The Search for the Holy Grail
Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail
Since the time of Christ, people have had a fascination with the cup that Christ supposedly used at the Last Supper. During the Middle Ages, a whole genre of romantic literature grew up around the cup which supposedly could bring immortality. The cup of Christ was thought to hold spiritual power. The Holy Grail became the focus of crusades and quests to be undertaken only by a knight who was perfectly chaste in thought, word and act.
Remarkably that fascination continues in modern times. The cup of Christ was the focus of the 1989 film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. That movie’s plot was a modern quest for the cup that spanned three continents.
One memorable scene in that movie takes place when adventurer Jones, with the villains right on his heels, finds the chamber where the grail has been guarded for 700 years. Of the hundreds of cups and chalices in the room, the “bad guy” selects the one that is the most beautiful, saying, “This is a cup worthy of the King of Kings.” He drinks from it and, of course dies. The ancient guard says, “He has chosen… poorly.”
Hero Jones, however, looks the cups over and selects a beat-up old brass cup saying, “this is the cup of a carpenter.” He drinks, and lives! The guard replies, “You have chosen… wisely.” That is Hollywood’s “take” on the cup. But we need to look elsewhere for a better understanding. Turn with me if you will to this morning’s scripture passage for the truth about the cup of Christ. Turn to Matthew 20:17-28.
MT 20:17 Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave– 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of the Word.
I do not know why I am surprised, but I am always amazed at how ‘human’ the disciples were! They had all the weaknesses and flaws that mankind can muster! They had begun the trip to Jerusalem, a trip that Jesus has warned them would be his last. Now, once again he told them in detail that he would be betrayed. He would be mocked, flogged, crucified and on the third day he would rise again. As with previous warnings, this one too, seemed to fall on deaf ears. They were convinced that he was the Messiah. They believed that he was the long-looked-for savior of Israel; a conquering hero, to drive off the Romans. Conquering heroes do not suffer the worst death imaginable!
The mother of the Son’s of Zebedee asked a favor of Jesus. “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” The idea of the Messiah as conquering hero was so well implanted in this woman that she was hoping to influence Jesus’ choice for his royal court! He had just told them he was going to die and she stormed right ahead with this very political question! She wanted positions of power for her sons! Her question was motivated by selfishness!
Can you imagine Jesus’ frustration? They still do not understand. “You don’t know what you are asking,” he said. I imagine him turning with love and sorrow to ask these young men, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” With the certainty of the ignorant they answered, “We can.”
Jesus answered them with what should have been a disturbing prophecy. In his words we begin to hear his definition of the cup. “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.” They were so focused on the opportunity to hold political power, that they simply ignored his warning. They would indeed drink of his cup. There was a difference, he told all of them between earthly kingdoms and the Kingdom of God.
We come to the heart of this passage. Jesus said that, in his Kingdom, political power will be turned on its head! “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave…” With Jesus, if you want to lead, you must serve. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. He was to be their example. He did not come as a King needing to be served, but in selfless humility he would be the servant. This fact he demonstrated for them at the Last Supper when he washed their feet. He demonstrated servant-hood at Golgotha when he surrendered his life as a ransom. That word “ransom” is from a Greek word that meant “the cost of buying a slave his freedom.” Instead of wanting to be served, the King of Kings would give his life selflessly to buy them freedom from the slavery of sin.
“Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” They did not understand what a difficult question that was. It is very unlikely that you or I will be martyred for Christ. In fact, it is unlikely that we will ever even suffer physical hardship for Christ. Since that is the case, perhaps this passage of scripture was only for the disciples and not really for us at all.
If we are not going to suffer maybe this has little meaning for us! Well, of course not! Then what does it mean for us to “drink the cup”? First, it means making a choice for him. We must make his choice.
You know, many stories have grown up about Mother Teresa.[1] One of them involves just such a choice. You see, she went to Calcutta to teach and for over 20 years she taught the wealthiest children in the city. Every day she walked through the slums to get to the wealthy neighborhood in which she worked. She was perfectly content with her life. One night, walking home, she heard a cry for help. A woman in serious condition needed medical care. She rushed her to the hospital where they waited and waited. She knew this woman was about to die, so she took her to a different hospital where medical treatment was denied. The woman was of the wrong cast and they would not treat her. Mother Teresa took her home where she died later that night.
That night Mother Teresa resolved that this would never happen again to anyone within her reach. She devoted her life to easing the pain of the suffering. She made a choice; Christ’s choice of service. You and I can choose to live a life of selflessness because of Christ’s selfless act. Drinking of his cup means making a choice for him.
To drink the cup means fixing our faith on him. What do you suppose motivated the disciples to strive for position in Christ’s kingdom? Was it greed for power? Was it pure self interest? Yes, of course it was. But behind those motivations is fear.
They were afraid of being left out; left behind. They put themselves first because they were afraid that if they did not, no one else would look out for their interests. If that does not sound like 21st Century America, I do not know what does! The world around us is entirely absorbed with seeking self interest and it is all based in selfish fear. First John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” Jesus Christ provides the believer with complete security. There is nothing to fear with Christ and so we are (ransomed) free to put others ahead of self! The cup of Christ means fixing our faith on Him.
Drinking of the “Holy Grail” means keeping our focus on Jesus. He is our example in all things. In 2004, I stood in line to buy “advanced tickets” for a group to see The Passion of the Christ. In front of me in line, a woman was buying many tickets for a large church group. She seemed to be arguing with the clerk about something. When I got to the front, the clerk looked up at me and said, “If this is what church people are like, I don’t want anything to do with them!”
We so often do a terrible job of following Christ’s example and we do not even realize the damage we do. That experience at the theater made me want to cry. Jesus came to give of himself completely and we who call ourselves his followers cannot seem to humble ourselves to be like him.
Philippians 2:5-8 says it as no other can.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death–
even death on a cross!
“Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” You can! You can if you are willing to make the choice of service and put others ahead of yourself. You can if you fix your faith on him and live a life of love that casts out all fear. You can if you focus on Christ as your example in life and service. You need not “search” for the Holy Grail! Jesus holds his cup of service out to you and asks, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
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[1] Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, (New York: Summit Books, 1991), p. 506.
Faith Grip 