When Jesus spoke to His followers, He told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they needed to leave “everything” behind. Did I understand that James and John said they would IF He would assure them the seats on His left and right?
There are two passages we need to connect to answer this question. The first one is found in Matthew 19:27-28, which reads “Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee, what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Based on what the Lord had told them, we have the request of James and John to sit on His right and left hand recorded in Mark 10:35-40. To get the full picture though, we need to start reading at verse 32 of this chapter. It says, “And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem…and He took the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto Him, Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles, And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day he shall rise again. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And He said unto them, What would ye that I do for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto to us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto Him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 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.”
When we consider everything that we just read, what should we think of the request made by James and John? Was it a “good” request, or a “bad” request? I suggest it was both good and bad. Let’s look at the GOOD first. I believe James and John exhibited real FAITH in asking what they did. They took Jesus at His word when He promised the twelve disciples they would “sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” It was also commendable that they wanted to be NEAR CHRIST when He sits upon His throne. James and John had been part of an “inner circle,” along with Peter, for almost three years and they wanted to retain that nearness to their blessed Lord.
Now we need to look at the BAD. Just before they made their request Jesus announced how He would be delivered up to the religious leaders who would condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Romans who would inflict unimaginable pain upon Him and then have Him crucified. This was the last thing James and John heard before they made their request and thus THEIR TIMING WAS TERRIBLE. They should have been filled with sorrow as they anticipated what their blessed Savior was going to endure. But instead of thinking of the Lord Jesus, they thought of themselves. THEIR SELFISHNESS is manifested in those words, “Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.” They had to learn that THEIR WILL had nothing to do with where they would sit, but that the FATHER’S WILL determines that. Matthew’s account makes this clear, for in Matthew 20:23 Jesus said, “…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.” And lastly, they needed to learn that they must be willing to SUFFER and they must be willing to SERVE IN HUMILITY, instead of COVETING THE HIGHEST PLACE. Jesus taught them the need of suffering in verses 38-39 and the need for true humility in verses 42-45. We would all do well to meditate often on these verses, and as we do, remember that our Savior is our PERFECT EXAMPLE, for no one has ever suffered as He did, nor has anyone ever served with such humility. (172.9) (DO)