DRINK UP!

Matthew 26:27-28

27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 

28 For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 

What is the most important moment of Christ’s earthly ministry? I can tell you it’s not His words of tenderness and wisdom. It’s not His miracles, as amazing as they were. It’s not His flawless character, though it touches all hearts and wins them with His love. No, it was none of these. The most important moment in Christ’s earthly life was when He sacrificed his life and left a permanent imprint on the memory of the world. His imprint has reached into the densest forests, the smallest islands, and the coldest rotundas to make His impact on the hearts of their inhabitants. His death, burial and resurrection have impacted every life. because if you don’t believe you are condemned. But, if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans10:9)

But his death is not merely on our historical radar. Christ also left us with distinct instructions as to how His death should be remembered. He does not want us to see it as the tragic end of a noble career, to be remembered with tears like the ones we shed over some famous person’s death. He doesn’t want us to remember his death as the crowning proof of His love. Christ simply wants us to remember His death as His blood sacrifice for the remission of our sins.

We celebrate the remembrance of this unselfish act often; we call it communion. And of course, as part of our communion celebration is the symbol of the significance of Christ’s blood…the CUP. There is also the BREAD. However, while the Bread and the Wine both speak the same truth and point to the same Cross, each has its own lessons to impart. Today, I want to focus on the very special meaning we can draw from Christ’s CUP of the New Testament.

The physical cup used by Christ at the Last Supper has been a subject of legends for many centuries. It is deeply rooted in Arthurian literature…you know, King Arthur. They called it the Holy Grail, and it was often depicted as a divine relic with miraculous powers. The legend is that Joseph of Arimathea collected Christ’s blood in the cup at the Crucifixion. But of course, there is no such proof of this legend…and the CUP has never been found. If it had, and there was ANY TRACE of blood in it, the scientific hounds would descend like vultures to investigate Christ’s DNA. Imagine their surprise to find that there are no male dominant genes, because “GOD is a spirit. And they that worship Him must worship him in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24).

As Believers, we should prefer to focus on the very special spiritual meaning we can draw from Christ’s CUP of the New Testament.

DRINK UP!

First, the Cup is a COVENANT.

Ancient Israel had lived for nearly 2000 years under the charter of their national existence which we know as the Old Testament. That covenant, given on Mt. Sinai amidst thunder and lightning…was to make Israel a “peculiar treasure unto [God] above all people” (Exodus 19:5). That old covenant was ratified by the blood sacrifices of lambs and goats on the altar while the people pledged themselves to obedience. That was a good covenant on God’s end, but on man’s end, it was flawed. Again and again, God’s people failed to uphold their end of the covenant…and SIN reigned in their mortal bodies.

But now we have a Galilean carpenter, sitting in a borrowed upper room, stepping forward in the last 24 hours of His earthly life to say, ‘I am the fulfillment of that ancient covenant that has knitted Israel to God. I AM THE TRUE OFFERING, and I will be the FINAL SACRIFICE. My Blood will be sprinkled on the altar of sacrifice…for all people’ (interpretation).

It would have been an audacious announcement, had He not been God in the flesh! Think about it! Christ’s proclamation was a major upheaval of doctrine and belief for the Jews. He was asking them to set aside the five law books of Moses and instead believe a new and improved revelation from God.

With His blood sacrifice, Christ puts the seal on a new COVENANT, with conditions that dwarf all the deliverances of the past. This covenant would be a firm and immovable agreement. This new covenant would provide a clear path through the storms ahead…with a promise that Christ would be the Anchor in all of our tempestuous seas memorialized in the hearts of those that believe.

We are followers of Christ. We have a covenant with Christ. Do you know what that means? It means that we can come before God in the name of Jesus. For Jesus is the way.

But wait. There are conditions to this covenant. The old covenant conditions were different. The old agreement was, “If ye will obey My voice and do My commandments, THEN…” The old condition was “DO and LIVE; live righteous and be blessed.” But the new condition is “TAKE and HAVE; BELIEVE and LIVE”. The first covenant was a LAW. But the second is a GIFT. One was founded on retribution. The other is based solely on forgiveness. The one was a rigid law written on stone tablets. The other is LOVE, written on the heart. While the LAW tried to make man obedient, LOVE draws the repentant sinner to obedience, IF we accept Christ’s Divine Gift with a humble heart. The CUP which contains the Blood of Christ seals to the world the covenant gift of God’s infinite mercy.

