had healed their stony hearts.

After that, the people joyfully began to visit the park once more, where they took great delight in walking with the king of life and the prince who had restored them to life. At this point, Grandpa leaned over to Ella and said to her, Ella, I want you to remember that we get sick because of sin. That's why the medicine that makes our bodies well usually looks and tastes bad. But the prince had to drink something far more terrible so that his people might be healed from the results of their disobedience. So each time you have to take bitter medicine, I want you to remember the story of the prince's poison cup. Oh, I will, Grandpa, Ella promised. And you know what? I know another prince who died for his people. Do you, Grandpa asked, with a twinkle in his eye?

That's R.C. Sproul reading his children's book, The Prince's Poison Cup. Thanks for listening to Renewing Your Mind on this Monday.

I'm Lee Webb. The story of redemption comes through loud and clear in this book, both for the parents who read it and the children listening. I think your family will enjoy this beautifully illustrated hardbound book, and it would be a great gift for the upcoming holidays. We'd be happy to send you a copy along with the audio reading we just heard. Simply contact us with your donation of any amount to Ligonier Ministries, and we will send them to you.

You can give your gift securely online at renewingyourmind.org, or you can simply call us at 800-435-4343. This book provides a wonderful opportunity for you to introduce some important ideas to your children. There's also a helpful four-parent section in the back that helps clarify the biblical terms and ideas of the story and provides questions to consider. So again, request the book and the audio book for your donation of any amount.

Our number again is 800-435-4343, and our web address is renewingyourmind.org. Joining me now is Ligonier teaching fellow and the president of Reformation Bible College, Dr. Stephen Nichols. And Steve, as we just listened to R.C. read The Prince's Poison Cup, and as we consider all of his children's books, they're really a reflection of his overall ministry, aren't they? Oh, they absolutely are, not only in terms of the drama of the storytelling, but also the theme of the stories that are in these books. So this Prince's Poison Cup, I mean, this is the story, isn't it? This is the story of our fall and the story of our redemption in Christ, and that proclamation of the Gospel in a winsome and compelling way, was very much at the heart of what R.C.

was about. We think of what was his 100th book, which was also a children's book, The Knight's Map, is all about the authority of scripture and the sufficiency of scripture. That goes back to the 70s and R.C. 's role in the Chicago statement on inerrancy and helping the church find its way back to this pivotal, essential, central doctrine of the authority, the inerrancy, the infallibility of scripture, and it's his 100th book and a children's book. So you're exactly right, it's not only the drama that's reflective both in R.C. 's teaching and in his children's books, but also the content and the themes that he's talking about. It's also reflective, isn't it, that we're never too young and never too old to learn, right?

Yeah, I remember listening to Vesta saying this at one point about R.C. He just loved to learn, and he loved to learn things from people, and that's why she thought that he loved being around people so much. And there was a wonder to him. He ends this great story with a twinkle in his eye, and as you say, you can see the twinkle in his eye, but there was a wonder to him, there was a sense of wonder, there was a sense of always wanting to learn, and especially always wanting to help people learn of all ages, and not just learn, but learn those truths that are a matter of not simply life and death, but a matter of eternal life and eternal death. Yeah, I wonder, too, how many parents, in reading this to their children and seeing the parents section at the end of the book, gained insights that they did not have before on the atonement. Oh, absolutely, and you think of this, in terms of the cup of God's wrath, there's probably not a biblical phrase that is full of more drama than that phrase, and when we think of Christ's death for us, we must realize that Christ endured the cup of God's wrath, and all that says about us and our sinfulness, and all that says about the necessity of Christ, it's just a wonderful story. And the thing that we love about the book is, at the end, it has this series of questions related to the plot as it unfolded in the book, and each question is simply answered with scripture. And that's another hallmark of why R.C. 's teaching was so compelling. It's almost like watching a brilliant doctor at work.

They can analyze the disease, and they know exactly what to prescribe. He knew what our theological disease was, and he knew not only that the cure was scripture, he knew chapter and verse where we needed to go to get the proper cure, and that's in the back of the book. You're an author yourself, and I'm curious, have you ever talked to R.C. about how he went about writing books? Oh, of course.

Yeah, many times. And the ideas were always percolating. And when he sat down to write, he already had it worked out in his head where he was going to go. He had already spent the time in the sources, and so once he had sort of spent all that time, he could sit down and it could flow onto paper. But don't let that deceive you. A lot of work went into those words flowing onto paper. Yeah, no doubt. No doubt about that. Thank you, Steve, for being with us today, and to you, our listeners, if you enjoyed this story, I hope you'll make plans to be with us again tomorrow as we will hear R.C. read another of his children's books, this one entitled The Lightlings. That's Tuesday here on Renewing Your Mind. .