To drink of the cup

In the deserts of Palestine a few thousand years ago, Jesus completed His final ministry in the area known as Perea and started to make His way towards Jerusalem for that last week of His life.

As He journeyed with a group of His disciples, Matthew records an interesting interchange.  One of the women approached Jesus.  She was the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.  She asked the Master what seems to us to be a rather presumptuous and impudent question:

Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on the right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.

We infer from her words that she probably had the common misconception about the Savior's kingdom being an earthly one, that His power would be political, and His rise to power imminent.  It probably also shows a little bit of what I think is in every mother, a hope and desire that her sons will "turn out," will be successful and special.

Jesus could have responded with a lecture, or a rebuke, or have even ignored her naïveté.  But His words are sensitive and thoughtful:

Ye know not what ye ask.

That's all—just a gentle statement to the mother to the effect that she still had some things to learn.  And then turning to the sons, He continued:

Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
They say unto him, we are able.

How little did they understand what lay ahead in the week to come!  Of course they knew nothing of the trials, mockery, beatings, anguish, and eventual crucifixion and death; but even more directly, how little they understood of the very purpose and motivation of the Savior!  In their youthful loyalty and enthusiasm, they thought they were willing to commit their all to the cause because of their love for Him, not knowing how impossible it would have been for them to come close to drinking of the cup or being baptized with the bloody baptism that He soon would undergo.

But then consider the Master's response to His disciples.  He spoke then to them, but the words echo down through the centuries and resound in our ears.  From our perspective, they are not only startling, but maybe a little bit frightening:

Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with...   (Matt 20:20-23)

We just decided that the marvel of the Atonement, the miracle of what the Savior did for us, is that no mere mortal individual would ever be able to do it.  We can never repeat what He did.  In that sense, we can't really drink of the same cup and be baptized with that baptism.  So what was He telling His disciples? Is there a sense in which we can share in the same type of suffering or testing that He did?  If so, what does it mean?  When does it happen?  How can we prepare?

Mercifully, we might infer something from the insertion of that little preposition "of."  Perhaps we won't be expected to drink the fullness of the cup, as He did; but we will each partake "of" the cup in some sense.

But this is a crucial doctrine.  Jesus wasn't just predicting that His two disciples would be facing some challenges ahead in their lives.  He was teaching an important principle.  I think He's saying that if you want the glory of the kingdom, you must be willing to drink of the cup, to whatever degree God feels is necessary for you! The two are eternally and immutably linked—you can't have the one without the other, and if you are willing to partake of and remain faithful to the cup, you will most surely receive the kingdom.  The reward is assured, by the grace of God, for those who are prepared to show their willingness to receive it, under HIS terms.

The great prophet Jacob echoed this concept in the Book of Mormon.  Soon after the passing of his elder brother Nephi, Jacob introduced his own testament by describing the focus of his ministry in these words:

Wherefore, we would to God that... all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world. (Jacob 1:8)

Well, let's move forward a few days in the life of the Savior and we'll learn a little more about what he was teaching.  We see again our friends James and John, the disciples who were eager and willing to drink of the very cup of the Savior.  This time, they are fast asleep, along with their companions. Nearby, in indescribable pain and anguish, "exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," is the Son of God, praying with all the energy and fervency of His divinely tender soul.  After a little while,

...he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto [them], What, could ye not watch with me one hour?  (Matt. 26:40)

Again, the question rings down through the centuries and resounds in our ears today with as much force as any ever asked by the Lord.  "Could ye not watch with me one hour?"  On that occasion, the forces of the adversary were gathering to do their terrible work, and perhaps the Savior was concerned about being interrupted before He had completed His special assignment, or hoped for moral support and encouragement from His friends. James and John, and their brethren, didn't seem to be doing very well in their commitment to partake of the cup with the Savior.

In our own time, the forces are gathering ever more strongly, and their diabolical purpose is the same—to destroy the work of the kingdom of God.  Our watch with Him is needed more now than at any time in history. We watch, as His representatives, by obeying; by "coming unto" Him; by following his example of pure, unselfish serving; by doing all things that He asks, at all times, in all ways.

All of that, and so much more, is really the message of Easter for us today as Christians and as Latter-day Saints.  The message is that the Cup and the Kingdom are unavoidably and eternally linked; the message is that each of us must take up that cup for ourselves and drink of it, each and every day of our lives.

The message of Easter is that God loves us so much more than we can ever imagine.  The message is that He is always very near to us and willing to bless our lives, to sustain and support us as we drink of the cup, if we will let Him.  In the beautiful words of Neal A. Maxwell,

That fiery sphere we call the sun, which guides our solar system, will one day burn out, but it provides us with a useful analogy.  We may cover our eyes or turn from its light, but its light is still there.  We may see it through glass darkly, but it glows on just as brightly.  For a few hours we call night it seems to be gone, but it is still shiningly there and will reappear on the morrow.  Storms may darken the sky at noonday, but the sun is still there and will soon break through.

So it is with the Son of God...  We may turn from him, but he is still there.  We may feel that he is hidden from us because of the cloud cover of our concerns, but he is still close to us.  We — not he — let something come between us, but no lasting eclipse need ensue.  Our provincialism cannot withstand his universalism.  Our disregard of him is no match for his love of us.  Yes, Jesus of Nazareth lived!  He lives now!  He guides his Church!

(Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Devotional, November 8, 1977)

The message of Easter is that God not only loved the world, but He loved it so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son (John 3:16).  The message is that the Son not only loved us, but that He loved us so much that He gave Himself for our eternal benefit (John 15:13).  The message of Easter is not only that we must love the Father and the Son, but that we must love them enough to give (Matthew 25:40).  The message is that as powerful as God is, He needs you and He needs me to bring His work to pass.  And He needs more than our lofty thoughts and good intentions  He needs our LIVES, our DEEDS, and ACTS OF LOVE AND SERVICE.

The message of Easter echoes in the words of a revelation given to the prophet a year before the Church was organized; in comforting, peaceful, soothing words, the Lord spoke to Joseph and to us:

Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail....

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

(D&C 6:34, 36, 37)