HOFC Sermon Archive: Gospel of Mark Part 60: The Cup and Baptism

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SERMON TIMELINE

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

29. The Touch of Jesus

30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

31. Principles of Evangelism

32. Weakness in the Seat of Power

33. The Need for Rest

34. Feeding 5000

35. Jesus Walks on Water

36. Healings at Gennesaret

37. The Danger of Traditions

38. The Source of True Defilement

39. Gentile Blessed for Her Faith

40. He Has Done All Things Well

41. Jesus Feeds 4000

42. Jesus Sighs

43. Beware of Leaven

44. The Blind Man at Bethsaida

45. Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?

46. Mindful of the Things of God

47. The Cost of Discipleship

48. The Value of a Soul

49. Ashamed of Jesus and His Word

50. The Transfiguration

51. The Disciples ask Questions

52. The Unclean Spirit

53. The Way to Greatness

54. Principles of Discipleship

55. God Hates Divorce

56. Jesus Blesses Children

57. The Problem with Wealth

58. The Cost and Reward of Discipleship

59. A Couple Days Before Palm Sunday

60. The Cup and Baptism

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 10:35-40 A Request for Status

“Then James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying to Him,

“Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

³⁶And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

³⁷And they said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

³⁸But 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?”

³⁹And they said to Him, “We are able.”

And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

⁴⁰But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

INTRODUCTION

On the way to Jerusalem, just before His arrest, Jesus gets an unusual request from James and John, who approach Jesus with their mother. (Matthew 20:20) The sons of Zebedee ask Jesus to do whatever they ask.

The sons of Zebedee, James and John, were among the first disciples called by Jesus along the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:21). Their immediate response to Jesus reveals both obedience and a decisive break from their former life. They left their father and livelihood to follow Christ.

Jesus later gave them the name “Sons of Thunder,” a title that reflects their fervent and at times impetuous zeal.

If you remember, they asked permission to call down fire from heaven upon a Samaritan village that rejected Christ, displaying a zeal that was not yet tempered by grace (Luke 9:54). Yet this same zeal would be refined into steadfast devotion.

John is later known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” and he remained near the cross when others fled (John 19:26). James, meanwhile, became the first of the apostles to suffer martyrdom, executed by Herod Agrippa, bearing witness to the cost of discipleship.

Scripture records, “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to harm them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword” (Acts 12:1–2)

What was it that James and John wanted Jesus to do, besides “whatever they asked?”

Give them the honor of sitting on each side of Him in His Glory (meaning His Kingdom).

Jesus responded in two ways to their request.

First, about drinking His cup and being baptized with His baptism.

Second, their request was not His to grant, but His Father’s.

So today we will examine this cup and the baptism which belonged to Jesus.

I. THE CUP AND BAPTISM OF SUFFERING

a. Explained

i. To drink a cup

1. Metaphorically, means to get one’s fill

Either of good, as in Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup overflows.”

Or of ill, as in Psalm 75:7-8 “But God is the Judge; He puts down one and raises up another. ⁸For a cup is in the hand of Yahweh, and the wine foams; It is full of His mixture, and He pours from this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.”

2. The cup of Jesus was one of suffering.

Mark 14:36 “And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

John 18:11 “So Jesus said to Peter, 'Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

ii. Same with the baptism

1. Figuratively used, to be overwhelmed.

In this case, with calamity as we see in Psalm 69:2 “I have sunk in deep clay, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.”

And Psalm 69:15 “May the flood of water not overflow me Nor the deep swallow me up, Nor the pit shut its mouth on me.”

2. The baptism Jesus speaks of here was one of suffering.

Luke 12:50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished!

Jesus asks James and John, “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?”

The cup and the baptism refer to the suffering Jesus and, later, the disciples would endure.

b. Experienced

This was foretold by Jesus John 15:20-21 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”

1. We read that James was martyred in Acts 12:1-2

2. The apostles in general would suffer (1 Corinthians 4:9-13)

Experienced by Paul as well, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 “Are they ministers of Christ?

I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, in beatings without number, in frequent danger of death.

²⁴Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked—a night and a day I have spent in the deep.

²⁶I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the desolate places, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brothers.

²⁷I have been in labor and hardship, in many sleepless nights, in starvation and thirst, often hungry, in cold and without enough clothing.

²⁸Apart from the things unmentioned, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”

I ask, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, do we suffer as much? We dare to complain because someone leaves a negative comment on Facebook on our godly meme, or a family member is upset with us because we chose something holy over ungodly, or complain because people don’t want to be friends with us, or gossip because we are Christians.

ii. Don’t misunderstand me, I know suffering is also experienced by disciples today!

1. Many believers in Christ continue to suffer around the world, especially in Muslim and Hindu nations, in communist nations, such as China and North Korea.

At least 3,500 Christians were killed last year in Nigeria alone! At least, the ones that were reported.

100’s of thousands in the past years in Nigeria alone.

2. There are forms of suffering here in the USA, but it's often nothing more than ridicule or rejection by co-workers, neighbors, friends, or family.

We, too, if we are true disciples, will also receive the cup and baptism of suffering.

We see that the cup and baptism that belonged to Jesus referred to suffering. In other places in scripture, we see the cup and baptism used in a different context, blessing.

II. THE CUP AND BAPTISM OF BLESSING

a. The cup of blessing

1 Corinthians 10:16 “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?”

i. There is a cup in which we bless. The cup in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-29)

ii. This cup represents Jesus’ blood of the new covenant.

1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

iii. In which we drink in memory of Him, proclaiming His death (I Corinthians 11:25-26)

iv. In this way, we too participate in the blood of Christ. Why do we bless this cup?

1. The cup we bless is a blessing for those who partake!

b. The baptism of blessing

i. In Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15-16, there is a baptism commanded for all by Christ for the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38-39 “And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

ii. Penitent believers are commanded to be immersed in water (Acts 8:35-38; Acts 10:47-48)

iii. Where sins are washed away as we appeal to the Lord

Acts 22:16 “Now why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’”

1 Peter 3:21 “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal for a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”

iv. We are buried in Christ’s death and raised in the newness of life (Romans 6:3-7)

v. We can now “put on Christ” becoming children of God through faith. (Galatians 3:26-27)

vi. Where we undergo the work of God and the Holy Spirit in us and in our lives (Colossians 2:12-13; Titus 3:4-7)

This baptism is a blessing for all who submit in faith and repent!

CONCLUSION

Jesus foretold that James and John, as well as disciples of Christ Jesus, would drink the cup of suffering, and be baptized in the baptism of suffering, but this does not happen before we experience the baptism of blessing (being saved), and the cup of blessing (remaining saved through obedience and repentance.

FINAL THOUGHT

We must be sure that we have submitted to the baptism of blessing in faith and repentance, and drink the cup of blessing in faith, submitting to the work of God and the Holy Spirit within us and our lives.

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Thursday, April 16, 2026

Gospel of Mark Part 60: The Cup and Baptism

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