Are you able to drink the cup that I am about the drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

Deësis (Gr. "Prayer" or "Supplication") mosaic, 13th century.  Hagia Sophia  (Holy Wisdom) Cathedral, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire; showing the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist on Christ's left and right (photo Wikimedia Commons)

 

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one of Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about the drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know  that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Matthew 20:17-28 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent then into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 

  Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  My study Bible comments that Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion is meant to encourage and strengthen disciples for the terrifying events they will face.  According to Theophylact, it is as if Christ were saying, "Think on all these [words and miracles], so that when you see me hanging on the Cross, you will not imagine that I am suffering because I am powerless to do otherwise."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one of Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about the drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."   We don't really know why at this juncture the mother of James and John Zebedee has come to Christ with this request.  It is a sort of repetition of the disciples previously asking, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  But this time, it is the mother of Zebedee's sons who comes with this request on behalf of James and John.  When the question of "the greatest" was asked before, Jesus took pains with specific and extended teachings on humility and the need to serve, especially to take care of the "little ones" in the Church.  Perhaps Christ speaking of His coming Passion, and saying that on the third day He will rise again has prompted the disciples to assume that He will come into an eternal, earthly kingdom, as is widely expected of the Messiah.  But my study Bible comments that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple and it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  Here Matthew tells us that it was their mother who requested such an honor -- but John and James' own involved in revealed because Jesus addresses them in the plural "you" in the Greek both here and in Mark 10:36.   We must note that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  The Cross is a cup, my study Bible says, because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, as He was completely immersed in it, and yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom these brothers would lead after Pentecost -- James would be the first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12:1-2), and John would go on to a long life of persecution and exile, producing one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  My study Bible further notes on this passage that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give doesn't mean He lacks authority.  It means, instead, that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  Note also, my study Bible says, that with regard to sitting as equals on the right and the left hand of Christ in Christ's Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom teaches that nobody could possibly occupy these positions.  Regarding the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, the icons of the Orthodox Church universally depict the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women -- Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (greatest born of women -- Matthew 11:11) holding these places.  See the icon above, the 13th century mosaic entitled Deësis, meaning "prayer" or "supplication" in Greek, from Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Cathedral in Constantinople, the capitol of the Byzantine Empire.

 

And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know  that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  My study Bible notes that Jesus once again corrects the disciples, this time by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom they themselves considered an abomination, and contrasting them to Himself, who serves us although He is Lord of all.  My study Bible notes here that for many is an Aramaic expression which indicates "for all."

So, in the context of the Gospel, there is the common theme of sacrifice running as a thread throughout the past few readings.  There was first the story of the rich young man, whom Jesus loved, and whom He told that if he wanted to be perfect, he should sell his possessions and give to the poor, and follow Him.  This was followed by a discussion regarding the difficulties which wealth presents to those who would seek the kingdom of heaven, and the sacrifices which the disciples themselves have made.  In yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus gave the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, expressing the principle that not all will labor equally, and yet all will receive the same reward.  Here we have the dynamic quality in the story line in which the mother of John and James Zebedee comes (seemingly on their behalf) asking Christ to make her two sons effectively greatest in His coming Kingdom, to sit at His right and left hand.  According to my study Bible, as we read above, these are positions no one could fill, and the positions there will be will go to those for whom they are prepared by God.  But again, all of this comes within the theme of sacrifice, for it all begins with Christ's second warning of His Passion and death to come, followed by Resurrection.  While the family of Zebedee has focused on what this might mean for a coming "earthly" type kingdom, Jesus' true meaning here is about His own sacrifice on behalf of all -- which will function as an image of service for everyone to remember after Pentecost and the mission of the Church has truly begun.  While Jesus has already answered the question, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" with warnings about abuses of power, about humility, and service in the Church, this is yet a repetition with more emphasis, contrasting the use of power witnessed in the kingdoms of the Gentiles with the type of leadership Christ wants in His Church, to which He will entrust these apostles.  It's such an important lesson that sections of the Gospel are repeatedly devoted it, as Jesus begins His way toward Jerusalem with warnings to the disciples about what is to come.  Therefore it remains an essential lesson for the Church, and the world has seen plenty of excesses which enforce Christ's teachings all the more for all of us.  Let us endeavor to keep and live His faith, as He has taught, and follow the examples of those who have served throughout the centuries, both great and small, martyrs and saints, and the countless "little ones" who have served with their own lives and faith as well.