Drinking The Cup

Drinking The Cup

6/9/19

The Bible and its Truth has always been a source of controversy among those who have concerns about the authority of what it says and what it means to our lives.  If we take a true look with our hearts when we study the Bible we would leave our personal gains out of the equation and listen to what it says concerning our lives.  There are many Scripture passages that explain the authority of the Bible and just how beneficial for us to live by such Truths.  One of the more highly contested subjects is our own justification of what Jesus would do and how we should act when it comes to the acceptance of worldly lifestyles.  One specific story stands out in the Bible that sums up how we should look at and then accept the words of the entire Bible and that is the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, more specifically when He asks His Father if this cup shall pass or not.  It is this holy question and God’s response that defines the Truth of both Testaments and how we should regard the subjects of such Word.

All of us have had our doubts concerning God, His existence in our lives, the authority of the Bible, etc. But for the most part those doubts are quickly erased because it is at this point that Holy Spirit brings us a comforting word that pokes our faith into action and then wakes up our hearts to dismiss this doubt.  Even though God is around all of our lives it is not always the case that Holy Spirit is able to convince many of this Truth, for they have allowed Satan enough room in their lives that it is almost impossible for God to reach them.  It is these beautiful people who if not reached will become hardened enough that skepticism will become their ruling factor and thus argue against the Word of God as being the only eternal source of salvation; therefore, deeming the life of Christ and His blood as being the only way possible of having and receiving eternal Salvation and peace with our Creator.

I too have had my days of doubt concerning God, His plan for my life, and general thoughts about the trueness and authority of the Bible.  It is a huge struggle for me when these days arrive for I know there is a spiritual battle going on with what God has put into my heart versus what Satan and his kingdom warriors are trying to override.  For a person who has known the Word of God to be true in their life, this battle while tough usually ends with a victory over death and the followers of such but to those who have legitimate questions concerning their eternal lives the outcomes can be totally different with an outcome of further separation from the Truth and acceptance of lies.  It is the job of Satan and his kingdom imps to attack people in ways to ensure that they have no clue about their possible proclamation of the Truth about God to others.  You and I are the most dangerous examples of God and His Truth in the lies that others have believed and accepted over their lives and it is for this purpose of spreading the Truth to others that Satan works overtime to end life as we know it.

As each day passes, it is evident that more and more people are choosing to throw away God and His Ways in order to place their trust, faith, and hope in human beings and the flaws that come with those choices.  It is frightening to believe that we choose to place ourselves in the trust of others who would gladly end the life of a child or elderly person in the name of choice than to have someone who gives perfect options for those who have become a “burden” to others.  To be honest, what real options do people have when the foundation of governmental ire is steeped in the roots of death first and then life?  It is this example that screams to those around that they do not wish to have any other influence that would contradict their philosophy, meaning that they do not want to believe that the Bible is a viable and truthful option when it comes to solving issues that directly and indirectly affect them.  It also makes it clear that these folks do not want to believe that everything that the Bible says and stands for is true at all and that every word that is in the Bible represents our faults and how God has provided the Way for us to be redeemed.  God gives us a perfect example of how True His Word is through the passage of this article.  It has been spoken about, preached and taught many times over and it needs to be repeated once again so that we all know how to defend our faiths and beliefs as Christians when the important question of doubt confronts us.

The main passage for this article comes from Matthew 26:36-46 with a few verses being the ones that we will spend most of our time learning about its message.  This passage is where Jesus and a few of His disciples are in the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus leaves the three to pray while He goes off alone and prays as well.  It is a well-known fact that Jesus comes back a few times and sees that the disciples are asleep instead of praying; how many of us can personally relate to this picture?  While the prayers of the three disciples are never given in wordage, the prayer of Jesus is and it is very significant to what is about to occur in His life and for the lives of all people, both before Jesus and after Him as well.  The first time the word “cup” is used in this passage is in verse 39 and then it is used again in verse 42 and for the last time in verse 44.  All three times Jesus asks His Father that if it is possible for Him to not have to go through this final mission of His life at this time for it to pass by and come at another time.  But the timing of God is impeccable and even though we as humans may never completely understand this detail about God we must contend and then accept that it is True on all levels of existence.  It also provides us with the perfect example of how obedience should be recognized in our lives and how if we obey on all levels of God’s expectancy we shall shine as an eternal light to the dark and blackened hearts of the world.

