Daily Devotionals

This cup is the New Covenant effected by my blood (1 Corinthians 11:25).

It seems that the symbols associated with our holy week of Pesach (Passover) are almost unlimited! Every food, every prayer, every Scripture reading beckons us to understand the depths of our redemption. Perhaps the custom that brings it all into focus is the central cup of the Pesach seder (Passover service): the Cup of Redemption. During the course of the meal, we drink from the various cups of wine or grape juice to remind us of the great truths of the season. The rabbis stipulated that four cups should be at the table to highlight the four promises to Moshe (Moses) spoken in Exodus 6:6-7.

The Cup of Sanctification starts the holy occasion. The Cup of Plagues is sipped as we tell how our Redeemer brought us out of Egypt. The fourth cup is called the Cup of Praise. We recite the Hallel (Praise Psalm 113-118). However, right after the main meal is the third cup—the Cup of Redemption—which points to the fact that we were "bought back; redeemed" from Egyptian slavery.

Some 1500 years after that first Passover, Yeshua of Nazareth celebrated the seder with his Jewish disciples. What an amazing fulfillment they could see as Yeshua took the Cup of Redemption and said, "This is my blood ...shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven" (Matthew 26:28). From that point on, true disciples of Yeshua could not only celebrate the redemption from Egypt, but also the spiritual redemption found through faith in God's Messiah. What a blessing it is for Messianic Jews and Gentile believers to lift up the Cup of Redemption and call on the Name of the Lord (Psalm 116:13)!

...remember the price that was paid for my sins on that first-century Passover day in Jerusalem.

BK