The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-10

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 elsewhere referred, saying "The cup
 which My Father hath poured for Me,
 shall I not drink it?" In the divine plan
 God had already marked out that who
 ever will be entrusted with the Messianic
 kingdom glory, honor and power for the
 blessing of the world must demonstrate
 meant all those experiences of ignominy end shame, including crueifixion, which
 He experienced during the three and one-half years of His earthly ministry
 and which He fully accomplished at Call vary.
 The Master made no reference to water baptism. but to His baptism into death. of which He spoke a few days later, say Ing, "I have baptism to be baptized with: and how am l straitened until It be accomplshedn The Masters baptism at Jordan was merely a picture of the real
 baptism. His going down Into the water, His burial in it. and His rising up from it symbolically represented His going down into death and His resurrection therefrom. His real baptism into death progressed for three and half years, from Jordan to Calvary; and when He cried .on the cross, Tt Is finished"' He meant that Ills baptism into death was
 completed. He was raised up out of that death baptism on the third day, by the Fathers power.
 The Masters baptism meant the full renunciation of all earthly rights. And now He asked those dear disciples
 whether they were able to be sharers of
 His cup of ignominy and His baptism
 Into death. Only by faithfully following
 Hi minus might they hope for any share
 in His Kingdom. The same principle must
 apply to all the followers of Jesus. It is
 for each of us to decide whether we will
 drink of His cup or not; whether we will
 share in His baptism unto death or not.
 Only the lowly. self sacrificing, will be
 able or willing to, endure such an exper-
 fence.
 Let us now apply the Masters question
 to the incorrect views of the kingdom so
 commonly held Is 1t necessary for the
 kings of earth opartake of Christ's ig- nomny and sacrifice unto death before
 they can reign? Or, applying 1t to the church, as some do, Is 1t through great difficulty that any can become members of the earthly institutions called the
 Church of Christ? Are all who are mem
 bers buried with Christs baptism into His death? Do they all partake of Ills
 sufferings? Surely not! Only right view of the kingdom dovetails into all the various Scriptural statements regarding the sufferings of Christ and His church in the present time and regarding the glory to follow.
 The other apostles were indignant that St. James and St. John should make such a request However, the incident afforded Jesus opportunity for laying down the rules which must govern in respect to greatness in the Messianic kingdom Whichever one will serve the others most will thereby be demonstrating to God a greater fitness for higher place. This is different, as Jesus says, from the ordi- nary course of affairs, where lordship is exercised according to some arbitrary law The rule of the Kingdom will have the highest honor Thus Jesus Himself is pre-eminently Servant of all His posi- ton is the highest in the kingdom by di- vine appointment; and others will range next to Him in proportion as they have loyalty.