NOTES for Mat 20:17-28

It feels as though the disciples have suddenly gone deaf. Jesus speaks clearly and unambiguously: soon I will be killed. The disciples do not react at all—instead, a loving mother appears, eager to secure her sons’ future, and those sons do not stop her or say, “Mother, He is preparing for something terrible; this is not the time...” Jesus answers not her, but James and John themselves. And He does not reject them, although they truly understand nothing. He did not say, “What are you doing? They want to kill Me, and you are dividing up positions!” He said, “Yes, you will be with Me—but you cannot even imagine what that will mean for you.” And when they readily agree to drink the cup that Jesus will drink, He does not tell them that they will fall asleep while He asks the Father to let this cup pass from Him, or that they will run away when He is handed over to death—although He knows perfectly well that this is exactly what will happen. He says, “Yes, you will drink My cup,” because He knows that after the Resurrection His Holy Spirit will give them strength to bear witness to Him, carry the Good News throughout the earth, and accept persecution and death in His name.