Unlimited: The Cup And The Baptism | Good News Unlimited
Unlimited: The Cup and the Baptism
Jun 3, 2024 2025
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,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” (Mark10:38–40, NIV).
James and John came up to Jesus and asked him to grant then whatever they wish for. When Jesus asked them what they wanted, they told him that they want for one of them to sit at his right hand and the other at his left in his kingdom.
In other words, James and John wanted to be the chief ministers in the new Messianic kingdom that they believe Jesus was going to set up in Jerusalem.
What Jesus told his disciples was that the path to greatness in the kingdom of God is the path of suffering. But naively, they didn’t understand. They assured Jesus that they would go through whatever Jesus himself would go through in order to get the promotions they were after.
Jesus looked at them, and knew that after his resurrection, they would both eventually suffer for him. But they still had a lot to learn that they just couldn’t understand.
Jesus told them that you cannot ask God for the rewards of greatness in the kingdom. God will award them to those whom he desires.
Because, the thing is, James and John had no clue about what greatness in the kingdom of God means.
I wonder what went through Jesus’ mind when James and John assured him that they were indeed able to drink the cup that Jesus would drink and be baptised with his same baptism. Jesus was, of course, referring to Calvary.
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Eli’s Reflection: We all have foolish promises that we’ve made to Jesus that we’ve failed to keep. Think of one of yours. What did you learn from that experience? How did it bring you closer to Jesus?
