Luke 23:34, New International Version

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’…”

“’You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?’ ‘We can,’ they answered.” (Matthew 20:22, NIV)

What did Jesus mean when He said to His disciples they did not know what they were asking? Or when He sought the forgiveness of those who were persecuting Him by saying they did not know what they were doing? This is my understanding of the Word:

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were asking Jesus for a position of glory by allowing them to sit at the right and the left of His throne when He received His glory. Jesus answered them by telling them that in order for Him to have all authority on heaven and earth He would have to drink the cup of the wrath of God. This required Him to be the Lamb who would be slaughtered without a word, even though He is the Word that created all things and sustains all things. He would be the atonement for all the sins that He had not committed, and that He would have to walk along the path to Calvary and be placed on the cross as a criminal. The price that He would pay would cover the sins of all those who loved Him and those who hated Him once and for all.

Did James and John know the price that He would have to pay and were they willing to pay the cost like He did? Do we also understand that this is the cost that each and every one who follows Jesus must pay as well? The glory comes through the refining fire of a cross that each of us must carry.

Do the people who mock Him and believe the cross to be foolish understand the price that He paid on the cross is for them? Do they know that the wage of their sin is death and that the One they are mocking is the One who paid the penalty of their sin so that they could be free from death? Do they know that the One who has no stain, who is blameless and perfect, was required to humble Himself and become nothing? Do they know that He had to be nailed on a cross of condemnation so that they could have life and life abundantly?

How true is the Word of God and also who Jesus is! James and John, and all of those disciples who saw Him and heard Him could never understand the sacrifice He made. Maybe you and I also still do not know the cost, and as a result are not fully aware of what we are doing.

If you are reading this article and sense the burden that the Lord has laid on my heart, then I urge you to heed and seek to truly understand what Jesus has done for you on the cross. Then, go pick up your cross and follow Him.