The request is from the mother of the sons of Zebedee, James and John. It is traditionally thought to be a request from a ‘pushy parent’, which receives a firm rebuke from Jesus. But rather, does it inform us that to follow Jesus, we have to enter into his suffering, before we can have any claim on his glory. Jesus’ love does not come cheap – the message of the cross. But whilst the sons answer that they can endure the cup of suffering, what of the mother who asks the question? Is she more informed than we might think of the cost of discipleship?

Matthew records that the mother of James and John, joins a number of other women at the cross, ‘looking on from a distance’ having ‘followed Jesus from Galilee and helped him’ (Matthew 27: 55-56). It is clear that as well as the more famous disciples, there is a back up team. This woman, who Mark names Salome, has been a follower from the start. And according to Mark, having witnessed the cross, she is also amongst the women intending to anoint Jesus’ body on Easter morning (Mark 16: 1). A woman, it seems, who is prepared to actively drink the cup of suffering that Jesus drinks.

Salome’s endurance of the cup of suffering enables her to be present at the moment of resurrection in the garden. The impossible promise she seeks for her sons, becomes real for her precisely because she follows Jesus to the place where he is going; from Galilee to cross to garden. And so, we are led to believe she is transformed, healed and made new, by the risen Christ.

I pray that this Easter, you may follow Christ from Galilee, endure the suffering of the crucifixion and so share in Christ’s resurrection glory.