Are You Willing?
“But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask, Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto Him, We are able. And He saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of 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 shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.” Matthew 20:22-23
This conversation between Jesus and His disciples, John and James, came about because the two of them had put their mother up to asking Jesus to allow her two sons to sit on the right and left of Jesus in His kingdom. I would have to say that was a rather bold request, and the fact that they asked their mother to ask it was a little childish on their part. It reminds me of a child who asks his sister to go ask Mom for something because he thinks his sister will be more successful in getting a positive result. However, Mom knows what was really going on, and Jesus knew that His two disciples were the ones who initiated this request because His response was directly to them.
Jesus also knew that John and James were good disciples, but He knew that they did not really have a clue as to His real mission, and how it would ultimately affect them even though He had instructed them earlier about their future (Matthew 10). He had warned them how difficult life would be for them, about the many hardships they would face, and how people would hate and persecute them. Before we criticize them, though, they could only understand as much as the LORD revealed to them. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension back to the Father, all that He told them would finally fall into place and make sense to them.
Regarding this loving mother’s request to Jesus, He tells the two disciples that they do not really know what they are asking. As stated before, they did not have a clue. However, don’t we do the same? Do we not ask the Lord for things that we think we want or need, but these things may contradict God’s plan for us? It’s good that God doesn’t always give us what we desire. Humans have a habit of conjuring up in their minds how things should be, but when those things come to pass we find out that very little turns out the way we expected. We, like the disciples, are overly concerned about temporal things and how it affects us rather than concentrating on the eternal significance of our thoughts and actions.
When Jesus asked the two of them if they would be able to drink of the cup that He would be drinking of, and be baptized with the baptism with which He would be baptized, they answered seemingly with great confidence that they would be able. What Jesus was really asking was much deeper. Were they willing to endure the cup of suffering which He would endure for the salvation of sinners and were they willing to suffer the baptism of suffering and death as He would be doing soon? To their credit, they were willing to follow Jesus no matter the cost, but they were letting their pride and ambition have too much influence over their response to Him.
In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus urged His followers to sit down and seriously consider the cost of becoming His disciples. John 6:67 tells us that many who had become His followers turned back from following Him because the cost was too high. John and James were thinking about the cost, but they had no idea how costly their determination to follow Jesus would be. They wanted to be leaders, yet they didn’t realize all the responsibility and sacrifice that come with leadership. People are no different today. They desire position, prestige, and wealth, but do not realize the sacrifices that they must make in order to attain them. They desire what others have, but do not want to take the risks and do the hard work that others have done to reach their goals. It is the same in Christian circles. Spiritual growth comes from diligent Bible study, prayer, and a concerted effort to live out the fruits of the Spirit. Jesus wanted John and James to know that they would not come out unscathed as they followed Him. We read in other New Testament writings about many of the things that Jesus’ apostles suffered because they carried the gospel to other parts of the world: persecution, beatings, arrests, stonings, shipwrecks, exile, and some were killed for their faith. I doubt any of them had these things in mind when they made their initial request for notoriety. Later they were definitely noticed, but not like they had hoped. I wonder how many of them would have remained loyal to Christ had they known what awaited them in the future.
Jesus continued by telling them that the positions of honor which they sought, on His right and on His left, were not His decision, but His Father’s decision. God would give those positions to those for whom they were prepared. To sit on the right and left of Jesus in His kingdom would not be given to anyone who thought that they deserved it by their works of righteousness. God has prepared these places of honor for whom He chooses. He is sovereign and makes His choices based on His own grace and mercy. We might just be surprised at who will fill those seats.