Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. 21 He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” 23 He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. 26 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; 27 whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. 28 Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
After Jesus made his third prediction of his Passion (Mt. 20:17-19), the mother of the sons of Zebedee went to Jesus, knelt before him, and requested that her sons James and John sit in places of the highest honor in his Kingdom presiding over the Messianic Banquet with Christ. Jesus questioned whether James and John truly understood what they were asking for and made reference to his passion but they did not understand. They confidently told Jesus that they could. Jesus told them that they would indeed suffer for his sake, but the positions of honor in his kingdom are determined by the Father, not him.
When the other disciples heard what was said, they were indignant about the request made by James and John. That allowed Jesus to explain that, unlike worldly rulers, their leadership style must mirror his and they must be servants of all like he is and they should not desire power and authority like the rulers of the Gentiles do. Jesus told them that true greatness in his kingdom comes from humble service, even to the point of being like a slave. Jesus provided the greatest example of service when he gave his life as a ransom for the salvation of many.
Almighty God, grant us the grace to set aside our selfish ambitions and to follow the example of Jesus, who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Teach us to be humble servants, ready to lay down our lives for the sake of others, just as Jesus did. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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