re-reading Jesus' last days on this earth in Mark again, and something strikes me new. i've never seen it before.
the cup.
"he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is permissible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'"
Mark 14:36
if you read further, He spoke VERY few words during the next couple days. VERY few. especially for an INNOCENT man that was being crucified.
"They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it."
Mark 15: 22-23
this is after He'd been beaten, ridiculed, mocked. and with no verbal response from Him. i've always been drawn to that. His silence.
but have never noticed the refusal of the cup. of the wine. of some relief. something to take His mind off His suffering - even if for a minute.
but, no.
He refused.
He was committed.
earlier He had asked for the cup to be removed. it wasn't.
here, He has taken on our pain, our suffering, our sin. fully. NOTHING will get in the way. not even a little wine.
oh, my Lord.
i am devastated by your COMPLETE and LAVISH grace and love for me.
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see. it's a good word, right!?
it struck me in my reading time this morning too - on how the sacrifice for lost souls doesn't end when Jesus dies.
Rom 9 - it keeps going....Paul wanted to sacrifice his own salvation for salvation of the Jews...
we should be so devastated by others 'lostness' that we want to give up our own salvation, for theirs.
that word!
Even more amazing, I've seen it said that the cup at the crucifixion was typical laced with something to either ease the pain, or poison the person crucified so it would end faster. So he refused it, even knowing that. He had to experience the punishment fully for it to fully atone for our sins.
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