Mark 10v39

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 scripture is almost the same as that already seen in Matthew 20v23 {15 }.

This verse immediately follows the previous one studied {26 }. Here, Jesus reveals that the disciples He is addressing, James and John, will be baptized as he is going to be. Again this verse is talking about His coming death and burial, as discussed in previous sections. Jesus here is showing that the specific method of death for the two disciples concerned will mirror His own.

When we look back at their original request, it was for exclusivity – that nobody else would occupy the second and third in command positions besides Jesus. The reply concludes with “it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared” (v40). The hint here seems to be a lack of exclusivity, in favour of a group of people. Let us not forget that we are talking about eternity here, and that there is more than enough time for each and every Christian – including you and me perhaps – to spend one thousand years each in one of these positions, before handing them on to the next in line. Even when every possible person in such a scenario had taken their turn a thousand times, there would be no less time left to take even more turns. It is not yet revealed who might be in positions of authority like these in heaven, but suffice it to say that if you are in God’s will, you are really deeply at the centre inside his blessings – not just now, but even throughout all eternity.