John 18:1-14 The Cup We're Drinking From

My commentary said to pay special attention to the symbolism in this chapter. 

The Garden represents obedience.

The Kiss represents treachery.

The Sword represents rebellion.

The Cup represents submission.

The Fire represents denial.

It was the cup that really got me this morning with all that’s going on right now.

Earlier, Jesus had asked His Father that if it were possible, He let that cup (death) pass from Him.  But He wanted God’s will done and not His own.  “The cup represented the suffering He would endure and the separation from the Father that He would experience on the cross … Jesus was able to accept the cup because it was mixed by the Father and given to Him from the Father’s hand.  He did not resist the Father’s will, because He came to do the Father’s will and finish the work the Father gave Him to do … Since the Father had mixed and measured the contents of the cup, Jesus knew He had nothing to fear.  This is a good lesson to us:  we need never fear the cups that the Father hands to us.  To begin with, our Savior has already drunk the cup before us, and we are only following in His steps.  We need never fear what is in the cup because the Father has prepared it for us in love … and the cup He prepares will never contain anything that will harm us.  We may suffer pain and heartbreak, but He will eventually transform that suffering into glory.”

Father God, I’ve felt all this for days now – worrying about the cup before us.  Thank You that Your timing is always perfect, giving me this message when I most needed it.  Help us to bow before Your will and accept what You have ordained.  Thank You for mixing it in love especially for us.  Help us to remember that there is nothing in it to harm us, for You are in charge of it all.  Help us to bow and submit to Your sovereignty, and grow our faith as a result.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford