Can you drink from the cup?

There is this metaphor often used in scripture that must seem rather peculiar and hard to understand to someone who is reading the Bible for the first with the hopes of understanding. It’s the use of the word “cup”. There is the cup of joy, cup of sorrow, cup of wrath, cup of judgment and a few more. Probably the most well known use from the Old Testament is found in Psalm 23 “my cup overflows” (NIV). Not too hard to understand in context that David meant he was blessed more than what he thought was his share. It creates for me a picture of a child not having to worry when asking for a cup of water. The imagery indicates there is always so much to be given that there is no concern for overflowing the cup.

But there are a couple other places where the word “cup” is used that requires more cultural and contextual understanding (sorry, one of the hermeneutical phrases from when my “cup” was being filled at seminary). You can go here for a nice article on the use of the word cup in the bible: http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/C/CUP/ . Where I want to focus on today is found in Mathew 20:22 and 26:39.

IN 20:22 the sons of Zebedee and their mother come before Jesus to petition him for a seat of honor and authority when his kingdom is fully established (Was this a codependent mom? :) ). Jesus implies there is a price to pay for that honor and he asks “can you drink from the cup I am going to drink?” Now if you are someone who doesn’t know the whole story, how it comes to play out in the not too distant future of that statement, it really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to use the word cup. So let me take a more practical attempt to explain the word so we all can help those who are trying to study the Bible. A simple way to put it is that cup is used to refer to an experience that one has been through or is about to go through.

Jesus was asking, “if you want sit to my left or my right, can you endure the same things I am about to endure?” As we fast forward to Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, (Matthew 26:39) we find him wrestling through the potential for Him to succumb to his being in the flesh. He does not give in to the temptation but, toes to the chalk line, he knows he is about to experience the ultimate infliction of pain and suffering and ultimately death by torture on his earthly journey. In His human anguish over this in His conversation with the Father he says, “My Father if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will but as you will.”

Now I can relate to that. There are things we all go through that we would rather not experience. A lot of times we can look ahead and know full well what "the cup” is going to be: the cup of suffering or the cup of sorrow, etc. Further, more often than not, the cup is not of our choosing. But the hope we can get from looking at the passion of the Christ is that on the other side of the experience is something that makes enduring the journey worth it. We have to trust that the reward is in the hands of a loving Savior. Ultimately, as we mature in the faith, we know we will honor Christ best and be strengthened most by submitting to the process.

Sometimes we are blessed in a way that we experience that reward in “real” time: the suffering is short and the blessing comes soon after in this life. On other occasions there is a ‘long suffering” to that cup. Sometimes the suffering is for a life time or nearly that. They can be seasons that last years and can be either emotionally or physically painful or both. The woman from Luke 8:43 is specifically identified to have been suffering for 12 years.

I know far too many people who have suffered this long or longer. I have some very special friends who are reading this that have been through incredibly long seasons of suffering. You probably know some people too. I want to honor them here today for their faithfulness to Christ in the midst of their cup of suffering.

To my suffering friends:
You are an inspiration to me because your faithfulness while enduring “the cup.” I realize that your experience does not come without great pain, grieving and expressions of frustration and anguish but I admire your courage for not giving up and, in your own way, expressing the words, “My Father if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will but as you will.” The world may try to offer you antidotes for an end to the suffering, but you have chosen the right cup, the cup of salvation, Jesus Christ to help endure the suffering.

Father I pray that you bless my friends who are drinking from a “cup" they did not choose, a “thorn" they did not expect. May we who are not chosen for that cup recognize these friends as someone who has a place of honor in your courts because they have been found strong and worthy enough to endure something I do not (yet?) have as my appointment in life. Remind us daily to lift them up to you as honored martyrs of the faith knowing that if what they seek, the end of this suffering, is not fulfilled totally in this life, may they know that they will have earned a place of honor at your table in heaven because of what they have endured here on earth. May they know now, right now, how special they are to You and how loved they are by You and may that bring them spiritual healing for the day. Thank You for their testimony of faith that edifies the rest of us.

Father I endure to petition You. In the name of Jesus I lift my many friends who suffer emotionally and physically to You and petition You like the persistent widow of Luke 18 that they be healed now so that we may have the joy of celebrating with them and the opportunity to hear their testimonies of a God who still performs miracles today. Amen

Stay close to Jesus!
REG