Jesus has been teaching that the first will be last and the last first, meaning that those who are first in the kingdom of heaven are those who deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Jesus on this earth. In this context, Mrs. Zebedee asks that her children be considered to sit at Christ’s right and left side—to be considered as the greatest in the kingdom, to be elevated.

Matthew 20:17-28

As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”

But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

And hearing this, the ten became indignant 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 their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall 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.”

The cup (v. 17-19)

As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

Jesus once again predicts his death and resurrection. The cup that he will drink is the cup of atoning death, the new covenant (cf. 26:28; Luke 22:20). 

The request (v. 20-23)

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”

After Jesus taught about His own death and resurrection, the mother of James and John asks him to command that her children will sit at Jesus’s side.

But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

Jesus addresses them instead of answering their mother, asking if they are able to drink the cup He is about to drink—march to His death to atone for His people and establish the new covenant. They answer, telling Jesus they are able. I’m not sure James and John understand what Jesus is asking, because only Jesus can be the substitutionary atonement and introduce the promised new covenant. James and John cannot die for the forgiveness of sins. Yet, by asking to sit at Jesus’s side in Jesus’s kingdom, their mother was asking that they drink of the cup Christ will drink from.

We gain great insight, here, about the nature of self-elevation. The whole world desires to elevate spiritual awareness or blessings. The whole world uses human religion to advance self in some way. People often don’t know what they are asking for. Instead of elevating James and John, Jesus asks a question that reveals their utter inability and His own sufficiency. Only He can die as an atonement for His people, for the forgiveness of sin. May we be careful not to assume we are close to Christ or essential for the good of the world. None of us died to forgive sin, and we cannot.

He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

Jesus does not reprimand James and John. Instead, he reveals that they will indeed drink from His cup. If they cannot die with Jesus to forgive sins, how will they drink from the cup of atoning sacrifice and the new covenant? Doubtless Christians partake in the sufferings (cf. 1 Peter 4:12), grace (Philippians 1:7), righteousness (cf. Hebrews 3:14), and divine nature (cf. 2 Peter 1:4) of Christ. Perhaps the best way to know what Jesus means is to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. Jesus will share a Passover cup with His disciples in Chapter 26, verse 28:

And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus will give the cup to His disciples. He will instruct them to drink from it because it is His blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, that their sins be forgiven. James and John will not drink of the cup as contributors but as recipients—those to whom the blood of Christ is applied as an atonement. The communion meal is a partaking with Christ as recipients of His grace, not a mere remembrance. The meal is consubstantive—meaning Christ sits at the table with His disciples. The sacrifice is His to make, and His atoning blood is applied to His disciples.  Every time we observe the Lord’s supper, we partake with Christ in His atoning sacrifice—which elevates Christ and not us.

Only the Father has prepared the places in the kingdom of heaven. Each one will be in the place the Father has ordained and accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ. Virtually every human religion tries to tell people what their wages will be in Heaven—virgins, worlds, status, remergence, or whatever else. Only in Scripture are we not promised a place we can earn by our striving. The Father ordains and prepares the place of each person. He prepares each person for his or her place.

The teaching (v. 24-28)

And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers.

Who do the sons of Zebedee think they are? How dare they ask to sit at Jesus’s side? What about the rest of us? Where will we sit? Why is Jesus even talking to them about this?

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall 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.”

Jesus makes the indignation of the disciples a teaching moment. He distinguishes between the ways of the world and the way of the kingdom of heaven. The greatest in the world are powerful and lord their authority over others. I have seen national, state, church, and family leaders who feel they need to lord their authority over their citizens, church members, or families. That is the way of the world, not of Christ. Whoever wishes to become great among Christ’s disciples will be a servant. Whoever wishes to be first shall be a slave. Just as Jesus came to serve and give His life, so are the greatest in Christ’s kingdom.

We live like Jesus, who died as a ransom for many (which is limited atonement). We strive not to be superior, better, more powerful, or greater according to the ways of the world. Instead, we seek to serve—to be slaves—of others. Christianity is the only worldview in which people strive to be slaves rather than free according to the standards of the world. According to the standard of Christ, we are freer than any other people.