Today’s Post Written By: Rae Lynn DeAngelis
Do you have a particular cup in your home that holds specific meaning or significance? Perhaps a coffee mug received as a gift or maybe you have treasured a cup because it has colorful motif from a favorite vacation spot. Case in point: some cups hold special significance because they remind us of cherished memories of days gone by.
The night before His betrayal, Jesus and His disciples shared a special meal together during Passover. Traditionally, during this special meal, four cups were shared, each one representing a particular promise made by God. Passover was celebrated by the Jewish nation every year to remember the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Many Jews celebrate the traditional Passover meal to this day.
The following is what the four cups represented during the Passover Feast based on the promises of God found in Exodus 6:6-7:
The Cup of Salvation – “I will bring you out.”
The Cup of Deliverance – “I will deliver you.”
The Cup of Redemption – “I will redeem you.”
The Cup of Hope (or Praise) – “I will take you.”
As Jesus shared the Passover meal with His disciples, He did so in the traditional Seder (order of sequence) manner. When it came time to drink from the last cup – The Cup of Hope – Jesus offered it to His disciples, but did not drink from it Himself.
“Then [Jesus] took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.’” (Matthew 26:27-29)
Through this final Passover feast with His disciples, Jesus revealed that He was the fulfillment of all God’s promises – our Cup of Hope! Jesus paid the penalty for our sins through His death and resurrection and because of this we now have hope for eternal salvation.
“‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.’
Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’
Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’” (John 14:1-7)
Have you placed your hope in Jesus?
May we never forget God’s promise is fulfilled through His Son Jesus; He died to give us new life.
Jesus is our Cup of Hope!
Now that’s a cup with a whole lot of significance!
