Mk 10:32-45
32[Jesus and his disciples] were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of [his disciples]. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 33“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles 34who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.” 35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36He replied, “What do you wish [me] to do for you?” 37They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”
38Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 42Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; 44whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. This, I believe, is Jesus’ motto or his coat of arms. His ambition is to serve. The price is his life.
The Lord wants servants: men and women who will take responsibility and make a difference in people’s lives… leaders who will stand up for a cause… dreamers with hope and vision who are willing to pay the price to make those dreams come true… men and women who will speak the truth, say what they mean, and mean what they say… romantics who have seen and experienced the Lord, carry and live Jesus in their hearts, and are willing to give their life as a ransom for many.
The Cup. Cup or chalice, the vessel from which a person drinks water, wine, or other liquids, is often used in the Bible as a figure of one’s lot or portion. In pain or tragedy, a person drinks from a cup of sorrow or of wrath. In joy and peace, he takes the cup of thanksgiving to celebrate a favor. The cup that Jesus tells the disciples he is drinking is the cup of suffering, in view of his passion and death. In agony, he prays the Father to let this cup pass him by, but eventually resolves that not his will, but God’s, be done.