Day 37: Mark 14:23-25

During the Passover meal there were four cups of wine that they would drink from. And just like the bread had special meaning, so did each of the cups of wine. Each cup represented a promise of God found in Exodus chapter 6:

1. I will bring you out of Egypt.

2. I will deliver you from slavery.

3. I will redeem you with great power.

4. I will acquire you as a nation.

Scholars believe that the cup that Jesus handed his disciples in these verses was the third cup, I will redeem you with great power. Which means the cup that he refused to drink was the fourth cup, I will acquire you as a nation.

Jesus tells them that this cup represents his blood, which confirms a new covenant between God and man. The old covenant, the sacrificial system set up in the Torah, would no longer be needed because his blood was going to cover their sins completely. And it would be the demonstration of God’s great power, the resurrection of Christ, that would bring about their full redemption.

Then he says that he will not drink from the fourth cup until he returns to set up the Kingdom of God here on earth. The next time that Jesus drinks wine will be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, after which he will come and establish his Kingdom in Jerusalem.

What a beautiful picture that communion gives us of what Jesus has done and promises to do for us. His blood was shed for us, to cover our sins once and for all. Our redemption is made complete in his resurrection, accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. And as we remember this, we are also looking forward to the promise that is yet to come, the Kingdom of Heaven made real on earth.