Eve
Finding Lasting Contentment in the Truth
- Day 6 -
- Day 6 -
My portion, my lot, my cup.....
In the gospels of the New Testament, we see Jesus use the word cup several times. During his
ministry, he took time to explain to his disciples that he came on earth to die - not to replace the ruler of Israel or to bring earthly peace to the Jewish
people.
Today we arrive on the scene as Jesus' ministry on earth is drawing to a close.....
Taken from Matthew 26: 36,39 and 42
Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place
called Gethsemane (...) going a little farther, He fell with His face to the
ground and prayed, ''My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'' (...) He went away a second time and
prayed, ''My Father if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I
drink it, may your will be done.'' (NIV)
After he prayed Jesus met up with His disciples just as Judas (the betrayer) arrived on the scene with soldiers, the chief priests and Pharisees. They had come to arrest Jesus. Simon Peter wanted to defend Jesus so he took his sword and injured the servant of the high priest. Jesus responds.
John 18:1
Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"
What was in the cup Jesus is talking about? What was His portion?
This cup is similar to the cup we saw yesterday in Isaiah 51:17 - a cup filled with God's wrath. In Isaiah, the people of Judah and the people of Israel had decided to not obey God's commandments and many of them worshiped gods from other countries. They chose to sin just as Eve did. God is Holy and can not be in the presence of sin and He became angry with His people because of the choices they made. The peoples responded by offering sacrifices to God and the blood of the animals covered their sin in the eyes of God.
God had an ultimate plan. He sent His son to earth so that He could die on
a cross. When Jesus took the cup of God, He was nailed to a cross and he bled.
He took the wrath of God and the sins of the world so that His Father could
replace the cup with a cup of life that was now filled with the blood of Jesus.
In John 3:16 we read, "...that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Have you accepted that Jesus paid the price so that you can be forgiven and be in the presence of God by having His Spirit live in you?
When Jesus celebrated passover with His disciples before He died, He passed
a cup of wine to them and he was saying to them: I will redeem you, you don't
have to drink the cup of wrath, I will do that and instead I offer you the cup
of redemption.
After Jesus' resurrection and ascencion to
heaven, the Holy Spirit directed the apostal Paul to celebrate communion just as Jesus had.
1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
saying, ''This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this whenever you drink
it, in remembrance of me.'' 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of
the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 for anyone who eats and drinks without
recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Why is it important to stop and acknowledge what Jesus did for us before we take communion?
We take time to acknowledge and confess our sins as as way of emptying ourselves (our
cup) of sin. As we take communion we recognize that we are filled with the
blood and the forgiveness of Jesus, and the love of God. Really there is no room
for sin - our cup is already full and the two can't be in the same cup. Remember that verse we looked at earlier in 1 Corinthians 10:21?
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you
cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.
It's when we empty our cup of "everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1), we can celebrate the Lord's supper - His offering, His gift. And celebrate the full life (cup) we already have in Jesus Christ! (John 10:10)
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