What’s in your cup?

During morning devotions, I read a very familiar passage and something just jumped at me:

1Cr 11:23 NKJV – For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the [same] night in which He was betrayed took bread;
1Cr 11:24 NKJV – and when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
1Cr 11:25 NKJV – In the same manner [He] also [took] the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink [it], in remembrance of Me.”
1Cr 11:26 NKJV – For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
1Cr 11:27 NKJV – Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks [this] cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1Cr 11:28 NKJV – But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Now we are all used to and conditioned to associate the communion with the bread and wine, the body and the blood.

But if you really read these verses carefully, the wine here barely gets mentioned. The emphasis seems to be on THE CUP.

1Cr 11:23 NKJV – For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the [same] night in which He was betrayed took bread;
1Cr 11:24 NKJV – and when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
1Cr 11:25 NKJV – In the same manner [He] also [took] the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink [it], in remembrance of Me.”
1Cr 11:26 NKJV – For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
1Cr 11:27 NKJV – Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks [this] cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1Cr 11:28 NKJV – But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Notice how the first mention of a cup in the bible is in Gen 40, where Joseph lays out the first butlers dream in prison, and prophecies that in 3 days time, he would be restored…

Gen 40:9 NKJV – Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine [was] before me,
Gen 40:10 NKJV – “and in the vine [were] three branches; it [was] as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.
Gen 40:11 NKJV – “Then Pharaoh’s cup [was] in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
Gen 40:12 NKJV – And Joseph said to him, “This [is] the interpretation of it: The three branches [are] three days.
Gen 40:13 NKJV – “Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.

The most illuminating are the references in the Psalms though:

Psa 16:5 NKJV – O LORD, [You are] the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.

Psa 23:5 NKJV – You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Psa 116:13 NKJV – I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the LORD.

The cup refers directly to salvation or blessings, or it can refer to wrath / punishment:

Psa 75:8 NKJV – For in the hand of the LORD [there is] a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain [and] drink down.

Especially so in Jer 25:

Jer 25:15 NKJV – For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.
Jer 25:16 NKJV – “And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
Jer 25:17 NKJV – Then I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me:

Jer 25:27 NKJV – “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ‘
Jer 25:28 NKJV – “And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall certainly drink!
Jer 25:29 NKJV – “For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the LORD of hosts.’

Notice how not even Jerusalem would escape God’s wrath, even they will drink of their cup.

The references to the cup of wrath / punishment goes on:

Jer 51:7 NKJV – Babylon [was] a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged.

Eze 23:31 NKJV – ‘You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’
Eze 23:32 NKJV – “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup, The deep and wide one; You shall be laughed to scorn And held in derision; It contains much.
Eze 23:33 NKJV – You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.
Eze 23:34 NKJV – You shall drink and drain it, You shall break its shards, And tear at your own breasts; For I have spoken,’ Says the Lord GOD.
Eze 23:35 NKJV – “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, Therefore you shall bear the [penalty Of] your lewdness and your harlotry.’ ”

Hab 2:16 NKJV – You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also–drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the LORD’s right hand [will be] turned against you, And utter shame will be on your glory.

Rev 14:10 NKJV – “he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Rev 16:19 NKJV – Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

Rev 17:4 NKJV – The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.

Rev 18:6 NKJV – “Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.

The cup mostly seems to refer to your portion / due payment / lot / God’s wrath.

So are we not missing a big part of what communion meal is all about. We are taught mostly, to associate the bread with His body, and the wine with His blood – which is 100% correct, but we too easily seem to gloss over the cup that the He asking us to partake of…

Is He not in effect asking you, to share in His cup? In His lot? Does this not refer to His suffering and pain AS WELL as His victory?

Mat 20:22 NKJV – But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”
Mat 20:23 NKJV – So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but [it is for those] for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

Were not all the disciples martyred for their faith, and did they not willingly take this cup?

Did Jesus not pray for His cup of suffering to pass Him by?

Mat 26:38 NKJV – Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
Mat 26:39 NKJV – He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You [will].”
Mat 26:42 NKJV – Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

Jhn 18:11 NKJV – So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”

So what about you dear christian? Are you prepared to fully drink your cup? Did Jesus not ask us all to take up our cross and follow Him:

Mat 16:24 NKJV – Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Mar 8:34 NKJV – When He had called the people to [Himself], with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Mar 10:21 NKJV – Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
Luk 9:23 NKJV – Then He said to [them] all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Are you prepared to endure some temporary afflictions, to fully earn and partake in His divine blessings?

Luk 14:27 NKJV – “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Luk 14:28 NKJV – “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has [enough] to finish [it]–
Luk 14:29 NKJV – “lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see [it] begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30 NKJV – “saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Luk 14:31 NKJV – “Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 NKJV – “Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33 NKJV – “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Luk 14:34 NKJV – “Salt [is] good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
Luk 14:35 NKJV – “It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, [but] men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Do you have ears to hear? Have you truly counted the cost of being His follower 100%?

Lets ensure our cup’s are filled with His blessings and not His wrath…

Let us do so with all joy, trusting that our reward will FAR outshine what little afflictions we are called on to endure temporarily…

Lets not be Christians in name only but in deed as well and drink our cup to the last drop…