And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
Jesus had just spoken of His own suffering and death. Two of His closest followers answered by asking for the two best seats beside Him. So is it wrong to want a place in His glory? And if it is not, what road leads there?
Asked in the shadow of the cross
The timing is what makes the request so jarring.
Leslie M. GrantVerses 35-37 show a painful contrast to the Lord's willingness to take the lowest place in suffering and death. James and John had missed the spirit of the Lord's words. They ask instead that He will do for them whatever they want. They do not answer with the same spirit of self-sacrifice. They want the Lord to give in to their selfish desires! He spoke of suffering and death. They speak of glory and honour in His kingdom, with themselves in higher positions than others.
Real faith with self at the centre
Their request was not unbelief. They were sure the kingdom was coming — that much was faith. The problem lay in what they wanted the kingdom for.
Hamilton SmithJames and John were full of the thought of a kingdom on earth. They came forward wanting a high position in it, close to the Lord Himself. They truly believed the kingdom would be set up. But, as so often with us, a good deal of unjudged flesh was pushing its way into the realm of faith. They saw the kingdom as a chance for their own advancement, not as the place where the glory of Christ would shine out.
Notice the place they asked for. There are only two such seats. Granting them would leave everyone else out.
J. N. DarbyThe circle drawn round self may grow larger, but self remains the centre still. Their request was self — a good place which others would not have.
The two seats, and who asked for them
Matthew's account of the same scene has their mother speaking. The seats themselves had a recognised meaning in that world.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinEastern kings had a custom of seating one person at their right hand and one at their left. So the wish here is for places of honour in His Kingdom. The mother of Zebedee's sons here leads; from the Gospel of Mark we learn that John and James made the request. This is no discrepancy... Both mother and sons came together, with the same wish.
What He could give, and what He could not
His answer draws a line. He does not claim the right to hand out those seats. What He does offer is a share in His own path.
The Christian's FriendHe claims no power to hand out places in the kingdom, for He will receive that kingdom in obedience to His Father's will. But in grace He will join those He loves to Himself in His path of suffering and rejection.
Is the desire itself wrong?
Commentators differ here. Most read the request as plain self-seeking. Another asks the reader a searching question first, and notes that the Lord neither promised the seats nor refused them.
George DavisonWe might say at once — "presumption"! But do we not want a place in that glory? Would we not like to sit on that left hand and that right hand? The Lord tested these men, but He did not tell them they would not be in the place they sought. Equally, He did not tell them that they would... Their request was quite all right in itself, but the Lord applied the test. John was one of the few who stood by the cross. Did he think about this desire of his when he saw one criminal on the right hand of the Lord and another on His left? This is what I asked for — a place on His right hand, a place on His left. Is this what it means for me to get that place in glory?
The road to the place they wanted
They were shaping His kingdom after the kingdoms of this world.
Frederick W. Grant"You are making it a kingdom of the Gentiles!" is what He is really saying to them. "You are thinking of earthly rank, such as is found among the nations — of what would satisfy ambition and self-seeking greed! Do you think these are the places that are Mine to give? No. With Me the highest is the lowest. Greatness is in lowliest service. Blessedness is in giving, not receiving."
Summary
- Timing. He spoke of suffering and death. They spoke of glory and honour. Their asking is a painful contrast to His willingness to take the lowest place.
- Faith. Their confidence that the kingdom was coming was real. The flaw was seeing it as a chance for their own advancement, not as the place for Christ's glory.
- Self. A place others could not have keeps self at the centre, however wide the circle drawn around it.
- Gift. He claims no power to hand out those seats. What He gives is a share with Himself in suffering and rejection.
- Road. With Him the highest is the lowest, and greatness is lowliest service. Their asking showed how little they knew of the road to what they wanted.