“Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 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.” - Matthew 20:22b-23 (NIV)1
Over the years I have intentionally established relationships with believers around the world. I regularly correspond with believers in many different countries. There insights into the gospel from their cultural perspectives have helped me remove some of my western “blinders”. One thing I repeatedly here from these dear brothers and sisters is that “American Christianity is obsessed with God’s blessings but is no longer willing to endure God’s suffering”. As a pastor in India put it, “American Christians are spiritually lazy”. We rejoice in the blessings God gives and actively pray for them. We want the rewards of service, but somewhere along the way we ceased serving. We desire payment without laboring for our King.
As we discussed in yesterday’s devotional, Salome wanted her sons to be in positions of honor in Jesus’ new kingdom. Back in 19:28, Jesus told the disciples they would sit on twelve thrones. Now he asks them if they think they can really “drink from his cup” (i.e. live like the Messiah). Foolishly, they say ‘yes’, and Jesus informs them that they were more right then they realized. This wasn’t a threat, it was a promise. Jesus isn’t informing them that punishment is on its way, but rather that they will share in the glories of advancing the Kingdom through their sacrifices. They were thinking of the blessings, Jesus was thinking of the miseries that lay ahead. Humanity seeks to avoid suffering whereas Jesus calls on his followers to embrace it.
James and John did drink from Jesus’ cup. Acts 12:2 records the martyrdom of James and church traditions tells us of the torture and banishment endured by John (cf Rev 1:9). They wanted glory, and they received suffering. They wanted recognition, and they received shameful deaths. They wanted power, and they became powerless. Yet, because of this the kingdom of Christ continues to advance.
Regarding this passage, Matthew Henry writes, “We do not know what we ask, when we ask for the glory of wearing the crown, and ask not for the grace to bear the cross on our way to it”. Don’t stop praying for blessings, but do start praying for the grace (and willingness) to suffer for Jesus.
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1 Many Greek manuscripts add, “and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with” (the KJV retains this rendering). More than likely this was an assimilation to Mark 10:38-39, as the earliest and most substantial manuscripts of Matthew’s gospel do not contain this clause.
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