Mark 10:35-40 New International Version (NIV)
The Request of James and John 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
Tuesday - March 23
The disciples, James and John, are searching for power, fame and glory, but they do not realize what they are asking for. In God’s kingdom the powerful, famous and glorious are the ones who suffer for the sake of the Gospel. They will learn why this is true only after the resurrection of Jesus, when their eyes are fully opened. Jesus has not come to create a new earthly kingdom, but an eternal kingdom of life where sin and death will be banished forever. In Acts 12:2, we see that James and John finally believed and trusted in that eternal kingdom when James became the first of the disciples to die for the sake of Jesus. He was “baptized” with the same deadly baptism as Jesus. He “drank the cup” of earthly suffering because he trusted in the promise of eternal glory. The resurrection of Jesus changed everything for James and John. It set them and us free to trust God forever.