To sit on the throne, you must drink the cup of suffering (Matthew 20: 20-28) by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 To sit on the throne, you must drink the cup of suffering (Matthew 20: 20-28) 

by Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce     Christian Arts Ministries 

Third times Jesus revealed His death and resurrection (Matthew 20:17-28)

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside privately, and on the way, He said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes. And Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes. And they will condemn Him to death. And deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised. (Matthew 20:17-19)

                In chapter 20 17-19 this is third time that Jesus revealed His death to the disciples. The first was in Caesarea Philippi, before His transfiguration (Matthew16:13, 21). The second was in Galilee, after His transfiguration (17:22). This third time was on the way to Jerusalem. This revelation was a prophecy. Altogether strange to the natural concept of the disciples; yet it would be fulfilled literally, in every detail.

To sit on the throne, you must drink the cup of suffering (Matthew 20: 20-28)

Then the mother of sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, worshipping and asking something of Him. He said, "What do you want?" She said to Him, say that these two sons of mine will sit, one on Your right and one on Your left in Your kingdom. But Jesus answered and said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup which I am about to drink? They said to Him, we are able. (vv.20-22) He said to them, “My cup you shall indeed drink, but to sit on My right and on My left this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”(v.23).And when the ten heard this, they were indignant concerning the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you (vv.24-26), but whoever want s become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave; Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20: 26-28)

Ø  Insight and understanding

In verse 22 if we ask to sit on the throne in the kingdom, we must be prepared to drink the cup of suffering. To suffer the cross is the way to enter into the kingdom (Acts 14:22). The selfish entreaty of the mother of John and James afforded the Lord an opportunity to reveal the way to enter into the kingdom. Verse 23 standing in the position of man, the Lord was fully subject to the Father; He did not assume the right to do anything outside the Father. James was the first of the twelve to be martyred. King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. (Acts.12:1-2).  

Verse 26 this is absolutely contrary to the natural, self-seeking mind. The indignation of the ten disciples (v.24) also afforded the Lord an opportunity to reveal the way to live in the kingdom: to be willing to serve others as a servant, even as a slave (v.27), rather than rule over others.

Verse 28 “as a ransom for many” The Word “for “unbeatably mean “in the place of” many. Christ here clearly interprets the meaning of His sacrifice as a substitution for sinners.  In the book of Matthew, the book of kingdom, the Lord stood always in the position of man. Although the kingdom of the heavens is constituted with the divine life, it is carried out in humanity.