The Greek word for cup that is used here in these verses is “poterion” and means a drinking cup, the contents of the cup, and the portion which God allots.  It is a given that a cup is being used here but it is the other two portions of this definition that stands out and what God wants us to know about this process and why Jesus asked to have it pass by Him if possible.  The “contents of the cup” portion of this definition is significant because when one uses a cup it means nothing to the user if it is empty.  I mean, an empty cup is useless and only tempts the person needing something to drink and if continued having empty contents then torture until filled adequately.  But if we understand the reason why, God allowed Jesus to come to the earth we know that the contents of the cup that was now in front of Jesus was filled with every sin imaginable that inhabits the earth and has the potential of causing our eternal separation from our Creator.  It is for this reason that the word “poterion” is an adequate part of the word “cup” used here for it described exactly what Jesus had to do in order for us to have eternal acceptance in the eyes of God.  The second portion of importance for this definition “portion of what God allots” is also significant because with everything that this world has to offer seems endless, and since we know that the world cannot produce anything greater than death God must include every sin imaginable in order for His Word to be proven correct and the eternal purpose of His Son’s life and mission here on earth.  So, what did God allot in this setting?  God allotted the eternal and forever Sacrifice that covered ALL sin not just the sin for a specific period of time.

When you put these two portions of the word “cup” together it makes sense as to why God turns His back on Jesus while He was hanging on the cross.  It is not a pretty sight on the physical side of things in the first place but when you place the entire realm of God’s enemy upon the Holiest Creation the Creator of such perfection cannot stand and look at the situation.  I have been in the medical field for many years and have had the opportunity to assist with several spinal tap procedures.  With this experience, I have become a bit numb to the procedural settings and have proven that while I understand the techniques used and the uncomfortable feelings of the procedure administered that the entire timeframe does not bother me anymore.  However, when my daughter had to have this procedure done to her when she was a newborn, I found out that I could not be in the same room much less the same area while they completed the spinal tap procedure.  When the condition of your child is not in its normal capacity a parent goes through tough times and reacts accordingly.  This is exactly what God did when Jesus took on the entire spectrum of all sin ever created while He was on the cross, God could not see such destruction on His perfect Son.

This example of Christ to us covers the wide aspect of sin and every instance that it pops up into our lives.  If you remember in the Old Testament, that many instances are given in that Israel had specific times that it was required to have sacrifices and it was during these times when the sacrificial lamb was chosen and then sacrificed.  The process of shedding blood was still the ONLY way possible to cleanse the stain of sin from our lives, this was first demonstrated when God provided a covering for Adam and Eve after sin had been allowed to enter into our lives.  In this event with Adam and Eve, God did not turn His head or back on Adam and Eve at any time nor did He have any close or identical movements throughout the Old Testament when it came time for sacrifices either.  This does not mean that what Israel did was not as important to what Jesus did in the New Testament, for the process of eternal Covenant through the shedding of blood was still intact for both time periods.  However, when Jesus came to the earth and completed His mission that God had sent Him to do, it was the eternal portion of God’s perfect Creation (human) that changed the setting and conditions.  It is also this aspect of Old Testament Truth that applies to Jesus dying on the cross and why God had no choice to turn His back on Him.

