Matthew 20:20-28

The Request of the Mother of James and John

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ 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, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’

When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

Matthew chapter 20 occurs at the very end of Jesus’ ministry just before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The cross and the passion are looming large on the horizon and Jesus foretells his death and resurrection for the third time in Matthew’s Gospel in this chapter.

The request of the mother of James and John is a tricky story to analyse. The stereotypical approach is to read this as a story of a pushy mother who wants to make sure that her boys will get the best seats in the kingdom. There may be some merit in this. However it seems to be an increasingly doubtful reading.

First, it seems clear that the sons of Zebedee are present when the request is made, for they answer for themselves when questioned. So it is not fair to identify a pushy mother. The sons are complicit in the request.

Second, it is notable that there is no rebuke from Jesus to James or John or their mother. Interestingly, it is the other disciples who become angry when they hear of it but Jesus gently rebukes them for this.

Third, Jesus points to a new understanding of greatness, by means of service and servitude. In other words, he seems to suggest that if James and John or any of the disciples wish to sit at his right hand, the way to achieve that is not by lobbying but by radical service to God by means of service to each other. Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant.

On this reading then, Jesus, far from rebuking James and John for their ambition to sit at his right hand, instead encourages that ambition. Indeed, given the way that James and John are depicted in the Gospels as constant companions of Jesus and part of his inner circle, it should not be assumed that they want to be at Jesus’ side for reasons of power, but rather for reasons of love. This is why they unhesitatingly affirm that they will drink whatever cup Jesus drinks.

As a consequence, Jesus points them to a more effective and Christ-like way of achieving that godly ambition, by means of godly and radical servanthood, which Jesus himself models, ultimately in the cross. The irony, of course, is that those who are either side of Jesus when he comes into his kingdom are also on crosses (Matthew 27:38, see also Luke 23:39-43). Tradition declares that both James and John were martyred.

Blessings as we pray that we too might also truly become servants to the Lord and to all we encounter.  Be safe!  Be well!  The Spirit has come!

To Ponder:

• What ambitions of faith do you hold? Are they sufficiently big?
• Godly ambition is easily mistaken as the product of vanity and pride. Are there ways to be able to pursue godly ambitions without alienating those who might otherwise be supportive of those very ambitions? What might these be?