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Mark 10:39

in Mark 10

“We can,” the brothers answered. “You will drink the cup that I drink,” Jesus said, “and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they said unto him, We are able. And Jesus said unto them, The cup that I drink ye shall drink; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

KJV

And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

This verse in Mark 10

Commentary

10 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

(ubi sup.) A question is raised, however, how James and John drank the cup of martyrdom, or how they were baptized with the baptism of the Lord, when the Scripture relates, that only James the Apostle was beheaded by Herod whilst John finished his life by a natural death.

This site's exposition

You do not know what you are asking

on Mark 10:38-40

Jesus answers a request for glory with the cup and the baptism, Old Testament figures for an overwhelming ordeal, often of judgment. You will drink the cup that I drink proved true, with James martyred and John enduring persecution and exile.

This site's exposition

You will drink the cup that I drink

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the brothers here own their mother's request as their own. They were sincere in their willingness to suffer. Ryle sees in the same answer how little they understood what they claimed.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 1107.

proposed

And they answer Him, without understanding what He had said; wherefore it goes on: And they said unto him, We can; for they thought that He spoke of a visible cup, and of the baptism of which the Jews made use, that is, the washings before their meals.

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Mark · Written before 1107.

proposed

You, He says, will enter into the struggle of martyrdom and will die for the truth, "but to grant the seat is not for Me to give." But here two difficulties arise. The first: has this seat been prepared for anyone? The second: can it …

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Mark · Written before 735.

proposed

But Jesus said to them, "You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you shall be baptized. The question arises, in what manner did the sons of Zebedee, that is, James and John, drink …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And they said unto him we can,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Let us mark in this passage, the ignorance of our Lord's disciples . We find James and John petitioning for the first places in the kingdom of glory. We find them confidently declaring their ability to drink of their Master's cup and be baptized with their Master's baptism. In spite of all the plain warnings of our Lord, they clung obstinately to the belief that Christ's kingdom on earth was immediately going to appear. Notwithstanding their many shortcomings in Christ's service, they had no misgivings as to their power to endure any thing which might come upon them.
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

And they said unto him, We can--Here we see them owning their mother's petition for them as their own; and doubtless they were perfectly sincere in professing their willingness to follow their Master to any suffering He might have to endure.
Let us mark in this passage, the ignorance of our Lord's disciples . We find James and John petitioning for the first places in the kingdom of glory. We find them confidently declaring their ability to drink of their Master's cup and be baptized with their Master's baptism. In spite of all the plain warnings of our Lord, they clung obstinately to the belief that Christ's kingdom on earth was immediately going to appear. Notwithstanding their many shortcomings in Christ's service, they had no misgivings as to their power to endure any thing which might come upon them. With all their faith, and grace, and love to Jesus, they neither knew their own hearts, nor the nature of the path before them. They still dreamed of temporal crowns, and earthly rewards. They still knew not what manner of men they were. There are few true Christians who do not resemble James and John, when they first begin the service of Christ. We are apt to expect far more present enjoyment from our religion, than the Gospel warrants us to expect. We are apt to forget the cross, and the tribulation, and to think only of the crown. We form an incorrect estimate of our own fortitude and power of endurance. We misjudge our own ability to stand temptation and trial. And the result of all is that we often buy wisdom dearly, by bitter experience, after many disappointments, and not a few falls. Let the case before us teach us the importance of a solid and calm judgment in our religion. Like James and John, we are right in coveting the best gifts, and in telling all our desires to Christ. Like them we are right in believing that Jesus is King of kings, and will one day reign upon the earth. But let us not, like them, forget that there is a cross to be borne by every Christian, and that "through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22.)

The words behind it

23 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    John 17:14

    I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

    it leads to

    • John 17:16

      They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

    • John 15:18–21

      If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.

    • 1 John 5:19–20

      We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.

    • John 8:23

      Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

  • Through

    Revelation 1:9

    I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 3:10

      Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the…

    • Acts 14:22

      strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

    • John 16:33

      I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

    • Revelation 1:2

      who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Where this verse is studied

About Mark

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Public domain.
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Public domain.

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.