Mark 10:38 (YLT)

Passage

and Jesus said to them, `Ye have not known what ye ask; are ye able to drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with--to be baptized?'

Nearby Context

Mark 10:36 and he said to them, `What do ye wish me to do for you?'

Mark 10:37 and they said to him, `Grant to us that, one on thy right hand and one on thy left, we may sit in thy glory;'

Mark 10:38 and Jesus said to them, `Ye have not known what ye ask; are ye able to drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with--to be baptized?'

Mark 10:39 And they said to him, `We are able;' and Jesus said to them, `Of the cup indeed that I drink of, ye shall drink, and with the baptism that I am baptized with, ye shall be baptized;

Mark 10:40 but to sit on my right and on my left, is not mine to give, but--to those for whom it hath been prepared.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "said", "known", "able", "drink", "baptism", and "baptized". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "and they said to him Grant to..." into verse 39's "And they said to him We are...", so "jesus" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.