Life-spark: Jesus swallowed your sin. (John 18:1-11)
Have you ever had a colonoscopy? It’s quite unpleasant. I’ve had five. The first one, thirty years ago, found a pre-cancerous polyp in my colon. I watched on the screen as the surgeon cauterized the deadly polyp. Later the doctor said that given my family history, the surgery probably saved my life.
To clean my colon before the surgery, they gave me a gallon of soapy water to drink, and gave me one hour to drink it. By the time I swallowed the last cup, I was gagging. The results were sweet, but the cup was bitter.
As Jesus was being taken captive by soldiers and guards, He said to Peter “Shall I not drink the cup which my Father has set before me?” (John 18:11, NIV)
What was the cup?
They arrested Jesus in an olive grove at the base of the Mount of Olives. That small orchard was called Gethsemane, a name which comes from the Hebrew words gath (press) and shemen (oil or wine): the Olive Press. Here Jesus Christ was crushed and bled life. That was His cup. That was the Father’s bitter assignment for His beloved Son. His Son would be crushed so you and I could be made whole.
What was in the cup?
All of my sins. And all of your sins. And Abraham Lincoln’s sin. And Hitler’s sin. And Stalin’s sin. The sins of child molesters and assassins and suicide bombers. Sinless Jesus swallowed the filthy sewage of every sin ever committed. Can you even imagine drinking that?
I drank the cup the physician gave me so I could live longer. Jesus drank the cup the Father gave Him so that I could live forever. Only love would do that.
Life – Challenge: The next time you consider committing ‘a very small sin,’ stop and think before you do: Jesus will have swallowed that sin.