Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?

Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? (Matthew 20:22)

This is a continuation of the discussion Jesus is having with James and John and their mom, about sitting next to Jesus. They did not yet understand all that lay before the Lord. There was a bitter cup of suffering coming to Him; could they drink from that cup? More importantly, did they know that upon having said yes to follow Him, they had pretty well said yes to their own death in manners they had not expected.

Yesterday, in our Bible study class on The Story, the sermon series we are using at First United Methodist Church of Gonzales, we talked about the high cost of most things, and most things not being free anymore, and a dear lady said, "Even church?" I replied that coming to church was costly, if we did all that was required of us. Perhaps not so much in money, but in the things we are called to sacrifice for the good of saving the world.

The question remains: Are you able to drink the cup that Jesus offers to us?

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