PART
TWO 35 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. 36 And he
said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 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. 38 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? 39 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: 40 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. 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with
James and John.
Here
is a classic example of how carnal Christians are today. We want to make an
exhibition of ourselves, to receive a reward, to be glorified. We don’t really
want to share in Christ’s sufferings or to submit every thought to Christ, but
we want to be the big man or woman. America has become a casualty of Christian
self-worship. James and John not only have the audacity to demand something of
Christ but they respond that they can drink of the cup that He will drink from
and be baptized with the baptism He will suffer without even knowing what He’s
talking about.
They
want to think of themselves as the top dogs and glory over the others which
does not make the other apostles happy at all.
With
regard to these verses, examine the sufferings of the Jews in history who drank
deeply of the cup of Christ’s sufferings without wanting to, many murdered by
Christians, and of the Christian martyrs who were murdered by other so-called
Christians in the most inhumane ways possible. They did indeed drink of the cup
that Christ drank of. The Great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, is
coming where past events will be completely overshadowed.
Christ
drank the cup of God’s fury for us but….
Psalms
75:8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is
full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the
wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
Revelation
14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of
the Lamb:
Revelation
16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the
nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto
her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
You
think meteorite chunks breaking a few windows are bad? You think an earthquake
and tsunami are frightening? Be glad you won’t be here to share in the cup of
the fierceness of his wrath.
Be
glad you are saved, if you are. If not, then believe on and trust in Christ.
Hard times are coming.
John
3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
42
But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are
accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their
great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you:
but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever
of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many.
The
great Pastors suffered much to lead their flocks. Those egotistical saps who
become preachers out of a desire for self-glory and self-righteousness are just
so much chaff. The true leader in a church is a servant first. Just as everyone
who graduates from college wants to be offered the presidency of a company
without working their way up through the ranks, many who join a church figure
they are deserving of some post within the church that makes them look good and
seem spiritual.
A
minister is not to be a Lord over the flock. He is to serve the flock.
1
Peter 5:1 ¶ The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and
a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that
shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but
of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being
ensamples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
If
any man be contentious about the meaning of an elder referring not to a
preacher or pastor then notice that in the first verses of the second and third
letter of John, he refers to himself as the elder. See above that Peter calls
himself an elder. Any of the senior men of the church are elders, including the
Pastor and Deacons.
Be
an example, be a servant, but don’t try to be a king over the flock. That is
Nicolaitanism, the doctrine of ‘victory over the laity.’
As
for the ransom paid, the “fathers” of modern Bible versions, Westcott and Hort,
were willing to consider that the ransom was paid to Satan, which is blasphemy.
Those reprobates found the Biblical doctrine of the ransom for us paid to God
the Father to be repugnant.(1)
Exodus
30:12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number,
then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou
numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
Jesus’
life is the only ransom sufficient for our sins, for those who have received
Him. A man or woman must first realize that they have sinned against God. They
are sinners. It’s a genetic thing and a spiritual thing we inherited from Adam
and Eve. From the moment a person realizes the difference between good and evil
he or she is guilty, just as Adam and Eve were, and he or she is dying in their
sins until they are reborn by the risen Saviour.
You
say, but it’s not fair. I was born that way. And I say, it is very fair because
God has given you a way out of the inevitable fate of all human sinners. You
simply receive the Lord Jesus Christ, who was God in the flesh as your Saviour.
You trust Him. You believe what He said about Himself. You let Him speak to you
through His words in His Book and change you for His own purpose. But it’s by
His righteousness that you will get into Heaven and have eternal life. Your
righteousness is and will always be garbage without Him.
(1)
Arthur Hort, The Life and Letters of Fenton John Anthony Hort (London:
MacMillan & Co., 1896), 428. http://openlibrary.org/works/OL6571827W
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