Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. 21 He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” 23 He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. 26 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; 27 whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. 28 Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
The mother of the sons of Zebedee requested of Jesus that her sons James and John sit in places of the highest honor in his kingdom. James and John wanted to sit in the highest places of honor in the Kingdom presiding over the Messianic Banquet with Christ. Jesus told them that they would suffer the same fate he would suffer, but the future for everyone who attains the kingdom was planned by God alone. The other ten disciples were resentful of the request and that gave Jesus an opportunity to explain that unlike worldly rulers, their leadership style must mirror his and they must be servants of all like is and they should not desire power and authority. Jesus provided the greatest example of service when he gave his life as a ransom for the salvation of many (v. 28).
Almighty God, grant us
an abundance of grace and protection as we try to serve you with humble and
contrite hearts. Through our devotion to
you, grant us health of mind and body and inspire us to work to attain the reward
of your holy kingdom. This we pray
through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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