Can You Drink the Cup?

Introduction

The day dawned like most other days. A good night’s sleep will either make or break a decision. Today the decision had been made. It was now or never. Besides the scuttle was that others were thinking along the same line. If I didn’t step up and try to beat everyone else to the punch then there was little doubt that I would lose out. The early bird gets the worm they say. I’m not interested in worms unless power is attached to them. That’s what I want—recognition, prestige, power, status. I want to be the guy that turns heads when I walk into a room; the one that people line up to see; the one who can grant special favors; the one who has the appreciation of others.

So today is the day. I will make my request, but I will do it in a different sort of way. It would be unprofessional to ask directly. But it is a bit easier if I ask as a family member. It will be hard to turn down a request made on my behalf. I know Jesus will have a hard time turning down his aunt. He loves his mother so much, that I’m sure her sister will get a hearing quicker than I will. But I will be there. I want him to see the confidence in my eyes and the look on my face that says “I’m ready.”

Was there something like that going through John’s mind when he approaches Jesus in Matthew 20? James and John along with their mother are going to approach Jesus asking him to grant a special request. It is a request that they have thought about. This is not off the cuff. Perhaps speeches have been rehearsed, reasons for granting the request are waiting to trip off the tongue. But they were not ready for the question that Jesus asks. Undoubtedly, they had thought of possible questions and answers, but this question was not in the file labeled “Reasons for Prestige.”

Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? “We can.” came out too quickly; too flippantly; too much enthusiasm and not enough thought. And Jesus says, “You will drink from my cup.” It is obvious from the text that what Jesus meant by cup and what the boys understood about the cup were two different things. So what did Jesus mean by cup? That’s the real question. What was he offering to his cousins? And ultimately, what is he offering to us.

The Cup

It would be hard to misunderstand what Jesus means by cup in this text. Previously in 20:17-19, Jesus has spoken of going to Jerusalem to die. But it will not be an ordinary death. It will be painful and shameful. Little doubt that the cup is not associated with power, prestige, or position. James and John, of course, do not understand the nature of the cup. The question for them is that the cup will be one of success. And it will be, but not the kind of success that they are thinking about.

Notice in verse 23 that Jesus calls it “my cup.” It was his to drink. And with great resolve he would drink from it. But he offers these two an opportunity to drink from it as well. To drink from his cup would mean to take on an attitude of service according to 20:28. Service for the sake of others. It was not a cup of prestige but a cup of serving. It was not a cup that made one look better; it was a cup intended to lift up others.

Talking about the cup though reminds me of another instance that Jesus uses the word cup in reference to his own suffering and dying. It is in the garden of Gethsemane. There with the spiritual and emotional pain already setting in, Jesus pleads for God to remove the cup from him. He pleads for an opportunity not to drink from this cup. It wasn’t that Jesus was giving up on his mission but he was seeking another way to accomplish his mission. If his mission could be accomplished without giving his life, then he was open to that possibility. But we know the answer to that prayer had been set in motion before time began and now just when it was time to bring God’s plan to completion, the answer remained. “Drink from the cup.” And Jesus drank deeply.

Our Cup

Jesus’ cup was a cup of death, serving, giving, dying to self so that others might live. But Jesus’ cup was not his alone to drink. It is ours as well. In 1 Corinthians 10:21, Paul calls the cup a “cup of thanksgiving.” Did something change? Yes and no. For Jesus it was a cup of death. For us it is a cup of thanksgiving because of his death. While the intent may have changed, the result has not. In 1 Corinthians 11, we are told that when we drink the cup, we do so proclaiming the Lord’s death. In this context, we are not to drink the cup without due consideration being given to our brothers and sisters. Why? Because to drink of the cup and ignore your family is to deny the intent of the cup.

We drink the cup remembering Jesus’ death and remembering our brothers. We die to self so that others may live. Here’s the point, Can you drink from the same cup as Jesus drank? Our drinking of the cup during the Lord’s Supper is a thanksgiving, a proclamation, and a promise to die to self so that others may live. It isn’t a cup of power, prestige, or position. It is a cup of serving.

Jesus drank from his cup. He passed the cup to his disciples and it has been passed to us. Can you drink from it? When we drink each Sunday it is reminder that blood was given so that we may live. By drinking of that cup we agree that our life we be given for others as well. To drink from Christ’s cup is a solemn and sobering privilege. But it cannot be taken flippantly. It can only be taken when we are sure that we want our lives to look like his. So each Lord’s day, each Sunday is an opportunity to drink deeply from Jesus’ cup. It is not mere grape juice. It is the thankful promise of fellowship with him and each other pledging anew that we will give our lives so that others may live. For if the master came to serve, then we will serve as well. Prayer.

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