20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s 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. (Matthew 20:20-28 KJV)
Thomas Haweis
Verses 20-28: Far from being cured of their national prejudices by all the sufferings our Lord had foretold them he should endure, they concluded these would be only the prelude to the more glorious manifestations of his power at his rising again. And therefore,
1. Two of the disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, with their mother Salome, who is supposed to have been nearly related to Joseph, and might therefore hope to have a strong interest in Jesus, came to their Master, and through her preferring their request, with deep respect she besought him to grant her a favour; and being ordered to name it, she desired him to confer on her two sons the first honours of that kingdom which they shortly expected would appear.
2. Pitying their ignorance and weakness, instead of upbraiding their pride and folly, our Lord turned to the two disciples, and gently admonishes them, saying, Ye know not what ye ask: your notions of the nature of my kingdom are utterly mistaken: it is not an earthly throne to which I shall be exalted; and as mistaken are you in the means of attaining the honours you seek. You are not aware of the sufferings and trials that must be endured by all those who would come to reign with me. Through much tribulation lies the entrance into heaven; and can you, think ye, drink of my bitter cup, or bear to be baptized in blood, as I must shortly be? Such sufferings as these they were not prepared for: their ambition looked so high, that they saw not the dangers which were before them, nor knew what manner of spirit they were of. Note, (1.) They who would reign with Christ, must first suffer with him; and ever Christians should well count the cost, before he begins to take up his cross. (2.) In all our sufferings it should sweeten our cup, to think that Christ hath drank of it before us, and all the bitterness of sin he hath taken away.
3. Their self-confidence is a natural consequence of their pride, and therefore they without hesitation boldly engage for their own ability and fidelity; though, alas! They were sad strangers to themselves, and knew not what they said. Note, young converts are often very forward, till sad experience hath taught them their own weakness.
4. Christ replies, and assures them they shall suffer for him, and in a manner they probably at that time little apprehended: but though they did so, still he left their request in suspense. The honour they sought was to be disposed of according to God’s eternal counsels, and not to be given, save to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. In the distribution of spiritual, temporal, and eternal blessings, all are dispensed according to the plan laid down in the eternal mind, and concerted in the everlasting covenant of grace; nothing can be added thereto, or diminished therefrom.
5. The same ambitious spirit which spoke in the request of John and James, equally appeared in the indignation of the other ten against them, who each thought himself as much entitled to the superiority which they desired. They did not grieve for the sin of their brethren, but were angry at what they conceived an affront to them; and while they violently condemned their ambition, like many others, were blind to the same spirit in themselves. Note, Desire of pre-eminence is among the most fruitful sources of disputes among brethren. Instead of being in his own eyes the last and the least, each is for assuming a superiority, which the proud heart of his fellow is very unwilling to admit.
6. To silence the dispute and strike at the root of the evil, Jesus with the greatest tenderness called them to him; and, to beat down that spirit of ambition, so evil in itself, and so peculiarly unbecoming their holy and humble profession, he endeavours to undeceive them respecting the nature of his kingdom, which was purely spiritual. The kings and princes of the Gentiles indeed thirsted after dominion and despotic sway, and the more potent exercised unbounded authority over their weaker vassals and subjects; but utterly unlike them must their conduct be. Their greatness must consist not in lording it over God’s heritage, but in their abounding labours: not in aspiring desires to rule, but in humble endeavours to promote the salvation of men’s souls. The only laudable ambition Jesus can approve, is the holy strife who shall be most condescending, and the first in every work and labour of love to serve the humblest who bear the Christian name. Nor did he, their Master, recommend ought to them, of which himself had not set them an eminent example, who came not to take state upon himself, and be served with earthly pomp and grandeur, but humbled himself to the lowest offices in the service of men’s souls and bodies: and, after living the life of a servant, was about to die the death of a slave, that by the sacrifice of himself he might give a ransom for many, even for all those whom the Father had given him, in whose stead he was about to suffer, in order to redeem them from the guilt and power of their sins, and from the wrath of God which they had provoked; and having him therefore for such a pattern of humility, they were peculiarly obliged to copy after it. Note, (1.) The affectation of earthly pomp and splendor is utterly unbecoming those who pretend to be the ministers of the meek and humble Jesus. (2.) The church of Christ hath never suffered greater injuries than from the tyranny and oppression of those, who, professing to be the successors of the apostles, seem to have inherited nothing from them, but that lordly, ambitious, and domineering spirit for which Jesus so justly reprimanded them. (3.) The only allowable ambition among the ministers of Christ is, who shall be most humble and serviceable to their brethren, and herein most conformed to their blessed Master’s image. (4.) The life which the Lord Jesus laid down, was the price of our redemption; and being accepted of God as complete and full, the redemption obtained by it was eternal: those therefore for whom he died can never more suffer under the sins for which he paid a ransom.