Am I Not to drink the cup the Father has given me? Those were the words of Jesus as Simon Peter
drew his sword to defend Jesus before his arrest.
Those are some powerful words from a man knowing what is to
happen next. In a few hours he will be
tried, found guilty and sentenced to death.
For most people, knowing what the cup held for them, they would do
everything in their power to not drink of the cup. Yet Jesus does. And not just putting it to his lips but
gulps it down until it is empty.
For Jesus knew that the cup he was drinking was full of the
wrath of God. The cup was filled with
the sour wine of all of humanities sins.
As Paul Tillich likes to say, the cup was full of separation, separation
of man from God. And by drinking of the
cup, Jesus was breaking down that separation and making the relationship
between God and Man whole once again.
That restoration is something that only He, Jesus, could make
happen. Yet we also know that other
people felt they too could drink the cup.
In Matthew, both of the sons of Zebedee declare they are able
to drink the cup in order that they may sit at the right and left side of Jesus
when he enters His kingdom. Both men
believe they have what it takes to drink, to enter into the separation of Man
and God.
Belief is a strange thing.
A good friend once said, “Belief means a no holds barred, dive in the
deep end, total commitment to the journey, to living the life – to seeking and
asking and knocking on the door, without knowing exactly what you’ll be finding
and receiving, or if the door will even open.”
To believe in something is to not be afraid of the unknown, to not care
what the end result is but rather to go for it with all the passion and love
one can muster.
I wonder whether, this day, we are really ready to commit
ourselves to the journey, the journey to the cross with Jesus. Jesus was, he knew what was on the other side
of the door and he accepted it without fear.
Jesus knew the cross was at hand and that through it, the separation
between man and God would be closed forever.
In His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus replaced the cup filled with God’s wrath
and humanities sins. By Jesus drinking
the cup he was given, we are free to drink of the cup of the New Covenant, the
strengthening of our union with Him, and a taste of what is to come in eternal
life.
Today we walk with him to the cross, to watch him suffer and
die in order that the cup may be passed to us.
Are we ready to drink of His cup?
Amen
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