The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
“What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
These apostles definitely did not fully understand what Jesus was saying here, The “cup” and “baptism” that the apostles probably thought Jesus was referring to were the seats of power and the trappings of being close friends of the king (ie. the royal chalices, and baths that the kings enjoyed). Jesus though, is referring to the cup of His passion, the torturous death that He would experience, and the baptism of His own blood, the full immersion in the suffering that he would experience as a result. As such I think it is pretty clear that there is no way that these disciples would have responded “we can” if they actually fully knew what Jeus was referring to. They all would likely have cowered and retracted in fear.
But Jesus knew something that they didn’t. He knew that in the months and years after His death the Holy Spirit would be working on them, and strengthening them, and preparing them for the martyrdom that they too would eventually experience. All except John, he was not martyred, but was nonetheless, tortured all the same. I often muse to myself about this moment, and wonder if their answer here actually determined their destiny to martyrdom. Jesus says “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” Why else would He have asked this question in this way? I wonder, if they had said no, if Jesus would have protected them from this fate. Jesus responding that “My chalice you will indeed drink” is almost a surprise, and almost as if He did not know if they would have the courage to die in defense of His truth, until that moment. In either case, I don’t know that they fully understood, but I do believe that their lives were forever changed by this moment.
Nevertheless, any time Jesus asks a group of people a question in the bible, He is also asking all of us readers today the same questions. He is asking us today, can you drink my cup? It has been incorrectly believed, for a long time, that the age of martyrs was over, but it is becoming clearer and clearer that we are right now, in greatest age of martyrdom that the church has ever known. In fact, there have been more martyrs in the last 100 years then in the previous 1900 combined, greatly due to the murderous rampage of communism all around the world. Are you able to stand by Jesus, and die for what you believe in? This is a question that may soon become a real question in your life.
But take heart, the God promises in the bible that in that time, if you are faithful, that He will give you the words and the courage you need to stand up for His truth. To die a martyr is not a sad thing, it is a gift from God, and if you are so blessed to be given this gift, you will be rewarded with a crown in heaven, and will be scooped up straight into Gods presence at your death. I think that we could all be grateful to go this way. I just pray that, if this is what is asked of me, that I will have the courage to listen to the Holy Spirit and to witness to God’s greatness and truth.
Viva Christo Rey!
