The Cups: Celebrating the Victory
"When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
“But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.
Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. “You have stayed with me in my time of trial. And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22: 14-30 NLT
In Christian circles this story is titled as 'The Last Supper' but in this scene it was the Passover feast. An age old celebration to the Jewish people. A feast that each member here participated in every year. The Passover was a week long celebration with the highlight to be this dinner. At this dinner there is a ceremony of 4 cups that they would drink to celebrate God. The cups stood in representation of how God rescued His people from Egypt. The first cup was the the cup of sanctification (kiddush). Meaning they weren't just noting and believing in a God who is sanctified, who is set apart and who is a holy God. But the cup is representing that God wants to take us and set us apart for Him. The second cup was the cup of deliverance or the cup of plagues, there they praised God for the plagues that delivered them out of Egypt.
The third cup is the cup of redemption. Here in God's ultimate plan to redeem His people back. This is where Jesus lifts it and says this is more than just a tradition, He is making a new covenant (Luke 22:20). This is more than just bringing my people out of the captivity of Egypt to follow me. Jesus has come to redeem. He came to not just redeem His chosen people but the whole world. He came to set all of us free. The red grape juice that is commonly used that represented the Passover lamb that was placed above their door post. Now represents the Lamb of God who now takes our sin and sees that God passes over it. This cup is the cup of the sacred communion many Christians participate in.
I recently participated in a Messianic Passover Feast that was so special. But in remembering these 4 cups, I remembered again the final cup. The fourth cup is the cup of Praise or Restoration (Hallel). On the special night of the Last Super, Jesus did something different. He didn't participate in the fourth and final cup. Jesus announced there that He will not drink it "again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom" (Matthew 26:29). Sitting before Jesus in heaven. Sitting at the banquet table of heaven. In Revelation 19 it talks of a great crowd gathering for Praise, which then leads us to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The whole time I was participating in the Passover I was thinking of this day in heaven. I was thinking of all the ways the Passover points to Christ. But also all the ways the Passover points to the celebration in Heaven that reflect the work of Christ who saved us. Who has changed our clothes from the dirty clothes our sin bore on us, to the bride's clothing of white. This is a celebration my friend, not a solemn act we do. But an act of worship. In remembrance of Jesus for His complete victory and the eternal fellowship in heaven He brought us.
Think on that today. As you pass through your day to day. Maybe doing the normal stuff we do. The stuff we might do year after year. Take a moment away. Take a moment to sit at the table. Take a moment in remembrance of Christ. But praise Him, my friend. Relish in His Presence. He came to deliver you, to redeem you, to restore you. He took our sin and our shame and has transformed it. Give thanks to God for His complete victory and the eternal fellowship we can look forward to.
