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

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "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; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 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."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "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; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"   And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time  -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "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; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."   This is the third time that Jesus teaches the disciples in advance about what is to happen to Him in Jerusalem.  My study Bible notes that Christ's repeated predictions of His Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen them for the terrifying events they would face.  They also confirm that Christ was going to His death of His own will and choosing.  At this stage, the disciples are both amazed and afraid because He is going up to Jerusalem before them, knowing the animosity of the religious leadership that awaits there.

 

 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 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."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "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; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all."  My study Bible comments that this quest by James and John, the sons of Zebedee, for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple and it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  In Matthew's Gospel, it is the mother of Zebedee's sons that makes this request, but even there, Jesus addresses them all in the plural, as well as here (see Matthew 20:20).  Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  My study Bible explains that the Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, as He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Jesus' prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism teaches the life of persecution and martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost:  James was the first disciple to be martyred  (Acts 12:2), and John would go on to a life in which he endured the persecutions of the Church and of exile on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9).  My study Bible adds that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give does not mean that He lacks authority.  Instead, it indicates that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  In effect, He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  Let us note also that with regard to sitting as equals on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom, according to St. John Chrysostom no one could possibly occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, in the icons of the Orthodox Church these places are universally depicted as belonging to the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women - Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (greatest born of women - Matthew 11:11).  

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  The phrase for many, my study Bible notes, is an Aramaic expression which means "for all." 

Today's reading gives us a chance to brood on another quite modern topic, and that is a sense of entitlement.  This is a word one hears often in a modern society, which denotes, for the most part, a certain sense of what one believes one has a right to expect without qualification.  In terms of its most negative sense of social commentary, entitlement is defined as "the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment" (according to Oxford Languages).  Generally speaking, entitlement speaks of having a right to something, or perhaps the "amount" to which a person has a right (again, according to Oxford Languages).  But be that as it may, for our present purpose, we will stick to the very general use of this term as modern social commentary on those who feel they have a "right" to something, especially in terms of identity alone rather than any sort of merit.  The purpose of this blog is not to dispute such modern concepts, especially as they apply to political or broad social issues; there is a wide variety of thought on these terms which are not in the perspective of this blog whatsoever.  But it is important to understand the reading itself which we can put into a relative framework.  James and John Zebedee are extremely close to Jesus and form a part of His closest circle (of Peter, James, and John).  He takes these three with Him to enact His most difficult healings that require strength in the face of ridicule (such as that of Jairus' daughter, for example).  These are the three who were taken to witness the Transfiguration (which included a manifestation of the Trinity as well).  James and John, along with Peter and his brother Andrew, are the earliest disciples of Christ (Mark 1:16-20).   They had all earlier been the disciples of John the Baptist.  John Zebedee is presumed to be the unnamed disciple of the two in John 1:35-42, as well as the one "whom Jesus loved" in John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 20.  We might make note that it was John to whom Jesus entrusted the care of His mother at the Cross (John 19:26).  So, given this history that preceded this request, and which would come afterward, one might presume that John and James had a sense of themselves as close followers of Jesus so that they would presume to ask for such positions.  But there is a sense of entitlement here that is nonetheless unwarranted.  It speaks to our deep need for humility, especially where the things of God are concerned.  There is first of all the commentary of St. John Chrysostom that to sit on Christ's right and left is a position of honor in terms of the majesty of God that no one can really fill those places nor imagine what authority they would entail. But there is something more important which Christ names here, and that is the sense in which the "entitlements" that come from God are for those for whom God has prepared such places.  In terms of discipleship and authority, a long life of struggle with faith and in following Christ as best we can is a life of preparation for something, and not of entitlements.  We might think of the Eucharist as something we are entitled to if we are baptized Christians, but this is not the case.  For we cannot think of such a gift as an entitlement, and must always understand the nature of a gift.  If we can put it in modern terms, a spoiled child may feel they are entitled to anything they ask for, but this is a form of blight and a lack of maturity and understanding.  It is, in effect, a way of looking at relationships with others purely in terms of materiality, of transaction and commerce.  It negates love and is blind to the heart, and there is where, so often, a sense of entitlement comes into play.  It lacks the discernment of personhood, and the maturity to respect the boundaries that are the true entitlements of what it means to be a person made in the image of God.  In today's reading, John and James are looking at Christ and the Kingdom in very material terms, as if they are opting for government service in the cabinet of a man they've supported for political office, as if Christ is one worldly power vying against another for a worldly kingdom.  But this is not the case, and there are much deeper things to understand in terms of our spirituality, and maturity regarding a relationship to God.  There are no real "entitlements" here in this material sense, but there is participation, and there is deep love so great that it is inexpressible on our own terms and too far beyond our grasp to fully comprehend it.  There is, especially, a guidance and a preparation for a fullness of ourselves which we don't already know, but God knows of us -- and the promise of a fullness of that image in which we were created.  This is where John and James Zebedee, and so many of the rest of us, make a mistake with regard to the theme of today's reading.  We don't know what God has prepared for us or for others, so we cannot tell the fullness of perfection to which we're being guided.  We don't know God's plans for us.  But humility and trust are the beginning steps to knowing God's love and God's providence, and the beginning of maturity as a spiritual person with a soul ennobled through faith.  Let us perceive the message of God's strength and love in this dialogue.