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

Deesis, supplication of Virgin Mary and John the Baptist on behalf of humanity, on Christ's right and left.  Mosaic, 13th century, Hagia Sophia, Constantinople

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  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 said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink 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 is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." 

- Matthew 20:17-28

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught this parable:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."    This is the third time Jesus has given a prophecy of His Passion to the disciples.  My study bible says that Christ's repeated prediction was meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they will face.  According to commentary by Theophan, it is as if He were saying, "Think on all these [words and miracles], so that when you see me hanging on the Cross, you will not imagine that I am suffering because I am powerless to do otherwise."  Note the details that Christ gives, a clear signal that He knows precisely what He goes toward.

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  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 said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink 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 is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  My study bible tells us that this question for temporal power and glory by the sons of Zebedee is unfitting for a disciple, and it also shows an  earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  Matthew says that the mother of Zebedee's sons requested this honor, but John's and James' own involvement is reflected in the plural you (in the Greek text) which is used by Jesus, and also by Mark 10:35-36.  Jesus refers to His Crucifixion as a cup and His death as a baptism.  My study bible explains that the Cross is a cup because Christ drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  Christ's death is baptism, because He was completely immersed in it, and yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Christ's prophecy to John and James ("You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with") shows the life of persecution and martyrdom they both would lead after Pentecost.  James Zebedee was the first of the apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:1-2); John would be exiled and persecuted with the early Church, by tradition giving us one Gospel, Three Epistles, and the Revelation.  Regarding the places of honor in the Kingdom, Christ's declaration that they are not His to give doesn't mean that He lacks authority, according to my study bible.  It means, rather, that they are not His to give arbitrarily; that is, they are meant to be given to those for whom God has prepared them.  Additionally, the teaching of St. John Chrysostom on this passage is that no one could possibly occupy a position of equality on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom.  Regarding the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, the historical icons of the Church universally depict the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women -- Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (greatest born of women - 11:11) in these places.

And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."   This is Jesus' correction given for all of the disciples (which really continues the teaching on humility and becoming like little children of the past week, beginning with this reading from last Thursday).   In this instance, He corrects them by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom my study bible says that they themselves considered to be an abomination, and then contrasting them to Himself.  Christ serves us although He is Lord of all.  For many is an Aramaic expression that means "for all."

Over the course of the readings of the past week, we have read of Jesus' focus on questions of power and ambition.  These themes began with last Thursday, when a similar question was given to Jesus, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"   We can see possibly that as the disciples come closer to the journey toward Jerusalem, and immediately coming upon the warnings of Christ regarding what is to come there, the disciples begin thinking about their places in the Kingdom.  It is possible they think that Jesus' warnings and words are a kind of preview of what is to come just before the full implementation of the coming of the Kingdom of heaven, which they expect to bear resemblance to a worldly kingdom in terms of power and authority.  Whatever is the reason, the disciples begin thinking about what their places will be in this Kingdom, and after Jesus goes to Jerusalem.  It's clearly possible that when they hear that "on the third day He will rise again," the disciples expect the full manifestation of Christ's Kingdom.  So their thoughts go where the minds of human beings tend to go when they have been a part of a movement of some sort, a project following a great leader, and of course the universal expectations of Israel regarding the coming of the Kingdom of God.  The Romans, we can presume, are expected to be overthrown, and a new and glorious kingdom of the Jews, with Jesus at its head, will rise in fullness.  How can we even begin to imagine the impact of the Crucifixion on the disciples?  But what the Gospels give us is once again a full picture of our humanity, and theirs.  Nothing here is sugar coated.  Every single possible flaw of character, mistaken assumption, lack of preparation and even training, is exposed for Jesus to correct and for us to read about.  Jesus hides nothing, but rather draws everything out of the shadows to be reported fully in the Gospels, including the flaws of these who will be the founders of the Church, upon whom all the rest will come to be built in the future.  We don't get anything hidden from us.  Indeed, it reminds us of Jesus' promise, that "there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known" (see 10:26, Mark 4:22, Luke 8:17).   Included in that promise is clearly everything, our flaws and weaknesses, so that they may be corrected and given His truth in their place.  It seems clear to me that if we are to understand Jesus more fully, then we must accept that His truth that makes us free (John 8:32) will include the truth about all things, including about ourselves.  Moreover, once again in the context of Matthew's Gospel, when He makes that promise that all things will be revealed, He does so while telling the disciples not to fear; see this reading.  It is, ultimately, His word and His teachings that retain the truth, expose what is false, and knock down the things which are not truly beneficial -- even those things which seem dear to us, like the places which John and James Zebedee would like in the Kingdom they imagine is coming.  Jesus speaks directly of those whom He knows will eventually grow to populate His Church, together with the Jews who are the first-called.  He says, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them."  There is little doubt, as we look back at scandals within the Church, and as we look at the scandals of our governments around the world, that we are still plagued with excesses of power and ambition.  The world does not stop being the world into which Christ was born, but neither does our mission change within it as well.  We are prepared by Christ for what we will be dealing with, whether we are meeting our own internal dynamic struggles, or the struggles of those around ourselves and within our societies and institutions, even within our own families.  Christ invites us into a different kind of life and gives us different models of leadership and heroism than those for whom mere dominance and power for its own sake appeal.   He invites us into His truth and the reality of God and God's strength, into a life where we serve God who loves us, and a communion in which are also cherished and loved.  He asks us for service, and it is His inspiration that continues as the light to the world.  As we draw near to Christmas in this season of Advent, let us consider His light and how He still teaches us what we need to know, and offers us the medicine for all that ails our world and even, possibly, our own souls.  He will stand as the chief example, the firstborn and firstfruits, for all of us to follow.  We have His grace and His help to do so, which makes all things possible.