But the CUP is not just a covenant…

The CUP is a PARDON.

It’s the only theological interpretation that makes any sense…that Christ’s death was a sacrifice, without which the sins of the world were not forgiven. Only through the Blood sacrifice of Christ could ALL SIN be forgiven.

Think about it. There hasn’t been a day in any of our lives when sin was not present. And sometimes you committed sin. And if you think you have never sinned, you are deceiving yourself. But don’t fret. Our Loving Father knew our failures…past, present and future. So He provided the LAMB without blemish for the offering, ONCE and for ALL. It was YOUR SINS that were laid upon the shoulders of Christ on the Cross. Your sins…and my sins. The sins of the world. It was a weight only a crucified Christ could withstand and overcome. Without Christ’s sacrificial death, pardon was impossible. Why? Because from the start of man’s first act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden, man was born in sin and shaped in iniquity. We were unable to win the battle between good and evil, unrighteousness and righteousness, obedience and disobedience, holy and unholy. James described it this way in James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

EVERY MAN AND WOMAN is tempted by the flesh! We can’t be perfect. We need Jesus! Without Jesus, we are the opposite of everything that God is and represents. Without Jesus, we are unrighteous. Without Jesus, we are deceitful. Without Jesus, we are unloving. Without Jesus, we are unjust. Without Jesus, we are unholy.

Mankind needed a full pardon to separate us from all the sins we commit that exalt Satan. Our corrupt minds needed a way out. Our burdened souls needed a way out. So “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for US…” (Galatians 3:13) And thus He became the BURDEN BEARER for us all.

You may have messed up yesterday, but Christ paid for that. You may have failed yesterday, but Christ paid for that. You may have fallen short of the glory of God yesterday, but Christ paid for that. By your act of communing with Christ, you declare that Christ is your Redeemer and you are open to receive full pardon for your sins.

Thus, the CUP represents our covenant with Christ, and our pardon through Christ. But there is one more reason we have to drink up!

This CUP is a REGENERATIVE INFUSION.

What do I mean by that? When we drink it, all of it…it renews our Spirit by infusing us with a fresh anointing of Christ’s Spirit. As we commune with Christ, we acknowledge and affirm our own sainthood…a spiritual life that is only possible when it is permeated with the spirit of our Risen Savior. Understand that right here I mean more than just the physical act of drinking the cup. I am talking about the spiritual rebirth of drinking the cup. I’m talking about being born again!

John wrote in John 6:53, “Except ye eat the Flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, ye have no life in you.” Paul wrote to the Galatians this affirmation in Galatians 2:20, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

This Cup of the New Testament, as often as we drink it, it is a symbol of the regenerative power of a Living Christ. We believe that “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are IN CHRIST JESUS, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1). With Christ’s Spirit in you, the devil can’t do you no harm. With Christ’s Spirit in you, you are a child of God.

CONCULSION

“Drink ye, all of it.” Don’t waste a drop! Let this CUP be air for your spiritual lungs, strength for your spiritual weakness, healing for your spiritual hurts, and inspiration for your spiritual exhaustion. Let it infuse you with a fresh anointing of Christ’s Spirit, as it boost, and bolster, and buttresses your belief in our Risen Savior. Drink up! And “the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 15:13) But before you participate in communion be sure to follow Paul’s instructions in 1Corinthians 11:28 - 29 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.  In other words, if you are not saved, get saved. If you are saved but committed a sin, repent and then seek forgiveness from God. If you have wronged someone, go to that person first, apologize and then bring your gift to the altar. Communion is not a time for idle talk, or unnecessary walking. Communion is a sacred time. It’s a holy time. It is a time of reflection on your life and your soul. Most of all it is a time of remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ. (Holy Ghost, take us home)