Mark 10:40
But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
Christ answered the request of James and John, made through their mother while the disciples expected a soon-coming temporal kingdom, for the highest places at His right and left. Those places are not His to grant from personal choice, favoritism, or merely because they are asked for, but will be given to those for whom they are prepared and appointed by the Father. Those who asked did not know what they asked, for they did not understand His betrayal, suffering, death and resurrection or the cost of the glory they sought. That glory could be received only at infinite sacrifice through humiliation, agony, bloodshed and death, and though they claimed without comprehending it that they could drink His cup and share His baptism, He declared they would indeed share His suffering. His answer reproves pride and ambition and teaches that worldly lordship must have no place among His followers, but whoever would be great must be minister and servant of all as He came to minister and give His life a ransom, for the highest honor belongs to selfless humble service and character fitted by God rather than to reputation, talent, or human approval.
Request and Meaning
The answer meets the petition for the highest places at the right hand and the left, made by James and John through their mother. Peter with the sons of Zebedee is included among those who sought places of honor, and the other disciples also were seeking honor. They expected the kingdom to come soon as a temporal reign, while positions of high honor had been promised to the twelve.
Those who asked did not know what they asked. They did not understand His coming betrayal, suffering, death and resurrection, or the cost of the glory they sought. The highest places are not granted simply because they are asked for.
The places at His right and left are not His to give by personal choice or personal discretion. They are not given by favoritism or arbitrary choice, nor from ambition, nor merely because they are asked for. They shall be given to those for whom they are prepared and appointed, as determined by the Father.
Honor Through Humble Service
The glory of the places at the right hand and the left can be received only at infinite sacrifice, purchased through humiliation and agony and the shedding of blood, through enduring the cross and despising its shame, and through death endured for the joy of seeing souls saved. Those who asked to share that glory claimed they were able to drink the cup and to be baptized with the baptism, without comprehending what that baptism signified and what its cost would be. Yet the answer declared that they would indeed drink the cup and share the baptism of suffering.
Sharing that glory requires first wearing the yoke and bearing the burdens, for the cross comes before the crown. It requires learning meekness and lowliness each day, and the places are not granted merely because they are asked for but to those appointed to receive them. Even sharing the suffering does not itself give a claim to choose a particular place, for willingness to suffer does not entitle anyone to fix a position. The place is connected with character, and the crown and the throne signify self-conquest through Christ.
The answer exposes and reproves pride and ambition, teaching that Gentile lordship and authority, and worldly dignity and honor and distinction, must not exist among followers. Whoever would be great must be minister, and whoever would be chief must be servant of all, for even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. Greatness is likeness to Christ in life and conduct, attained through self-conquest in Him. The greatest honor belongs to those who serve selflessly and humbly.
Heavenly honor is not decided by reputation or natural talent or acquired skill or professional standing or human approval, but by God's judgment. The desire for honor and worldly advancement and greatness can be stirred by envy and flattering promises when the cross is made less prominent.