Mark 10:35, commentary and pictures

James and John, joined and encouraged by their mother, asked Jesus to grant them whatever they would desire before naming it, which was the highest places of honor at His right hand and left in the kingdom they expected Him soon to set up as a temporal reign. The request sprang from pride and selfish ambition for worldly greatness, yet with deep attachment to Jesus, and it stirred jealousy and dispute among the other disciples over who was greatest. They did not know what they asked, wrongly thinking the highest place in the kingdom of God could be had simply for the asking. Sharing His glory requires first drinking His cup and being baptized with His baptism of suffering, learning His meekness and lowliness, and they would indeed share His suffering, though the places at His right and left are assigned by the Father to those for whom they are prepared. True greatness in His kingdom is not lordship like the Gentiles but humble, selfless service after His example who came not to be ministered unto but to minister and give His life a ransom, a self-denying love that transformed even John's ambitious temper into that of the beloved disciple.

Request and Its Setting

James and John came to Jesus asking him to grant them whatever they would desire before they told him what it was. With their mother presenting and encouraging the petition, they sought the highest positions of honor in his kingdom and glory, to be nearest to him at his right hand and at his left. Their request for honor in the kingdom belonged to a moment when they expected God's kingdom to be established soon as a temporal reign in Jerusalem, with Jesus reigning as a temporal prince there. At the same time Jesus' foretold betrayal, suffering, death, and resurrection still seemed vague to them, and they struggled to understand his words about them despite his prediction of suffering and death.

The request sprang from pride and selfish ambition and desire for worldly greatness and honor, an error and seeking of worldly honor contrary to following his example. Yet it was also mixed with deep attachment to Jesus, for they were ambitious yet loving-hearted disciples whose desire to be nearest to him grew from genuine warmth and loving hearts. Their bid for preeminence displeased the other disciples, whose displeasure opposed the teaching that greatness means serving others. It stirred jealousy and heated dispute over who was greatest, as they compared their abilities and qualifications to serve the kingdom.

Christ's Answer and Application

They did not know what they asked nor understand the true import of their prayer. They wrongly thought the highest place in the kingdom of God and in heaven could be had simply for the asking. They fell far short of understanding the situation before them.

Sharing Christ's glory requires first drinking His cup and being baptized with His baptism of suffering. It requires taking His yoke and bearing His burdens, wearing His yoke and daily learning His meekness and lowliness. The way to the crown of eternal life leads through the cross, for His glory was to be purchased at infinite sacrifice. Jesus declared that they would indeed drink His cup and share His baptism. But sitting at His right hand and on His left was not His to give, being assigned by the Father to those for whom it was prepared.

True greatness in His kingdom is not Gentile lordship and authority but humble, selfless service. Whoever will be great must be minister, and whoever will be chiefest must be servant of all, following His example who came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. The disciples were to remember through foot washing the lessons of humility and ministry He gave in answer to this ambition.

The bid for status stands in contrast to Christ's self-denial and infinite sacrifice of humiliation, agony, shedding of blood, enduring the cross and despising the shame, for the joy of seeing souls saved, which His followers are pledged to imitate. Even apostles are not to be followed where they fail to follow Him, for their seeking of worldly honor was error. Ambition for worldly advancement and greatness makes the cross less prominent and obscures it. Great spiritual blessings such as the baptism of the Holy Spirit cannot be had without complying with the conditions God Himself has laid down, and God first tries whether a person can live without dishonoring Him. John's self-assertion and ambition for honor show he did not naturally have a Christlike character, but as he witnessed Christ's character he recognized his own deficiency, and Christ's love and the Holy Spirit transformed his resentful, ambitious temper into that of the beloved disciple.