ABUNDANT LIFE VISION
THE CUP. Mark 10: 35-39
“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. Teacher, they said. We want you to do us a favor. What is your request? He asked. They replied, when you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left. But Jesus said to them, you don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with? Oh yes, they replied, we are able! Then Jesus told them, you will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with?” NLT.

Good morning dear friends, it is another beautiful Sunday morning and I welcome you to another teaching of Abundant Life Vision this morning. My continuous prayer is that God will break us down and make us look like him in Jesus name. our topic for today is “The Cup”. What is a cup? A cup is a small bowl-shaped container for drinking from, typically having a handle. (Oxford languages). However, it has a figurative meaning in the scripture which is to describe someone’s fate.
Dear friends, we will consider the different figurative/spiritual meaning of a cup but dwell on the one implied by Jesus in the scripture we read above.

1. The cup of gold/silver. 1 Kings 10:21
“All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day.” NLT.
Here, we have an insight into Solomon’s wealth as King in Israel. He was so rich that bible says his cups were made from solid gold. This is different to the story of Joseph as prime minister of Egypt who was using cups made from silver in his time. Genesis 44:2 “Then put my personal silver cup at the top of the youngest brother’s sack, along with the money for his grain. So the manager did as Joseph instructed him.” Solomon and Joseph having cups made from gold and silver respectively depicts royalty as they were not using ordinary cups but one made from gold and silver.

2. The cup of repercussion, psalms 11:6
“Upon the wicked He will rain quick burning coals or snares: fire, brimstone, and a [dreadful] searching wind shall be the portion of their cup.” AMPLIFIED.
The bible establishes that the fate of the wicked shall be great punishment and doom from God for all the evil s/he has done to others.

3. The cup of God’s blessing. Psalms 23:5
“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” NLT.
While the bible says that the wicked will be punished by God for their wickedness, the bible pronounce God’s unlimited blessings on those who put him first and do his will.

At this juncture, let us look at the main spiritual meaning of a cup adopted for this teaching. As I have said earlier, a cup is someone’s fate spiritually or figuratively. In our text, James and John went to Jesus to make a request of sitting next to Jesus on both sides in places of honour. However, Jesus response is not what they expected as he used the opportunity to talk to them about the cup of suffering he was about to drink from. (his fate on the cross). He described the agony on the cross as a bitter cup of suffering and death. The implication of this for Christians is that we are expected to be fully prepared to partake in the suffering of Jesus. There is no room for hiding, whether we like it or not, we will drink from the same cup Jesus drank from (we have the same fate as the one of our Lord and Saviour). No wonder why Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” NLT.

Also, the response of his disciples to the question of how prepared they are to drink from the bitter cup of suffering as him shows that we Christians are always eager to show how spiritual we are to the world even if we don’t understand the gravity of what is on ground. James and John told Jesus they were ready to drink the cup of suffering with Jesus even though they did not understand the concept and they were not on the level of doing so.

On this note, it is important to understand that when we yield to the call of God, we are signing up for trials and tribulations the world will bring. This is our fate in Christ. The challenge is that we should not run away from it but we should drink from the cup, the way our master drank from it with the sense of service. (Jesus knew his mission on earth was to save us, that was why he agreed to die for us on the cross). When we have the sense of service God has given us, which is to preach the gospel to every soul, with this, we will not mind the trials that comes way in the process as our eyes will be fixed to the prize God has for us at the end.

Therefore, if you are reading this and you do not have Christ in your life talk less of drinking from his cup and you want to receive him or you have looked back in your service to him and you are willing to come back, say this prayer after me; Dear Lord, I come to you humbly and I confess that I am a sinner, save me and be my Lord. Wash away my sins and let me do your will at all times. Amen. If you have recited this prayer wholeheartedly, I welcome you to the family of God and do well to join a bible believing church as you start your journey in Christ.

If you have been blessed by this write up and you have questions, comments and contribution, you can contact Abundant Life Vision on the following platforms:
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