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The Cup Which…
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The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? When Jesus said this, he was not making a calm reflection on his ruling purpose in life, but he said it while he was acting vigorously to prevent bloodshed in a confused situation. This was the final night of his life, and the last supper had finished a few hours ago. He told his disciples that they would all fail, be caught out by what would happen, and find the test of following him too great. Even Peter. Their time of working together under the Father's protection was at an end, they could not count on protection any more. "So sell clothes, buy swords!" This was not serious instructions but a bitter comment. Their time as a group of disciples was fast winding down toward the end that had been foretold, and he would be arrested as a lawbreaker. They took his words literally. "Here are two swords," they replied (they would not have to go and buy them!) "That's enough." Enough for what? Enough to get them classed as criminals. But it was also enough of thinking in terms of violence. All too soon came Judas guiding the armed band to find them at their favorite resting place. Amid his own human fear, Jesus was also concerned for the disciples. He stood forward to be recognized. "Who do you want?" "Jesus of Nazareth." "I am the one." They fell backwards. Again, "Who do you want?".... "I am the one. Let these others go." Judas kissed him and clung to him. Peter found a sword, and slashed with it, wildly enough to cut a slave's ear. The soldiers began to close in on the disciples. Jesus said to those arresting him, "Let me do this" and he touched and healed the slave's ear (his name was Malchus). Then he told Peter, "Put your sword away. Those who take up the sword will die by the sword. Don't you realize I could still pray for the support of armies of angels? But then, how could the scriptures about me come true?" Quietly, he added to Peter, "The cup that my Father has given to me, shall I not drink it?" They tied Jesus up, and took him away, and the disciples in safety melted into the darkness. While the moment that Jesus said this was one of stress, nevertheless the words did express his settled purpose. Early on in his ministry he explained that the Father's will was meat and drink to him. "My food is doing the will of him who sent me, and finishing the work he has given me" (John 4.34 JBP) At the time, that had meant having a spirited conversation with a Samaritan women. Jesus was not living to please himself, but to do the will of the Father that sent him (John 5.30) and this had the implication that his judgments about people were accurate and made him a true judge. "I have come down from heaven, not to do what I want, but to do the will of him who sent me" (John 6.38 JBP). That will is for him to accept all those who come to him, and raise them up on the last day. Everyone who sees the Son and trusts him should have eternal life. For them to see him, he must be visible (John 3.14), and at what cost to himself. So, in his last week he was saying, "Father, save me from this hour" (John 12.27) "No, it was for this very purpose that I came to this hour. Father, honour your own name. As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." Yet, later, at the last minute, he was still praying, "My heart is nearly breaking. My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me - yet it must not be what I want, but what you want." (Matthew 26.38 JBP) Only minutes later, he was saying "The cup that the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?" No going back. Earlier during that evening, as we know, Jesus had handed out a cup to his disciples (probably a large earthenware bowl). He said he would drink no more wine until he drank it afresh with them in the Father's kingdom. He distributed pieces of a loaf to them - he had blessed it, and said "Take and eat this. It is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then the cup. He thanked God and gave it to them with the words, "Drink this, all of you, for it is the new agreement made in my blood, shed to set many free from their sins." The wine in this cup had been a symbol of the life he was going to give. And now, soon afterward, he spoke of taking and drinking a cup given to him by the Father as a symbol of the suffering he must experience in the actual process of giving up his life. The prospect of giving up his life must have been constantly
with Jesus, and especially during those last weeks. So when James and John
urged by their mother came, asking for positions of authority in his
coming kingdom, it was to the symbol of drinking from a cup that he
referred. "Are you willing to drink of the cup that I drink of? and be
baptized with the experience that I undergo?" They said "Yes."
We do not know how much they understood of his serious meaning. "All
right, you shall drink of my cup." It must be the same for every
willing disciple, then and now. Obeying and following Christ, we do not
know exactly what we are letting ourselves in for. But all of our
experiences we must accept as from his hand, whatever they are. We know
what was the cost in his case. And a reward? That is not the point, to try
to spell out our reward. The point is to serve Him and be faithful,
whatever the cup contains. If the Lord has something good for us in future
ages, that is His decision, and we are content to leave it to Him. |
