Mark 10:38 kjv
But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Mark 10:38 nkjv
But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
Mark 10:38 niv
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
Mark 10:38 esv
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
Mark 10:38 nlt
But Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?"
Mark 10 38 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mark 14:36 | And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.” | Jesus' Gethsemane prayer, referring to His impending suffering. |
| Matt 26:39 | And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” | Parallel account of Jesus' prayer concerning the cup. |
| Luke 22:42 | Saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” | Parallel account emphasizing surrender to God's will. |
| Luke 12:50 | “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” | Jesus refers to His impending suffering as a "baptism." |
| Is 51:17 | Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl of staggering. | Old Testament imagery of the "cup" as divine wrath or judgment. |
| Jer 25:15 | For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.” | Cup of wrath extended to the nations. |
| Rev 14:10 | He also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of His indignation, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence… | Cup imagery in Revelation for God's wrath. |
| Mark 8:34-35 | If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My… | The cost of discipleship involves self-denial and suffering. |
| Rom 8:17 | And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. | Glory is connected to suffering with Christ. |
| 2 Tim 2:12 | if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; | Endurance in suffering leads to reigning with Christ. |
| Phil 3:10 | that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, | Paul's desire to share in Christ's sufferings. |
| 1 Pet 4:13 | but rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. | Sharing in Christ's suffering is a cause for joy and precedes glory. |
| Matt 20:23 | He said to them, “You will drink My cup, but to sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” | Jesus affirms they will share His suffering, but not necessarily glory. |
| Matt 5:10-12 | Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you… | Blessing pronounced on those who suffer for Christ's sake. |
| Jn 15:18-20 | If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world… | Followers of Christ can expect persecution as Christ was persecuted. |
| Rom 6:3-4 | Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death… | Figurative baptism into Christ's death and resurrection. |
| Col 2:12 | having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. | Baptism as a spiritual identification with Christ's death and resurrection. |
| Mark 10:43-45 | But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served… | Jesus defines true greatness through humble service, counter to worldly ambition. |
| Phil 2:5-8 | Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but… | Christ's example of humility and self-emptying leading to exaltation. |
| Acts 14:22 | strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. | Entrance into the kingdom involves enduring tribulations. |
Mark 10 verses
Mark 10 38 Meaning
In Mark 10:38, Jesus confronts James and John regarding their request for positions of glory in His coming kingdom. He reveals their lack of understanding about what they are truly asking. Instead of immediate honor, Jesus presents them with a profound question about their capacity to endure immense suffering and sacrifice—metaphorically described as "drinking the cup" He is destined to drink and being "baptized with the baptism" with which He will be immersed. This verse clarifies that true participation in Christ's glory is inextricably linked with sharing in His suffering and sacrificial death, emphasizing the costly nature of authentic discipleship.
Mark 10 38 Context
Mark 10:38 is set immediately after Jesus' third explicit prediction of His suffering, death, and resurrection (Mark 10:32-34). Jesus, leading the disciples towards Jerusalem, had warned them plainly of the trials awaiting Him: betrayal, condemnation, scourging, crucifixion, and resurrection. Despite this stark revelation, James and John, misunderstanding the nature of Jesus' kingdom and His messianic mission, approach Him with an ambitious request to sit at His right and left hand in His glory. Their request indicates they were envisioning an earthly, political kingdom of power and honor, completely overlooking Jesus' preceding announcement of suffering. This verse is Jesus' response, highlighting the disciples' spiritual blindness and challenging their readiness for the true demands of His kingdom, which involved suffering and sacrifice before glory. Historically and culturally, Jewish messianic expectations often focused on a triumphant political Messiah who would liberate Israel from Roman rule, establishing a glorious earthly reign. The disciples likely shared these common assumptions, making their request, though well-intentioned in their desire to be close to Christ, fundamentally misaligned with Jesus' imminent path to the cross and the nature of His spiritual kingdom.
Mark 10 38 Word analysis
- But Jesus said: The immediate interjection of Jesus to correct the disciples' request.
- to them: Refers to James and John, sons of Zebedee.
