But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another.

For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.  (Psalm 75:7-8)

The Hebrew word translated ‘cup’ is כּוֹס kowc, which is a small owl (possibly with saucer-like eyes).  The cup of judgment is figure used employed by Jesus and later John.

Jesus wrestled with temptation in the Garden of Gethsemene on the night before his crucifixion.  Twice he prayed for mercy:

‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’  (Matthew 26:39)

And:

Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘my Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’  (ibid 26:42)

It was ordained for Jesus to drink of the bitter cup for the collective sin of all humanity.  It is the mercy of Jesus to spare the condemnation of judgement for many, while God the Father spares not his Son.

This is unwitting prophesy of the High Priest, Caiaphas:

…it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. (John 11:50)

As John then comments:

(Caiaphas) did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. (ibid 11:51-52)

John also has revelation of the end of the End Times, when all the peoples are judged.

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, ‘go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.’  (Revelation 16:1)

In the Koine Greek John employs, the cup is represented by a bowl (φιάλη phialé) but it is the same cup of wrath that Jesus drank.  In the numerology of the Bible, seven represents completeness or perfection and here the remainder of God’s wrath is dispensed upon those who rejected Jesus and therefore, who must drink the cup themselves.  

What cannot be ignored but often is overlooked, is the judgment of God is consistent with a God of love.  In any relationship love must be reciprocated, and although God could require all to love Him, He offers all the chance to do so willingly. 

Humanity, as the angels, are given a choice over whom to worship, creatures (themselves or others) or the Creator.  Such is free will.  And it must be a true freedom, or else judgment cannot be exacted without injustice.  If anyone programmed an automaton to fail to serve you, then failure lies in the programming not the operation.  

Hell is the destination for all who reject God and therefore are obliged to drain the cup of wrath themselves, and it is not a place of oblivion:

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.  (Daniel 12:2)

CS Lewis famously wrote that ‘there are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “thy will be done”, and those to whom God says, in the end, “thy will be done.”  All that are in hell choose it.  Without that self-choice there could be no hell’ (The Great Divorce).

Thus, the choice is with everyone, whether to recognise and obey God, or to deny and disobey Him.  Jesus called himself the Son of Man (which along with fulfilling the Daniel’s vision 7:13-14, also simply means ‘human’) and was subject to every human weakness.  Jesus accepted the cup of wrath, and was obedient to his Father, but it must be understood that this was also the exercise of free will – as an act of obedience, by definition, can only be undertaken when all options are open.  As the author of Hebrews says of Jesus:

… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:2)

The shame would have been disobedience; his joy was in knowing that salvation of humanity came from pleasing his Father; but note, he endured the cross.  It was given to Jesus to suffer and his suffering is in no wise minimised.

Jesus drinks the bitter cup on behalf of others, that was his free choice, leaving all humanity to also choose.  None would willingly want to emulate Jesus in taking upon themselves the punishment, which flows from God’s perfect justice, and yet will do so unless, of course, we accept Jesus as our redeemer. That is the transaction, the offer and the gift set before every man and woman.