THE PROCESS OF PROMOTION

Promotion doesn’t come easy. Just ask the mother of James and John. Her encounter with Christ exposes the miscalculation that many make when desiring “the next level.” In Matthew 20:20-23, she came to Jesus with her sons, knelt down and asked something of Him.

 He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on    Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." 

She wanted her boys to go to that next level. “Grant that my sons may sit, on Your right hand and Your left, in Your kingdom.” This was her prayer. The response however, from Jesus was quick and to the point. “You don’t know what you’re asking,” He implied that she was so focused on their promotion, she failed to recognize the process involved to get them there. There is always a process—a series of actions or steps that must be taken to achieve a particular end—and Jesus wanted her to understand there could be no promotion without a process.

First, Jesus said there is going to be a cup. It is the same cup His Father would give to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a cup of betrayal, humiliation, rejection and crucifixion. Second, Jesus referred to baptism. The baptism was His immersion into death and burial in the grave. In this metaphor, Jesus emphasized that before He could be promoted into that kingdom of the sons of Zebedee’s affections, He would have to suffer and die—as would anyone who would join Him. “Be careful what you ask for,” Jesus is saying to this mother, “What you’re asking for requires a painful process because I won’t promote them if they won’t drink that cup.”

What is perhaps even more revealing is the response of James and John. Jesus puts the question to them directly. He says, “Are you willing to drink the cup and suffer the baptism in order to get to that seat?” James and John, without hesitation—without a thought—say, “Yes, we are able.”
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This illustrates how we underestimate what it takes to get to the next level. “Sure! We can handle it. We can take it. We got this!” Too often we show no appreciation for the hardship and difficulty involved in the process. It’s like enrolling in college without calculating the commitment, or getting married without embracing the selflessness, or having children without understanding the sacrifice. We want the degree, but not the long hours of study. We want companionship without selfless living. We want a happy home full of loving children, but not the midnight cries, dirty diapers, and sacrifice of personal comforts. But if we are to achieve those things (college degree, happy marriage, healthy children), there must be a death to who we are now and resurrection of a new person, with new attitudes and a new willingness to drink what’s in the cup.

Jesus was telling them, there can be no crown without a cross, no chair without a cup and no promise without the pain. He was saying, the promise requires a process. With every ascent, there will be some agony: if you want riches, you must experience poverty; if you want success, there will first be failure; if you want a higher level, you’ve got to face a higher devil. Between you and the seat, there will always be a cup.

(This is an excerpt from Gregg Johnson’s newest book, Upward! Taking Your Life to the Next Level. Look for it soon on Amazon and www.greggtjohnson.com)

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