Good news! God killed Jesus!

And of course raised him to life from the dead!

And it's good news because God was going to judge you for your rebellion - but - if you've submitted to Jesus as your divine owner, his death has taken your place and you're forgiven!

In Matthew 26, Jesus gives his disciples passover. The passover meal had four cups of wine, which symbolized the four aspects of God's saving Israel as described in Exodus 6. The third stood for God's action in saving his people and the fourth for entering into God's majestic presence forever. The cup Jesus gave the disciples was the third. So God's action in saving his people is Jesus' death (which results in the New Covenant and salvation!) AND Jesus doesn't drink the fourth because he's waiting until we're with him physically and we really know God!

Then Jesus tells the disciples that God is going to 'strike' him.

Then Jesus asks the Father if it might be possible for the 'cup' to pass from him. The 'cup' in the Old Testament represents God's wrath.

Praise the Lord! We're forgiven because God killed Jesus! And our forgiveness is sure because he lives again!