October 9, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“A prophecy from the word of the Lord concerning Israel is this- The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: ‘I AM going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.’” (Zechariah 12.1-2)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

“’You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup I AM going to drink?’ ‘We can,’ they [James and John] answered. Jesus said to them, ‘You will indeed drink from My cup, but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by My Father.’” (Matthew 20.22-23) I believe this is where we would best start in grasping the words given to Zechariah in the prophesy concerning the future of Israel as the Messianic Kingdom of God on earth. James and John, the Sons of Boageneres [the sons of Thunder], made the decision between themselves to approach Jesus boldly to gain positions of authority in His Kingdom. They were looking to the very near future for this appointment. That meant, of course, they did not fully grasp all that Jesus was teaching them about His climax of ministry. What was that climax? It was none other than His betrayal, arrest, conviction, crucifixion, burial and glorious resurrection. Of course, there was more to that sequence of events, but they epitomized the fulfillment of the scriptures by which they had been raised. What could be more? Oh, mighty ones of God, the next steps to instituting His Kingdom on earth as the Age to Come, “The Age of the Church,” was forty more days of ministry in reteaching and empowering, the reconciliation of Peter who also betrayed Him, His ascension and then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those in the Upper Room on day fifty- Pentecost Sunday. To say that the cup of Jesus was overflowing is beyond an understatement.

Jesus, however, was looking further than James and John when He answered their request for such influential seats of power. In Matthew’s gospel, as well as Peter’s via Mark, Jesus went on to teach all of the disciples the role of servanthood as the greatest and more influential seats of power and authority. Luke’s remembrance of this question and answer comes during the “Last Supper” after Jesus had taken the matzah and broke it according to tradition hiding one portion away for a future revelation. He then took the third cup of the Seder Feast, the Cup of Elijah, and offered it to them saying “I will not drink of this cup again with you until I drink it new in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is My blood which will be poured out for the remission of sins of many.” There is one more cup which is celebrated in the Seder/ Passover. It symbolizes the Hallel, “The Praise or the Hallelujah.” Between the other cups, drinking at the table is allowed. However, there is nothing to be drunk between the third and fourth cups to symbolize the sanctity of the covenant and its fulfillment. All praise goes to God and not to the master of the feast who has led the participants in it. This is significant because it directs us back to the statement which Jesus made to James and John as mentioned previously, “You may drink from My cup [meaning the cup of sacrifice and deliverance], but not from the cup I will drink from which is granted by My Father in Heaven.” To understand that is to remember the “Garden Prayer” where Jesus said to God, “Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from Me; yet, not My will but Yours be done.” Only Jesus could totally and completely surrender His will to God. That meant, as we considered His last moments on the cross, being bled out [His physical death] and being breathed out [His spiritual surrender to be truly lifeless.] What a moment that is for all of us, mighty ones of God. Jesus put His full life into the hands of God. Only God could return life to Him and raise Him from the dead. It focuses the blessing of the gospel on our Maker and Creator. It centers our attention as to the efficacy of the sacrifice Jesus made and the validity of faith in God alone through Jesus Christ.

What does that lead us to consider for the words given to Zechariah? Listen to the words of 12.2 with the aforementioned explanation: “‘I AM going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.” The centering of the cup of Jerusalem puts the full meaning and emphasis as to the work of God in expressing His will for justice on the just and the unjust and for the blessing/curse on the righteous/unrighteous. While God could do His work anywhere in all of creation, it was Jerusalem in specific that God had sanctified and set apart. They would be the blessing of God for the world as a bane of existence to the world. We face a similar challenge in our own faith expressions in the current events of this nation and this world. The culture and climate claims to be “woke” yet they are merely dreaming of power unable to serve others but asking for others to serve them. The Church will fail in this day if it does not lead, guide and direct all attention to God instead of itself. The Church, as an institution, expects the world/people to serve it. The Church, as the body of Christ, exists to serve the world/people regardless of what they may believe. The Church is the evidence of accepting “God’s will not ours” be done. It would seem, mighty ones of God, that our cup is overflowing with opportunity or condemnation. It is our choice as to its contents by our perception of who we are in God’s eyes by faith and not by sight.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.