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honored place for them in the new kingdom. Together mother and
sons came to Jesus.
“What do you wish?” He questioned.
“Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right
hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
Jesus read their hearts. He knew the depth of their attachment
to Him. Their love, though defiled by the earthliness of its human
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channel, flowed from the fountain of His own redeeming love.
“Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and
be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They re-
called His mysterious words, pointing to trial and suffering, yet they
answered confidently, “We are able.”
“You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with,” He said. John and James were to share
with their Master in suffering: James, the first of the disciples to die
by the sword; John, the longest of all to endure toil and persecution.
“But to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give,
but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.” In the
kingdom of God, we do not gain high position through favoritism
nor receive it through arbitrary grants. It is the result of character.
The crown and the throne are indications of a condition we reach
through our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who stands nearest to Christ
will be the one who on earth has drunk most deeply of the His spirit
of selfsacrificing love—love that moves the disciple to give all, to
live and work and sacrifice, even to death, for the saving of humanity.
The other ten disciples were greatly displeased. The highest
place in the kingdom was just what every one of them was seeking
for himself, and they were angry that the two disciples seemed to
have gained an advantage over them.
Jesus said to the offended disciples, “You know that those who
are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among
you.”
In the kingdoms of the world, position meant exalting oneself.
The people existed for the benefit of the ruling classes. Wealth and
education were ways to gain control of the masses. The higher
classes were to think, decide, and rule; the lower, to obey and serve.
Like everything else, religion was a matter of authority.