Matthew 20:20-28
A Mother’s Request
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “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.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Man has desires and wants different things...Many are material in nature, but we also like to be positively noticed by other, especially our peers...This is fame...Pride can easily enter fame and the famous...Even a mother wants things, good things for their children...John and James' mother asks Jesus for her two sons to be able to sit at the right and the left of Him in His kingdom...The mother, as well as the disciples knew that Jesus had promised the Twelve a place in His kingdom (Matthew 19:28)...The two disciples brother's mother understood that Jesus did live and would return to the kingdom of heaven...What she did not understand was her motives, and her son's motives for wanting honor or power or this fame to have a special place when they get there...
Jesus explains to the mother and the disciples that they must understand the things they request...He tells them that He must suffer, when He asks them if they can drink from His cup (drinking from a cup denotes suffering)...The two brothers immediately say, "we can", almost without thinking...Jesus would soon be flogged and beaten badly, and then put on a cross to die...Could they do this?...Did they really think about what they were asking for?...Jesus is the suffering servant as written by Isaiah...For His Twelve disciples, or any disciple and follower of His -will suffer...But the more important point that Jesus would make here, is that His followers would not only suffer, but also they must be the servant of not only God, but of others...John and James must be servants of the other disciples....In following Jesus and His example, we must be humble...We cannot lead in His kingom, without being a servant like Him...
Jesus is truth, love, unselfish, and represents goodness...Was this request for a special place in His kingdom ask out of truth, love, unselfishness, or goodness?...Jesus teaches us love and mercy...We must learn that He is driven by living humbly and a burning desire to help other's...We are not to be driven by our selfish wants, and blind selfish ambition...The greatest Man to walk the earth, was our most humblest servant...He humbly died on the cross as a suffering servant for each of us and our sins...He could have at any time before and during His being tortured could have called for any number of angels and have left His suffering...Had He left the cross and His suffering, we would still be unforgiven in our sins...He died for us on the cross...My sins are what caused His death...He died for me...When we see this, we understand why He asks and wants us to really understand, what are we asking for, when we ask and pray for things like this...