September 7

From What Cup Are You Drinking?

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.  ––1 Corinthians 10:21

The word cup—in singular and plural form—is mentioned sixty-six times in the Bible. We read about actual cups and figurative ones. Symbolically, to drink out of a cup can be to accept the responsibility of a task or assignment. There’s no better example of this than the Last Supper, which was held on Passover. During the Jewish Passover, wine is drunk from four cups, each representing a different blessing and promise related to the Exodus. The third cup is called the Cup of Redemption, and this was the cup that Jesus raised and said, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28). 

Jesus didn’t complete the Passover meal that night—He didn’t drink from the fourth cup. Instead, He declared, “I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). After they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives. It was there that Jesus asked the Lord,  “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

For Jesus, the cup in the Garden was the suffering of the Cross. Once he’d fully surrendered to the Father (i.e., “yet not as I will, but as you will”), He was ready for the fourth cup of Passover—the sponge of sour wine He sipped just before He died: “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

The mother of the Sons of Thunder asked Jesus to seat one on each side of Him when He came into His kingdom. Here was Jesus’ response:

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”  ––Matthew 20:22-23

While the Sons of Thunder’s hearts were in the right place, they didn’t see the full picture. For us, the picture is much more clear. Man of God, every day we have the choice to drink from one of two cups: The cup of living water that never leaves one thirsty (as Jesus described to the woman at the well), or the cup that the world offers us. Paul tells the Corinthian believers—who lived in a corrupt, evil city—that the choice was simple: drink from the cup on the Lord’s table (a reference to the Last Supper), or drink from the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). Each day we make the choice, and each day we need to emulate Jesus’ attitude in the Garden: Not my will be done, Lord, but yours.

From what cup are you drinking today? Take the time to get alone with God and re-align your heart toward His will for you. The cup He has to offer is everlasting—why would we choose any other?

Father, thank You that Your Son drank from a cup that I could never drink from, and secured my salvation through that decision to go to Calvary for me. Help me to always drink from the cup You offer new each day.