What was the explicit purpose of Jesus' question to James and John?
Upvote:1
The most common take on that passage (and the related ones in Mark 10 and Matthew 10) is the difficulty in being a disciple (or in the case of those two, the immense difficulty and challenge of being an apostle).
In the notes for the New American Bible hosted at the Vatican's web site, there is a cross reference to Matthew 10:38-40.
38 and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
The message or interpretation here isn't subtle, nor the purpose behind that cross reference. To any disciple of Christ, be they the two He spoke to in that passage, or be it the verse speaking to someone receiving the Word through Scripture, the "cup he will be drinking" is an allusion to the cross, and he's indirectly asking them (or us) if they(we) can bear the cross and follow Him.
I've heard this from the pulpit/ambo during the homily, during bible classes, and on retreats from clergy. The theme and linkage is consistent. (I get the idea that this is a core linkage taught in Seminary).
The question interpreted for the laity in the present: can you really pick up that cross and follow in those footsteps? (Message: it's very hard to do).
Upvote:1
Jesus says this to him to humiliate him (i.e., to make him humble).
For example, St. Remigius commentates:
This must not be so understood as though it were possible for God to cause that the rich, the covetous, the avaricious, and the proud should enter into the kingdom of heaven; but to cause him to be converted, and so enter.
See the other Fathers' comments on this passage in St. Thomas's Catena Aurea (Golden Chain).
More post
- 📝 Remission of excommunication of a schismatic group
- 📝 Why is the number seven special?
- 📝 Can a Pope elevate a non-heretical yet minority opinion to the level of dogma?
- 📝 If flesh & blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God how did the Lord Jesus show His "hands and feet" after the resurrection?
- 📝 About praying for the dead and anointing of the sick
- 📝 Did Jesus ascend to Heaven twice?
- 📝 Blaspheme one part of the Trinity but not the whole?
- 📝 How do Calvinists interpret 1 John 2:2 in light of Limited Atonement?
- 📝 Do spirits/souls make decisions/think?
- 📝 Why is "fornication" used to describe the actions of "Babylon the Great" in Revelation 18?
- 📝 Why does the Roman Catholic Church not hold to the perspicuity of Scripture?
- 📝 Can a Catholic priest take Anglican services?
- 📝 Is there a deeper meaning for the reason for the new translation of the "Sanctus?"
- 📝 How did so many writings of St. John Chrysostom survive?
- 📝 What is a prophet in Catholicism?
- 📝 What did pastors in the 1800s in the United States teach their congregations about interacting with Native Americans?
- 📝 Where did Jesus stay during his 3.5 year ministry?
- 📝 Are non-Anglican Protestant churches ever named after extra-biblical saints?
- 📝 According to LDS teaching, Does God have a God?
- 📝 Why didn't C.S. Lewis convert to Catholicism?
- 📝 How about the outside of the Garden of Eden?
- 📝 If Catholicism rejects freemasonry, why are there patron saints of Freemasons?
- 📝 What does inherit the earth mean in Matthew 5:5
- 📝 Is Deism in Christianity possible? If so, what does it look like?
- 📝 Does God punish babies and children who die in sin?
- 📝 Assuming the Book of Mormon is historically accurate, does this necessarily imply the Great Apostasy?
- 📝 Within the Catholic Church, what are the main reasons given for the decline of Catholicism in the Netherlands?
- 📝 Why doesn't the Catholic Church kill heretics anymore?
- 📝 Why is Jesus occasionally referred to as "The Christ"? Is there a different definition between the two?
- 📝 From a Dogmatic Catholic perspective, what is the eternal destination of an unbaptized embryo?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was the explicit purpose of Jesus' question to James and John?
- 📝 What was the Original Purpose of Fasting from "Wine" and "Olive Oil" in the Orthodox Tradition?
- 📝 What did Peter, James and John see on the Mount of Transfiguration?
- 📝 What were the ages of the Apostles Peter and John when Jesus was crucified?
- 📝 What was before the king james bible and what sections might have been lost in translation?
- 📝 What was the difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees?
- 📝 What is the purpose and meaning of the Christian Flag?
- 📝 What was the specific trap being set for Jesus by the Pharisees in John 8?
- 📝 What is the purpose and basis for the special garments issued to temple-going Mormons?
- 📝 What is the origin and purpose of a new bishop being questioned by a layperson?
- 📝 Was 'Jesus and the woman taken in adultery' in St. John a later addition, and does this invalidate infallibility?
- 📝 What is the purpose and basis of the stigmata?
- 📝 What was the purpose to animal sacrifices?
- 📝 What was the point of the laws written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia?
- 📝 What is the basis of the view that Jesus was separated from the Father and Holy Spirit upon death?
- 📝 What exactly was the purpose of the Council of Nicea?
- 📝 What was John Wesley's view of the Lord's Supper?
- 📝 What was the difference between Ratramnus's view of the Eucharist and that of Calvin?
- 📝 What was Van Til's view on the use and validity of historical proofs for the resurrection?
- 📝 What is the origin of the term Prima Scriptura and the background against which it was defined?
- 📝 Since when did the Catholic church accept Protestant baptism, and what was the original rationale for accepting?
- 📝 What was the purpose of creating the world?
- 📝 In what manner did Peter, James and John appear to Joseph Smith?
- 📝 What is the historical reason the King James Version was created?
- 📝 What was the "Sect of Nicolaus" and did elements of it's influence carry down to our day?
- 📝 What was St. Thomas Aquinas's view on the difference between punishment accorded to original sin and punishment accorded to individual sin?
- 📝 What is an overview of Protestant explanations of the difference between dead faith and perfect faith in James 2?
- 📝 What are the main points of dissent between Cyril of Alexandria and John Chrysostom?
- 📝 What was Jesus trying to convey in the parables of the mustard seed and yeast?
- 📝 What made Jesus question at Mt 21:25 a good example for Christians or was it a bad question because the Jews could not answer?