We know that even though the Old Testament sacrificial lambs were raised to be perfect without blemishes present, they were still flawed in many ways for at some point the lamb would have grown into an adult and then later died of old age.  Jesus was completely different in that He was not Created of a human male but an eternal and perfect Being.  His purpose was higher and purer than that of a physical lamb and it is this detail that separated a lamb for His status as the eternal Lamb of God.  If the sacrifice was on the scale of Old Testament terms then God would not have had to turn away as He did, but since His Son of perfection was the Sacrifice the stakes were far greater than before and thus covering an eternal amount of sin instead of just a specific time period.  Now, why is this important to the topic and questions presented at the beginning of this article?  It is because of what the Old Testament tells us about human activity plus what the New Testament tells us about human activity and how all sinful appearances need to be acknowledged and then covered.  This does not in no way demeans or lessen the sins of the people in the Old Testament but serves as the overall and final Sacrifice for all sin.  Jesus’ crucifixion actually should have heightened our awareness of what sin does in and to our lives and furthered our understanding of how important it is of our need of a Savior.

We cannot argue the fact that Jesus was born of a Holy nature and if His job was to cover only a portion of sin, it would have not made any sense for God to Crete His life in the manner to which He did.  A “periodic” sacrifice would not have required an eternal Being for usage, that would represent an unequal and incomplete process and we know God cannot operate in such a manner.  This rules out lie that we do not need to understand, accept or believe in the Old Testament because it is through this act of Christ that covers all aspects of sin; therefore, understanding and accepting the Old Testament as a part of our definition as Christians is a must and without it, we have no foundation for a separate life from the world.  See, we humans are all bound together by sin and since this is a fact Jesus had to be of Holy stature in order to cover all sin, simple as that.  It is for this reason that it is not of God that we “believe” we can pick and choose only portions of Old Testament and New Testament Scripture as a free pass to disagree or bastardize the Commands of God so that we can promote our own lustful sins.  In truth, it is this revelation of Jesus’ drinking of the cup that should be the foundation of provocation for witnessing and processional acknowledgment of complete separation from the world for that is exactly what the actions of Jesus in this passage was establishing.

Church, we cannot have it both ways either we need to promote the complete separation from the world or we need to leave the Church and go on our divided ways.  God cares less about being politically correct and you know why?  Because at any moment God can wipe out the entire so-called functioning institution that is called our government and by the way, God does not need ANY government to exist nor does He need anyone trying to tell Him how good and deserving they are to have such powerful status either; remember, someone already tried that and lost big time.  And if you don’t think for one second that God will complete this wiping away of our land and establishment I once again ask you to read what occurred to Israel and Judah in the Old Testament because of the same beliefs that both nations (them and us) shared.  Church, We are a part of this nation and that means we shall be caught up in the fall of this nation too, a setting that some have already predicted because God has shown them a portion of what is coming. 

It is strictly up to us to slow down this process of utter devastation so big that the entire world and its condition shall never be the same again.  There is a reason Jesus gave His Great Commission to His people for if His people do not adhere to His Father’s eternal definition and then proclaim its Truth to the world then the world is doomed to fall again into judgment.  It is expectant that the world accepts devastation and the death that soon follows because it is all it knows.  Oppositely, all we know is life and it is our responsibility Church to spread the good news of life through the eternal separation from the world.  But from the looks of it, our heart has been fooled into believing that the world is our friend and that it really is not important to speak the Truth about life and what it eternally means.  When the news covers church members being yelled at and screamed with over issues that the world deems positive something is definitely wrong with the authority of the Church.  It is okay that the world acts in this manner, as stated above it is expected but when the Church stands back and does nothing to stand up for their beliefs and direct the DEFEATED kingdom and put it in its place, the authority issue has switched.  Only a change in our hearts and a return to the Word of God can flip this setting and slow down our eventual destruction.  The time is now, Church, repent and allow God to advance His Kingdom once again not only in our hearts but into the blackened core of others.  Jesus did not drink the cup of judgment for just a few people but His actions covered the entire world and it is our responsibility, to tell the Truth of His presence to those who need Him.

DLB