St. Matthew, Chapter 20, verse:23b, Not mine to give.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mother of James and John) Part 9. 

And so it is revealed to the disciples that they will drink of the cup which Christ drank.  It is revealed that they will follow in his footsteps.  It is made known to them that they also will suffer the same as he suffered.  They are his disciples.  They are the followers of the Messiah.  They will also do great things.  He healed the sick.  So will they.  He made the lame walk and the blind see.  So will they.  He raised the dead.  So will they.  He suffered the sins of mankind.  So will they suffer.

They wanted fame and fortune.  They wanted to have followers the same as he.  They wanted to be known throughout the land, the same as he.  They wanted all that being his followers offered, so they had to pay the same price.  What was that price?  They had to suffer at the hands of the evil doers.  The evil in the world did not want Christ to come.  The evil in the world did not want the people to know.  The evil in the world did not want the people to change.  So it tried to stop Christ.  It tried to prevent the change.  It tried to work against the will of God who ordained that this would happen.  And it was the will of God that brought about the change.  But as for sitting on the right side and the left side of Christ, it was not his to give.  He told them:  "But as for sitting at my right hand and at my left, that is not mine to give you." 

What were they to do?  They had wanted so much to be with him on the throne.  They had wanted so much to sit at his side.  They, James and John, wanted so much to be elevated with Christ.  But they were not Christ.  They did not come down from heaven.  They were not the son of the Father, the Messiah.  They were his followers, his disciples, the witnesses of the Gospel, which they would preach to all the world.

Theirs was not the place of the lamb.  Theirs was not to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world to redeem all humanity.  Theirs came after.  They were the followers.  They were the witnesses to the sacrifice, the messengers of the word.  They lived in his presence.  The heard his words.  The slept, ate, walked with him on this earth and they will be with him in heaven.  They are the judges of the people.  They will sit on the thrones before the altar of God.  But it is destined by God the Father to restore his son to his rightful place at his side.

Christ came that we might have life.  He came to destroy the bond of evil and to tear down the gates of hell that kept us from heaven.  Death is no more.  Life is given to those who seek it.  Eternity is available to all who seek Christ and repent of their sins.  Forgive us father for the trespasses that we committed.  We were blinded.  We could not see.  The knowledge of you was taken away.  But you held our hand.  You did not let go.  You brought us back to you and now we know.  Now we can see.  Now we know who we are.  Now we are grateful for your saving grace, for your forgiveness, and for your mercy.  To all who seek, they will find.  To all who knock, the door will be opened to them.  To all who ask, it will be given to them, says the Lord.  Come!  Seek that which is yours.  Find that which you have searched for.  Know that which is in you and a part of you from heaven above.  You are a child of God!

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ.   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.

St. Matthew, Chapter 20, verse:23a, The Drink.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mother of James and John) Part 8. 

They wanted fame and fortune.  They wanted to sit at his side.  They wanted to have power and prestige.  They wanted to be at the head of the table and not at the end.  But, they did not know the price they would have to pay for their wants.  These were they wishes of James and John as expressed by their mother.  She spoke what they would not speak.  She came forth and worshipped even as they could not worship.  She brought forth what others only thought about, what would be their rewards for following in the footsteps of the Lord.

They loved him surely.  They walked with him for years.  They watched him work unbelievable miracles.  They listened to his words with care.  They, like no other living today, had the opportunity to see with their own eyes and experience with their own beings the living Christ. 

He came down from heaven.  He walked the earth.  He lived amongst the people.  He taught them of the Father and gave them his principles and practices.  And then he died.  He suffered, he was punished as no man has ever been punished.  And he was hung on a cross for sins that he did not commit.  They did not know the whole picture at the time they asked to sit at his side.  But they would follow in his sacrifice.  And:  He said to them, "Of my cup you shall indeed drink." 

Here is something that we can ask ourselves today, "Can we drink of his cup?"  Can we take even a sip, a whiff or even a smell of the cup that he drank from?  It was a tall cup, a cup filled with issues, a cup filled with pain, suffering, unselfish love, grace, tenderness, patience, knowledge, faith, trust, and a deep seated passion in the redemption of mankind, a passion that required his life.  Are we worthy of the love that he has for us?  Do we know the value of the sacrifice that was made for us?  Can we not see, can we not understand, can we not know the beauty of who we are in his eyes? 

