Mt 20:17-28
17As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve [disciples] aside by themselves...
20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. 21He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” 22Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” 23He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. 25But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. 26But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; 27whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. 28Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Drinking the Cup: Whether made of earth or metal, cups were widely used by ancient peoples and often appear in figurative speech in the Bible. What gives significance to the cup is not its appearance but its content. A cup that holds wine, water, or potions for celebration symbolizes blessings. It sustains life, quenches thirst, engenders fellowship. The cup then is a symbol of all the bounty God provides: “You set a table before me… You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Ps 23:5). But the cup is also used as a dark symbol of judgment: war, natural disaster or disease will visit the sinner. God is pictured as punishing the wicked by making them drink from the cup which make them reel and stagger (Ps 75:9).
In the Gospel, Jesus uses the word “cup” to signify his impending suffering and death. In Gethsemane, he pleads, “Abba, Father… Take this cup away from me” (Mk 14:36).
What Jesus asks the sons of Zebedee is their capacity to share his suffering and death. Spontaneous and not aware of its implications, they answer they can. All they want are places of honor at the side of Jesus. They have not yet understood what makes for greatness.
By the time Matthew puts the Gospel into writing, James, one of Zebedee’s sons, has already been killed (Acts 12:2). The brothers are at first only after a high position, but later they will prove worthy of drinking the cup.