James and John, the sons of thunder, asked the Lord Jesus Christ if they could sit at His right and left hands when He comes to reign in His full power and glory at His second coming. Jesus replied by asking them if they are prepared to be baptized with Him baptism and to drink of the cup that He drinks. They reply to His question in the affirmative, which allowed Jesus to tell them they would be baptized with His baptism and drink His cup which He would drink. However, He told these two discples He could not decide whether they would sit at His left and right hands, but only Jesus’ Father, who is God, could decide this great honor.

This account gives rise to an interesting question: what is His baptism and what is His cup? The answer can be found during the Last Supper, as stated in the following passages:

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. (Mark 14:22-24)

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20)

Jesus called this supper His new testament, or His new covenant. The old covenant basically stated if Israel would obey His laws, God would bless them. However, through many years of Israel’s failure to keep their part of God’s covenant, God states in Jeremiah 31:31-34 He would make a new covenant with the people of Israel.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

The people would know God through the means of the new covenant. The Messiah of Israel would come to give a new covenant with Israel, one that would be sealed by His own blood in order to accomplish what was necessary to create a new covenant.

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. (Hebrews 9:16) Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. (Hebrews 9:18)

Because man failed to come to God through obedience of the old covenant, God, in order to magnify His Son, Jesus Christ, had to make a new covenant with man, a new and better way for man to come to terms with his Maker. God desires the fellowship of His creation, but must supply a way for people to come to Him. The old covenant required obedience, but the new covenant’s obedience has already been accomplished by the obedience of Jesus Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection from physical death.

Now, the terms of the covenant have changed. At the Last Supper, Jesus laid out the terms for the new covenant by mentioning to take the bread and wine as often as they gather. Does this mean Christians should eat bread and drink wine every time they gather? While some congregations do this, I believe the Lord was trying to tell us something different.

At Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and afterwards He was empowered with the Holy Spirit to do wonderful miraculous works that testified of God’s power residing within Him. After His ministry, Jesus Christ suffered at the hands of Pilate, mocked, beaten, tortured, and eventually killed in a most gruesome and horrifying manner through the cross of Calvary so long ago. After this, He rose triumphantly from the dead, ascending up into heaven to claim His rightful throne as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, accepting the leadership of the Kingdom of God because of His faithfulness and obedience through the ordeal of life and the sufferings of the cross.

After Jesus was resurrected, the people prayed for the power of God, praying the Lord to be baptized from on high, as the prophets had foretold. When they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, they performed the same type of miraculous wonders by the hand of God, as well did they suffer persecution, torture, and eventually death at the hands of those who hated them and hated their King, Jesus Christ Himself.

In other words, when Jesus spoke to James and John about being baptized with His baptism, and drinking of the same cup He would drink, Jesus was referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, endued with power from on high, and drinking of the cup of suffering, which Christ drank while surrending to His Father’s will and completing His mission by suffering and dying upon that old rugged cross on the hill Golgotha. Eventually, both James and John would fulfill Jesus’ prophetic words by being baptized with His Spirit and suffering incredibly for the glory of God Almighty.

The terms of the new covenant, as outlined in the Last Supper, reveal the way to God Jesus Himself had to tread. Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, had to drink the cup of suffering before He could return to God. Likewise, all His followers must drink the same cup which He drank, as He mentions at the Garden of Gethsemane.

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matthew 26:42)

Jesus also mentioned during the Last Supper He would not drink henceforth from the fruit of the vine until He drinks it new with them in His Kingdom. When the saints of God return to Him by drinking of the same cup He drank, He will have their offerings poured out, ready for Him to drink from as they present their bodies a living sacrifice for His pleasure, honor, and glory.

In conclusion, the new covenant has been outlined through the Last Supper. Jesus Christ has laid out the terms and conditions on how man is supposed to come to God. We must partake of Christ’s life and death through faith. His life must dwell in us, and His blood must be on our souls to cleanse us from our sins. We must also be willing and ready to partake of the power of the Holy Spirit, if we so desire. However, we must realize we have a responsibility in the new covenant. God does not expect us to walk through life cheapening the gift of God by considering the blood of Jesus Christ as a vain thing. There is a condition to the New Covenant. In order to have Jesus’ life, the Christian must take His suffering. This is the condition of the new deal of God. We may ask and pray and believe all day long, but if we are not willing to drink of the same cup Christ drank at the cross, we will not receive His life.

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)

This is the new covenant, which was laid out in detail at the Last Supper. If you want the life of Jesus Christ, you must take His suffering. You must lay down your life, pick up the cross, and follow Jesus up the hill to Gologtha, and die. Lay it all down and die. You may have to really do this in physical terms. You may have to feel some physical pain. You must commit your life to Christ no matter what the cost. Preachers who say the gift of God costs nothing do not understand the new covenant. The life of Christ will cost you EVERYTHING. You must be prepared to suffer, because if you are not prepared to suffer, you will fall away and lose your life in hell.

When you are completely committed to Christ Jesus, He wil baptize you with the Holy Ghost. This is the baptism both John the Baptist and Jesus taught. The bread symbolizes the baptism of life, which will enable you to love God and others, and will also prepare you to suffer the world’s wrath at your conversion. Jesus depended on God to get Him through His own trials, and God will not leave you nor forsake you. You are not alone in your cross, for God will supply you with what you need in order to get through what He has prepared for you. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you, and He will comfort you in those times of trouble and suffering. Get on the road, and He will never let you down.

Whenever you participate in the Lord’s Table, every time you take the bread and wine, it is as if you are recomitting your covenant with God. Every time you take the bread, you are telling God, "I want your everlasting life and the power to get through it." Also, every time you take the cup, you are saying to God, "I will also take your suffering." Do this, and you shall live!

Remember this point above all else: IF YOU WANT JESUS’ LIFE, YOU MUST TAKE HIS SUFFERING. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God!