Mark 10:35-40-- Will You Drink the Cup?

James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You." And He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on your right and one on your left, in your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to Him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on my right or on my left, this is not mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."

As stated in the last post, Jesus’ method of gaining leadership of the kingdom of God was for himself to be rejected, tortured and killed by the current leadership.  The disciples, however, believed in gaining leadership the old-fashioned way—by connecting with powerful people.  Jesus was powerful, and was going to be the King of Israel, they firmly believed.  So James and John decided to move ahead of the pack and just ask Jesus about gaining the top positions in the new kingdom, right next to Jesus.  

Jesus responded to their request by mentioning that they had no idea what they were asking.  Jesus speaks of the suffering he has to go through, and asks if they were willing to do the same.  When Jesus speaks of “the cup”  it is almost always in the context of suffering and martyrdom (Mark 14:23-24; 14:36; John 18:11).  Baptism is associated with a dangerous passage across water, including death (Luke 12:50; Romans 6:4;I Corinthians 10:1-2; Colossians 2:12;  I Peter 3:21)—although the disciples could have misunderstood and thought he was speaking of simple cleansing by water (Luke 11:39 uses the word “baptize” to indicate washing).  

Clearly, the disciples thought that the requirements he was asking them to do was a simple matter.  He indicated that they would suffer as he.  But then he disappointed them.  For the Father is the one who knows who will be in the topmost leadership positions in the kingdom, and the Son has no authority to offer them to anyone.

At some point in our experience of following Jesus, he will ask us, "Are you willing to drink the cup I drank?"  Of course, if we are confronted by him like James and John were, we would say, "Yes, of course, Lord.  We'll follow you anywhere.  Just ask. Whatever you want."  But Jesus just sits back and waits.  Waits to see not what we say, but what we do.

James and John, of course, ran at first sight of Jesus being arrested.  This is because they thought that suffering would come in the context of fighting, in defending Jesus.  But Jesus didn't want defense.  He didn't want others to suffer at the hands of his disciples.  It was his purpose to suffer and his disciples to suffer with him.

What will we do, when the moment of trial comes?  Will we accept the suffering of Jesus, or will we pass on the cup?  Will we accept difficulty and risk and suffering for the sake of Jesus and love, or will we back off?  Most likely we will hesitate and scatter at first.  But, like John who turned back to sit at the foot of the cross and like James who was the first of the twelve to die a martyr's death, we will have a chance to re-consider Jesus' question.