We live in a world, a realm, where we are provided with all that our hearts desire.  In order to have all, we must strive.  We must work, we must achieve, we must educate ourselves, overcome obstacles, revise who we are in order to conform to the common mole.  We must give up who we are, sacrifice that which is natural to us, change how we think and feel, how we know, and how we believe, in order to achieve all.  And in the process of all this, we become something else, somethin other than who we are.  We become something that the world has created.  We do all this that we might succeed, that we might be on top.

Will we drink of his cup or shall we drink of the cup the world has given us.  Both will change us.  Both require a decision.  We live in the world but we are spiritual.  The world gives us food, gives us protection, allows us to grow, it gives us love, educates us, gives us the opportunity to provide for ourselves, and demands us to conform to its norms.  But when we come of age and decide which road we want to take, we make a choice.  Sometimes the choice is easy, natural, given to us from birth.  At other times we come to re-evaluate the choice in order to continue. 

Our Father walks with us at each choice we make.  We can let go of the world and turn back to him.  We can change the decision that we make.  We can understand that there is something more, something greater, something that gives us peace and joy and love in our lives.  There is something that is within us that is not of this world but of the spirit and life given us by our Father.  It is that spirit that will guide us along right path that leads to him.  The choice is ours to make.  Do we drink of his cup? 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ.   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.

St. Matthew, Chapter 20, verse:22c, We Can.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mother of James and John) Part 7. 

Wherever the Gospel is written this paragraph shall be included, the paragraph of the mother of James and John.  What must have been her faith?  What must have been her trust?  What must have been her belief in Christ that he was the one who would change all things?  She came to him.  She worshipped him.  She spoke to him about her beloved sons.  They were all she had. They were her future and her past and her present.  And they were the ones who would become his disciples for all eternity.

Little did she know what would happen.  Little did she know what they would become.  Little did she know what they would suffer.  For they were to drink of the same cup of suffering with Christ.  They were to be teachers the same as Christ.  They were to be miracle workers the same as Christ.  And they would be the twelve disciples, apostles, for all eternity.  Did they believe?  Did they know?  Did they understand what would happen.  Did they know the battle that they would face with evil?  Could they stand with Christ and become the sacrificial lambs?  Could they drink of the same cup?  They said to him, "We can." 

Can we drink of the same cup?  Can we follow in the footsteps as Christ and become sacrificial lambs?  Or are we more about ourselves and our own desires?  It is a tall question to ask and an even greater one to answer.  Just to think of the ramifications of that answer brings shudders to the mind and the body.  Just to reflect on the pain and the suffering that he endured makes one think of turning away.  Yet he willingly entered into the sacrifice, he willingly became the innocent lamb, he willingly accepted the pain and suffering, the humiliation and mockery, the beatings and the hatred of those who would do him harm.  He allowed himself to be brutally beaten and crucified by the doers of evil.

Can we do the same?  Can we accept such punishment today?  Because he suffered for us then, we do not have to suffer that today.  Christ became the sacrifice for all.  He accepted the sins for all; past, present, and future.  And because of his sacrifice we are redeemed, we are saved, we are born anew.  Because he could endure, because he accepted, because he was the lamb, we are reborn anew.  Once again we have life.  Once again we are acceptable to God.  Once again we are his children. 

James and John believed that they could.  James and John knew that they could.  James and John walked in his presence and trusted that they would do the same as he did.  What was their prize?  What was their motivation?  What did they see, what did they know, what did they believe that allowed them to drink of that cup?  There must have been something greatly motivating that gave them the courage to continue.  There must have been something more than we know that allowed them to be who they were.  Can we discover what that something else was?  Can we know what motivated them, that it might motivate us today?  What will strengthen us to do the same?  What will give us the power to accept?  What force will guide us to be like Christ, to follow in his footsteps, to know his love?  What must we do to discover that which is ours to know?  He has given us the key.  He has opened the door.  He awaits our footsteps that he might guide us to his presence.  The choice is ours to make.  All we have to do is ask. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ.   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.