- "You do not know (οὐκ οἴδατε - ouk oidate) what you are asking": This phrase exposes the deep spiritual ignorance and shortsightedness of the disciples. Oidate (from oida) implies an intrinsic knowledge or understanding, not merely intellectual grasp. They do not comprehend the profound implications of sharing in Christ's reign. They desired glory but misunderstood its path.
- Are you able (δύνασθε - dynasthe) to drink the cup (πίνω τὸ ποτήριον - pinō to potērion) that I drink?:
- δύνασθε (dynasthe): "Are you strong enough?", "Are you capable?" This challenges their true spiritual fortitude and commitment.
- ποτήριον (potērion), "cup": A rich biblical metaphor in both the Old and New Testaments.
- In the OT, the "cup" often symbolizes divine judgment, wrath, or appointed destiny (e.g., Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15).
- For Jesus, this "cup" refers specifically to His impending suffering, agony in Gethsemane, crucifixion, and enduring the full weight of God's wrath against sin on behalf of humanity. It encapsulates His sacrificial death (Mk 14:36).
- πίνω (pinō), "drink": Implies fully experiencing, enduring, and exhausting the contents of the cup. To drink the cup means to undergo the full experience of suffering unto death.
- or to be baptized (βαπτισθῆναι - baptisthēnai) with the baptism (τὸ βάπτισμα - to baptisma) with which I am baptized?:
- βάπτισμα (baptisma), "baptism": Here, it does not refer to water baptism. The term signifies being overwhelmingly immersed, engulfed, or overwhelmed by a specific experience or circumstance.
- In this context, it refers to Jesus' total immersion into suffering, the trials, the agony, and His atoning death (Lk 12:50). It speaks of His overwhelming identification with the sin and judgment He bears.
- βαπτισθῆναι (baptisthēnai), "to be baptized": The aorist passive infinitive indicates the event of being overwhelmed. Jesus' suffering would be a profound and complete immersion into the depths of human sin and divine judgment.
- βάπτισμα (baptisma), "baptism": Here, it does not refer to water baptism. The term signifies being overwhelmingly immersed, engulfed, or overwhelmed by a specific experience or circumstance.
- "Drink the cup that I drink" and "be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized": These two phrases are parallel metaphors. Both signify complete immersion in extreme suffering and eventual death, especially vicarious atonement. They describe Jesus' path to the cross. For the disciples, it represents the call to suffer with Christ, facing persecution and tribulation for the sake of the Gospel. It’s a call to share in the "fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil 3:10), a far cry from the earthly thrones they sought.
Mark 10 38 Bonus section
The direct interaction between Jesus and His disciples in Mark 10:38 underscores a recurring theme in the Gospel of Mark: the disciples' repeated misunderstanding of Jesus' identity, mission, and the nature of His kingdom, particularly regarding the necessity of suffering. Despite multiple passion predictions, their worldview remained heavily influenced by prevalent Jewish messianic expectations of a conquering king who would immediately usher in an era of political power and earthly glory. Jesus' question challenges not just James and John, but all who claim to follow Him, to confront the uncomfortable truth that following Christ involves suffering before glory. The divine ordination of suffering is integral to Christ's mission and to the path of true discipleship, counteracting any theology that promises an easy road to power or privilege within God's economy. The very questions posed by Jesus in this verse prefigure His later agony in Gethsemane, demonstrating that He truly drank the cup and endured the baptism He spoke of.
Mark 10 38 Commentary
Mark 10:38 acts as a profound theological reality check, recalibrating the disciples' understanding of true greatness in God's kingdom. James and John, consumed by ambition, sought glory without understanding its prerequisites. Jesus, having just detailed His coming Passion, used two vivid metaphors to link true kingdom power with ultimate suffering. The "cup" signifies divine judgment and overwhelming affliction, which Jesus willingly consumed to fulfill His atoning mission. His "baptism" points to His complete immersion into the depths of suffering and death for humanity's redemption. These were not rhetorical questions but pointed inquiries into the depth of their commitment. They had not yet grasped that the Messiah's throne would first be a cross, and that participation in His glory requires participation in His self-sacrifice. This verse serves as a timeless principle: Christ-like leadership and true spiritual greatness are forged in suffering, servanthood, and self-denial, not in earthly prestige or comfortable positions. It challenges all who follow Christ to consider the cost of discipleship and embrace the call to suffer with Him if they wish to reign with Him.