"Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 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. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
There are two different lessons within today's quote. The first demonstrates how the desire for influence and power affected even the mother of two of Jesus' Apostles.
By asking for the choice seats at the throne of Jesus, the mother of James and John was trying to position her sons above all others.
Jesus, in essence, then asked James and John if they were willing, as He was, to undergo an agonizing death, burial and resurrection with Him. When they agreed that they would, Jesus assured them they would eventually suffer because of their devotion to Him, and that they would indeed be with Him in Heaven. Jesus also told them that there would be no positions of power in His Church, the strongest are to always work for, and serve the weak. He then told them that only God the Father could assign positions at the throne.
The second lesson that is to be taken from today's quote concerns the two times Jesus used a form of the term "baptize and how those terms are defined, and what they mean within this context.
Today, almost every time anyone mentions either baptize, baptizes, baptized, baptizing, or baptism, it is automatically assumed that the usage, in some way, references the use of water.
As is very plainly demonstrated in today's lesson, when Jesus used that term, He was referring to the taking on of a cause or specific action, in this instance, Jesus was referring to His upcoming sacrificial ordeal. The use of water was not, in any manner, implied in what Jesus said herein.
The knowledge as to how Jesus applied the term "baptize", throughout His ministry, is very important to today's discussion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is because far too many erroneously teach that in order to receive eternal life, one must be "baptized" in water when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
As these lessons continue, there will be much more in depth discussion of what the term baptism means to us in each of its applications within the New Testament.~
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