A Mother’s Request pt 1
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, 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 by my Father.”
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Both James and John had to be baptized in suffering as Jesus was, but their “cups” and “baptisms” were different. James was the first martyr among the apostles, and John was the only apostle to not die through martyrdom – though not from a lack of trying.
What can be learned from those who have been martyred for the sake of God’s kingdom?
They lived Christ’s command to “take up the cross” literally! Such is the kind of commitment we ought to have. Even if we are not martyred for our faith, we are assured that the sacrifices we make will be rewarded in heaven.
For those who have been martyred, they have been able to “drink the cup (of suffering)” that Jesus did. And I am sure that their reward has already been paid in full. But even if we don’t die for the cause of Christ, to know in our hearts that we can lay our lives down for Christ is much the same, just as John did not die through martyrdom, though his heart was set on Christ.