Are you able to drink the cup?

All true success demands a cost, and all great leaders have a story! The price of greatness is the greatness of price ~ Dr. Myles Munroe

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in your kingdom.” But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ~ Matthew 20:20-22 NKJV

The issue is never about the position you desire to hold or the greatness you want to achieve; it’s about the cost. Are you ready to pay the price to get what you want? These two sons of Zebedee had a desire to attain positions of influence and greatness in the kingdom of Jesus. There was nothing wrong with their desire, and even Jesus didn’t object it, but He had a question for them; “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink…?” The word cup in this particular question implies price or cost. He would use this word again in the Garden of Gethsemane;

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” ~ Matthew 26:39 NKJV

The mother of these two sons wanted them to be great just like any other parent would want the best for their children. Such a desire, as I have already said, is normal and there is nothing wrong with it. I believe with all my heart that there are so many across the globe, if not all people, who have such a desire in our hearts. Who doesn’t want to be great? Or rather, who doesn’t admire great people and wish to be like them? We all do and even envision ourselves in positions of greatness, influence and power. But what many of us miss in the big picture is the cost. Many desire greatness, but when it comes to paying the price, that’s where we draw the line.

Greatness doesn’t come on a silver platter; the cup will always be there. People try to beat the system in order to get what they want and reach their positions of greatness, but it doesn’t work out that way. Even the people of the world who have achieved and accomplished great things in life will tell you that they’ve had their share of the cup. There are those who have had to work day and night without enough food or rest, just to be where they are. Others had to pay the cost in order to earn that coveted degree and climb the career ladder in the corporate world. There are those still who have had to overcome discouragements, discrimination, rejection and all sorts of negative experiences to get where they are today. That’s why we cannot just look at their success, medals, awards and achievements while ignoring their battles, struggles and scars.

What Jesus was trying to help us understand with this question was that we need to count the cost first. He was telling us that we must be prepared to pay the price to achieve whatever we want. He Himself struggled with the price He had to pay for us to be saved which means that it’s not an easy thing as some of us may think. His cup was to give up His life to fulfill the will of His Father. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we should die literally, but rather, we must be ready to pay the necessary price to achieve our goals.

King David was one man who went through it all before he became the king of Israel. He was anointed as a teenager and immediately after that, his life became a war zone. Saul, upon realizing that David would eventually become the king of Israel after him, did everything within his power to take him out. From trying to pin him to the wall with his spear to setting him up with the Philistines and then hunting him up and down through the deserts and caves, Saul was not about to give up. David had to live like a fugitive and at some point pretended to be a mad man just to escape from the men of king Achish of Gath. He eventually went to live in a land outside Israel to escape the hand of Saul, but God protected, preserved and sustained him through it all. There was no other king that went through what David went through. He learned to lean on God for strength, to trust and rely on Him even in the most difficult situations, and God never failed him. This was his own share of the cup and it was necessary for him to fulfill His purpose.

If Christ suffered and drunk His own share of the cup, how much more His followers?

Consider the case of Martin Luther King Jr. for example who didn’t shy away from talking about his cup. He mentioned an earlier attack on his life when a deranged woman stabbed him, and he marveled at all he had been able to accomplish since he survived that threat. He talked about the threats on his life that were still swirling in the air that day and some of the precautions that had been taken. Yet he chose to show up in Memphis and deliver a rousing speech on April 3, 1968, prepared to march for freedom the next day. Nearing the conclusion of that speech, he said that although he didn’t know what would happen to him with all the threats on his life, it didn’t matter to him. Even though he wanted to live a long life, he’d “been to the mountaintop” and wasn’t concerned about longevity now. “I just want to do God’s will,” he said. The rest of that final speech, about seeing the Promised Land, is better known, but the main point is that he talked about serving up his gift, and like Jesus, his life as ransom.

This means that no matter who you are, as long as there is a vision in your life and you are committed and dedicated to working on it, there will be a cup of suffering. Your pursuit of greatness will not be a smooth sail, but your commitment and willingness to pay the necessary price to achieve your goals will eventually pay off.