James
and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”
Mark 10:35
Mark 10 [32.] They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles. They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
Mark 10 [35.] James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”
Mark 10 [36.] He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Meaning:
Jesus had just described, in painful detail, how he would be handed over, mocked, spat on, scourged and killed in Jerusalem, and how he would rise on the third day (Mark 10:32-34). Immediately afterwards two of his closest disciples come to him with a request. Mark places the two scenes side by side on purpose. While Jesus speaks of the cross, James and John are thinking of thrones. Their opening words show how far they still were from understanding him.
- “James and John, the sons of Zebedee”
James and John were among the first disciples Jesus called. They were fishermen who left their father Zebedee “in the boat with the hired servants” to follow him (Mark 1:19-20). Jesus gave them the nickname Boanerges, “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17), perhaps because of their fiery temperament. With Peter they formed an inner circle: only they were allowed into the house where Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37), and only they saw him transfigured on the mountain (Mark 9:2-4). Such privileges may have encouraged them to think they deserved the highest places in his Kingdom.
- “Came near to him”
Matthew tells us that their mother came with them and made the request on their behalf, “kneeling and asking a certain thing of him” (Matthew 20:20-21). Mark focuses on the two brothers, showing that the ambition was truly theirs. They approached Jesus privately, apart from the other ten, who were indignant when they found out (Mark 10:41-42).
- “We want you to do for us whatever we will ask”
The request is astonishing in its boldness. They ask Jesus to sign a blank cheque before they tell him what they want. It sounds like the rash promise of Herod, who told the daughter of Herodias, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you” (Mark 6:21-23), and was trapped by his own words. Jesus is wiser. He does not grant an open request; he asks what they want (Mark 10:36). Jesus does invite his followers to ask boldly: “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). But that promise is for those whose desires have been shaped by his words. James later wrote, “You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives” (James 4:3).
The Significance of Mark 10:35
- Ambition can blind us
James and John heard Jesus speak of suffering and death but thought only of glory. It is possible to be close to Jesus, privileged and gifted, and still be driven by self-interest. Disciples need to let Jesus reshape their ambitions.
- Prayer is not a blank cheque
Jesus loves to hear our requests, but he is not a servant obliged to do whatever we want. True prayer brings our desires to him and submits them to his will, as he himself prayed in Gethsemane.
- Jesus is patient with our mistakes
Jesus did not dismiss the brothers. He listened, questioned and taught them. Both later followed him faithfully, and John described himself as a “partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus” (Revelation 1:9).
Cross-References:
Matthew 20:20: "Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him." Matthew’s account of the same request.
Mark 3:17: "James the son of Zebedee; John, the brother of James, and he called them Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder" The nickname Jesus gave the two brothers.
James 4:3: "You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures." The danger of self-seeking requests.
John 15:7: "If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you." