Matthew 20
20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Here we read of how the sons of Zebedee came together with their mother to Jesus with a special request for them. Their mother came to pay Jesus homage and worship Him, but she had another agenda. She actually wanted Jesus to do her sons a favour – to have them exalted above the other disciples. She wanted to keep it secret, but Jesus refused to be caught in this trap and He openly asked her what she wanted. He saw through her worship and exposed her request, so that she was forced to ask it openly.
We do not know if it was her or her sons’ scheme, but she made the request on their behalf. Some commentators even believe that she was the sister of Jesus’ mother, so then they would even have been close family.
Women are a strong force in this world and can be used powerfully either in the hand of God or in the hand of the devil.
Jesus discussed this matter of position already earlier with His disciples in Ch. 18, but it’s as if they did not hear or were not satisfied with what He said.
Here again Jesus had to instruct them and said unto them, “you know not what you ask; can you drink the cup I will drink, and be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with?” They replied that they were able. Jesus answered that they will indeed drink His cup and be baptised with His baptism, but still, to sit on His right hand and on His left hand is not for Him to give, but for those for whom it is prepared by His Father. Both of them suffered for their faith and drank Jesus’ cup and were baptised with His baptism. James was one of the first Christian martyrs, and John suffered greatly for Christ’s sake on the isle of Patmos.
They fight and kill in the world for position, but it is awful when the children of God do that and fight for position. You must be saved from the craving for position, else it will destroy you.
Jesus said, “…but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave– 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”