Which Cup Will You Choose?

Throughout history, the role of a cupbearer was an influential position due to the proximity to the king. A cupbearer was frequently in the presence of the king, doing whatever the king did. Cupbearers were responsible for drinking wine before monarchs to ensure they weren’t being poisoned.  Nehemiah was a cupbearer for the King of Persia, as an example. The phrase “drinking of the cup” in the Bible symbolizes sharing the consequences of what is in that cup.

There are two types of cups that I want to explore: the cup of wrath and the cup of salvation.  Psalm 11:6 says, “Upon the wicked he will rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” We see this further in the book of Revelation. Revelation 14 describes those who worship the beast as receiving the full measure of God’s wrath. In Revelation 18, there is a call to come out from among these wicked people and a call to punish doubly those who partake in this immoral, lavish lifestyle. We are called to be separate. That does not mean that God does not want to bless us in this life, but what are our priorities? Is he our priority, or is what we can acquire in this world our priority? He said, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

The cup of wrath is promised to those who reject Jesus, but he calls us to drink a different cup. Psalm 116 says, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.” It is our choice. John 3:36 says, “He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” You see, it is one or the other. If you don’t accept Jesus, you are choosing Satan and the path of God’s wrath. There are no gray areas because of God’s hatred of sin. We can’t hold on to things of the world and claim to be holy. We have to fully accept him as our Lord and Savior.

In Matthew 26, we see Jesus asking God if the cup could pass from him. The cup he was referring to was the cup of God’s wrath. He knew the spiritual weight he was about to endure. The weight of the sins of the whole world. The physical description of what he went through is terrible – the crown of thorns, the mocking, being beaten, but imagine the spiritual suffering that he had to endure – the weight of the sin of the world. He felt for the first time what it was like to be separated from God, to feel abandoned. In Matthew 27, he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus drank the full measure of God’s wrath to extend the cup of salvation to us, the cup of his grace and mercy. The cup of salvation does include suffering sometimes, but he said if we suffer with him, we will reign with him. Suffering is not the same as wrath. We may have to go through things sometimes in this life, but I would rather suffer some in this life and spend eternity in heaven than do whatever I want now and spend eternity in hell. When we take the cup of salvation,  we don’t get wrath anymore. We get God and all the benefits of salvation. The question is, which cup will you choose?