“You Will Certainly Drink
From My Cup”
The mother of Zebedee's sons came to
Jesus. Her sons came with her. Getting on her knees, she asked a favor of him.
"What
do you want?" Jesus asked.
She
said, "Promise me that one of my two sons may sit at your right hand in
your kingdom. Promise that the other one may sit at your left hand."
"You
don't know what you're asking for," Jesus said to them. "Can you
drink the cup of suffering I am going to drink?"
"We
can," they answered.
Jesus
said to them, "You will certainly drink from my cup. But it is not for me
to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those my
Father has prepared them for."
The
other ten disciples heard about this. They became angry at the two brothers.
Jesus
called them together. He said, "You know about the rulers of the nations.
They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around.
Don't be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be
your servant. And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave.
"Be
like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve
others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people
free."
Matthew 20:20-28
No one wants to be weak, so we find ways to appear strong. Some
of us use the force of our emotions to manipulate people. Others use the force
of personality to control people, and some use intellect to intimate. Although
these create an illusion of strength, they are signs of weakness.
When we are truly strong, we have the courage to admit our
limitations and to acknowledge our dependence on God. As a result, true
strength often looks like weakness.
Toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, some of His disciples
were striving for positions of importance. Jesus used their argument as an
opportunity to teach them that in His kingdom things are different: greatness
comes when we willingly assume positions of weakness.
This is a hard truth. We all prefer the illusion of strength to
the reality of weakness. But God wants us to realize that true strength comes
when we stop trying to control people and start serving them instead.
God’s greatest power can be displayed in
our biggest weakness.
Our Daily Bread –