Matt 26:27-28: “Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” [HCSB]
Centuries before, God had promised a new covenant through the prophet Jeremiah. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. Unfortunately, the covenants God had made with man were often shattered by man refusing to abide by them or do his part in them.
This new covenant God said would be one written in hearts and minds. “’Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days’—the Lord’s declaration. ‘I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.’” [Jer 31:33 HCSB]
That new covenant was inaugurated the night before Jesus died as He offered the cup to His disciples at the Last Supper. This was a far different cup than the one He would soon contemplate in Gethsemane and drink on the cross. This cup contained not the sins of the world, but the forgiveness for the sins of the world. Jesus offered it to His followers, and they had a part in this … they had to drink from it.
They could not just look at it, study it, or contemplate it. They could not judge its quality or its bouquet. They had to participate, to accept the cup and drink of its contents. The greatest Bible scholar may intellectually understand that Christ’s cup of the new covenant contains forgiveness of sins, but there is no forgiveness for him unless he, himself, willingly and willfully drinks of it.
So it is with us.
