Lesson 4254

 (Lesson 4254)(09-20-23) Mark 10:35-40

    “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.”

    In today’s quote, Jesus denied the sons of Zebedee the request that they had made to sit beside Him, on either side, is His “glory”.

    There is another very important lesson in that quote that concerns the usage of the word “baptize” and it’s grammatical variations.

    In the quote, Jesus referred to His, soon to come, death, burial and resurrection, as a “baptism”. That term “baptism”, as it is applied in the quote, was transliterated from the Greek word ‘baptizo’ from which the word ‘baptize’, as is applied in many other New Testament passages referring to water immersion was also transliterated. (Transliteration is the act of transcribing a ‘sound-alike’ word from one language to a completely different language without providing either the ultimate definition of the word, or it’s intent.) 

    In the ancient Greek language, the word ‘baptizo’ simply meant to place one item, or substance, into another and leaving it there for the purpose of transforming that item of substance into a substantially different (transformed) item, or substance.

    To get to the point I’m trying to make, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus was, in the intended Greek, a transformation of Jesus, the human man, into a glorified, perfect heavenly body that was alien to any human design.~

    The point being that today most “Christian” people relate the word ‘baptism’ to water immersion. Today’s quote clearly demonstrates that that word has at least two entirely different meanings depending upon the context within which they are applied. ~

    Note: The intent of my commentary will become more understandable as we go through the upcoming lessons.