What Does Matthew 20:23 Mean in the King James?
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of 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 shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The shared cup immerses them in the ordeal, but it does not buy them a seat the Father has already prepared.
THE MEANING
You can share a costly experience without owning the outcome it brings. The cup is taken in and the immersion surrounds; both name full participation in the path before you. Yet a place of honor is not a wage for enduring it, it is given by the Father to the one for whom it is prepared.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that enduring more guarantees a higher place dissolves here: the cup can be shared, but the seat cannot be claimed as payment.
THE ROOT
ποτήριον
potērion
GROWS FROM
πίνω
pínō
drink; take liquid in
The Greek word for cup belongs to the same word family as drink, binding the vessel to the portion taken in. Here the cup is not just an object but a shared experience that must be received.
ALSO GROWS
pínō: drink
πίνω
The verb names the act the cup invites: taking its contents in.
póma: drink; beverage
πόμα
This branch names what is consumed, reinforcing the cup as a portion received.
pósis: drinking; beverage
πόσις
The word keeps the cup connected to the act and experience of drinking.
βαπτισθήσεσθε
baptisthēsesthe
GROWS FROM
βαπτίζω
baptizō
immerse; dip into
“baptized” in this verse is baptisthēsesthe. The cup is taken in; the immersion surrounds. Together the images portray sharing the ordeal from two directions: receiving it and being fully in it.
ALSO GROWS
baptisma: immersion
βάπτισμα
This noun names the immersion Jesus says they will share.
baptismos: immersion; washing
βαπτισμός
The related word keeps the sense of being plunged into an experience.
ἡτοίμασται
hētoimastai
GROWS FROM
ἑτοιμάζω
hetoimazō
make ready; prepare
The Greek says the place has been prepared, with its readiness standing in the present. The Father prepares and gives the seat; the disciples do not earn it by sharing the cup.
ALSO GROWS
hetoimos: ready; prepared
ἕτοιμος
This branch describes the state of the place that has been made ready.
hetoimazō: make ready; prepare
ἑτοιμάζω
This verb names the Father’s action in preparing the place.
THE PATTERN
Participation in suffering is shared, while elevation is prepared and given by God.
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.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.THE THREAD
Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?The Greek uses the same word for “cup” and the same drink-root in both verses. John makes explicit what Matthew holds together: the cup is a portion given by the Father, and participation means drinking it.
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