Show Notes
At the end of the old movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Nazis raid the inner room of a temple with many cups — one of which is supposedly the Holy Grail containing “Eternal Life.” The ancient knight guarding the cups tells all to choose wisely. One of them chooses to drink from a golden cup studded with jewels. He dies, turns to dust, and is blown away. “He chose poorly,” comments the knight.
Drinking is dangerous, because you can’t always tell what’s in a cup and how it will affect you until you drink it. So, if someone hands you a cup, it’s wisdom to only drink cups from those who have earned your trust.
The Gospel of John is all about drinking: water to wine at a wedding feast, living water for thirsty Samaritans, life in his blood for those who drink it, a promised fountain rising from within. At the last supper, He hands His disciples a cup. In John 17, Jesus prays that He would be “in them.” In 18:1 he enters “a garden.” In this garden, He prays “Father, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will (that’s one will) but thy will (that’s another will) be done (that’s a third will that wills what it does not will).” I think that’s called “faith,” or perhaps, “The Helper” who is the Spirit of God in us.
In John 18, Judas and a detachment of soldiers arrive in the garden to arrest Jesus. Peter draws his sword and cuts off the ear of the High Priest’s slave. John 18:11, “So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has for me?”
In John 19:29, hanging on a tree in a garden, Jesus drinks sour wine; He drinks our cup; He drinks sour wine from sour grapes, from Israel his Vineyard. Jesus from “the bosom of the Father,” the heart of God, drinks sour wine and bleeds perfection — the wine of the kingdom. A heart constantly drinks spent blood (sour blood) and bleeds oxygen enriched (spirit enriched blood), a river of life that flows through every member of the body and back to the heart (the throne). “The first Adam became a living soul; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” This is “The Seventh Sign That is the Substance.”
We say, “Fine, but what does it mean for me now?” John 18:11, “Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword in its sheath; shall I not drink the cup the Father has for me.’”
Nineteen years and one month ago today, I had just finished preaching, breaking the bread and pouring the wine. I was sitting next to my wife in the front row as people filed past. Suddenly, she grabbed my arm and whispered loudly in my ear, “I just saw your dad!” (He had been dead for three years.) “He was so young and alive. His eyes were on fire! He was so excited. He leaned forward with a bowl in his hand and said, ‘Peter and Susan, do not be afraid to drink from the cup that the Lord has for you.’ And then he vanished.”
Within three months, I had been publicly tried, condemned, and defrocked. So, for 19 years I’ve been asking, Am I drinking the cup? Do each of us have a cup? What’s the cup, and what’s in it? How do we drink it? How do we refuse it? Have we already chosen poorly? Has God already chosen well?”
I was tried and condemned for hoping that “As in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive.” My father was tried and condemned for reasons I don’t fully understand, except that I know he wanted to preach Jesus from Scripture. The Lord has shown me that I had resolved to never allow what happened to my dad to happen to me. But I drank my dad’s cup, and now I can’t wait to see him again —I now know him as I never did before. I drank my dad’s cup, and I drank my Father’s cup (at least a little bit), and “knowing” Him, “and Jesus Christ whom he has sent is Eternal Life” (John 17:3).
According to the Dictionary of New Testament Theology, “the cup” symbolizes the way in which God’s gifts and judgments come to us. The cup is like circumstances containing experiences. “The Lord has assigned my portion and my cup,” writes David. “Consolation, Joy, Blessing, S
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