THE SENTENCING CUP AND THE SWORD

  There are just a few outcomes in a trial:

(1)    Guilty on all counts as charged. Sentenced.

(2)    Guilty as charged on some counts. Lesser sentence.

(3)    Innocent of all charges. Freed.

(4)    Guilty of one or more charges but freed.

(5)    Guilty of all charges but freed.

(6)    Inconclusive.

(7)    Dismissed because of a legal technicality.

Wise Men:

Charge: You have sinned and deserve death. (Rom 3:23)

Judge’s Preference: Reprieve the guilty (John 3:17)

Evidence: Book of Life (Rev 20:12)

Penalty for sinning: Spiritual death (Rom 6:23)

Plea: I am guilty, Your Honor. (1 John 1:9)

Scale: Judge is just and loving (1 John 1:9; John 3:16)

Deciding factor: Leniency because of confession (Jas 5:16)

Sentence: Pardoned (1 John 1:9)

Records: Wiped clean (1 John 1:9)

Future: Hope and eternal life (Mat 25:46)


Foolish Men:

Charge: You have sinned and deserve death. (Rom 3:23)

Judge’s Preference: Reprieve the guilty (John 3:17)

Evidence: Other Book (Attitude of heart) (Rev 20:12)

Plea: I was duped, Your Honor. (Luke 23:34)

Scale: Judge is just and loving (1 John 1:9; John 3:16)

Deciding factor: Judge dishonored (Mat 3:29)

Sentence: Condemned (Mat 7:23)

Records: Retained in a Book for perpetuity (Rev 20:12)

Future: Condemned already (John 3:18-19)


  Jesus is judge of all. We think of him as Savior, but he too is the one who sentences. Jesus prefers to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Mat 25:21), but because he is just, the Good Judge executes judgment on those who are against the Law and the Judge’s Will: “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:23). Of course, the destiny of those who must depart God’s Presence is out of His sight - certainly to depart Heaven into Hell.
  Jesus agonizes over his purpose. He came to save mankind from their own foolishness, but those who remain foolish, he must condemn. On his journey to save all mankind, Jesus agonized over those who would not be saved. On the way to the cross, Jesus knew who would and would not accept his offer of clemency by him paying the price for reprieve.
  Because of his foreknowledge, Jesus knew that few would depend on the sacrifice of himself on their behalf. Jesus was stressed out because he had to mete out punishment to those who dishonored him. They were those who accepted the Doctrine of Sin over the Doctrine of Christ, and loved themselves more than God. When stressed out, Jesus thought of doing what most men would do:

KEY VERSES: Then saith he unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” (Mat 26:38-42)

  I have previously written that these passages have a double meaning. Jesus’s “cup,” I believe, is his soul from which he would soon “give up the Ghost” (Mark 15:37). The second possible meaning is that Jesus considered giving up his purpose to another. It is to be noted that some to this day (sects of Islam), believe that the “cup” was passed to Judas Iscariot who hanged on his tree that same day. However, Jesus DID NOT pass the cup to another. He fulfilled his purpose to the finish: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished:’ and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30). What was finished? His purpose – to die for the sins of all mankind of all times (Acts 10:34).
  That was always his Purpose! Note that Israel (Judea and Samaria) are representative of God’s peculiar people (Those who claim Jesus as Savior.) Claiming Jesus is not saving. Jesus Way must be lived.
  The surrounding nations of Israel are representative of heathens. They would perish because they did not claim God. Babylon was God’s “tool” to punish all those nations. They would all perish under Babylonian rule. Nebuchadnezzar who God used was the bad guy who became righteous. With all those things on mind of the last days of Israel, consider the following:

For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me. (Jer 25:14-17)

  Those verses are God’s judgment against the nations of Jeremiah’s time, and the prophet spoke on God’s behalf using His Words. Jeremiah’s prophecy is symbolic of Jesus’s Words about passing the cup to someone else. Jeremiah’s prophecy was about two eras, as many theologians acknowledge; it was about Israel’s and the surrounding nations’ judgment, and about Jesus’s judgement of the world. The Word revealed to Jeremiah what he would say and do before he died for all mankind. Jesus death offered hope for the righteous and condemned, but the former ones were few. The condemned were judged according to their deeds. Jeremiah’s prophecy included the angry mob just as with Jesus when a bunch of drunkards (drunk with anger) condemned Jesus to die. The “sword” at which their anger was aroused is perhaps symbolic of the Holy Cross. Let me digress for a moment.
  In the legend of King Arthur, somehow a sword was imbedded in a stone. Whoever could withdraw the sword would be king. Everyone who tried, failed, but Arthur who would be made king. As fantastical as that story may be, the Holy Cross was much like King Arthur’s sword, but the Man who wielded that “sword” is Jesus Christ, and the “sword” had two substances: (1) The Spirit which was the Word of God (Ephes 6:17) was the first. God’s Word was that Jesus would die on behalf of all the nations. Israel and the surrounding nations were offered the Sword of the Lord as well as all the nations forthwith. Also, (2) The Holy Cross itself. Now focus on the Holy Cross as a “sword.”
  Swords basically have four components: a blade, guard, hilt, and pommel. Blades are either single or two-edged. Jesus will wield a two-edge sword. Let’s say, the lower vertical of the Cross is the “blade” of God’s sword. It represents his grounded Word, and the supporting stones, the Rock or Doctrine of Christ. The vertical is forever stuck in those stones and can only be removed by King Jesus. However, Jesus did not remove the blade from the stone, but himself. Jesus was truly the two-edge sword in that he was and still is the Word which will not an cannot be removed from heaven or earth!
  The guard of the Cross, like that of a sword, is the horizontal bar. Jesus was nailed to that Cross, and was the Ornament for the guard as many swords are ornamental. The “guard” on the Cross was not for Jesus’s safety, but for the safety of mankind. He served others as King (the sign above said so), but the King guarded the nations. The “guard” on the Cross represented the wills of the nations; the guard was for all as Jesus’s arms were outstretched, but some would choose to fight Jesus and some relent to his authority. The guard is necessary only when the adversary is rebellious. One end is Jesus looking out for the nations, and the other the nations magnifying him.
  The hilt is for the hand of the Lord of the Manor. Not by coincidence, the Bible refers to Jesus often as the “hand of God.” Jesus would save the nations by his hand, or cause them to perish by the sword. The Cross’s top vertical represents the hilt on a sword.
  Above the hilt on swords are pummels. It’s there to maintain the grip. With it intact, the hand would not slip off the hilt. Jesus will never leave nor forsake anyone. He is there to save for all time and everyone. Jesus’s thoughts are the thoughts of God. His head laid just below the “pommel” of the cross. The pommel was a sign which said, “King of the Jews” in the languages of several nations, indicating that he was King of all the Nations, not just the Jews.
  Jesus is also called “the face of God. The “pommel” of the Cross was decorated with God’s Face – the face of Jesus. He, as the pommel, keeps the nations safe from sliding back until he comes back as King of all the Nations as the sign implies. Just as the pommel keeps the hand from sliding off the hilt, the sign on the Cross is a reminder that Jesus was called King of the Jews, but he provided safety for the nations.
  What do you think of when you think of the Cross? Swords were used to encourage obedience and enforce it as well. The Holy Cross is intended to encourage peace, but will be used for justice on whom justice is due. I believe that the Lord showed the Cross to Jeremiah as a sword. I see the Cross in the same manner. Jesus was a servant and judge. Swords serve and judge. Do you now see the point of the sword and the Cross?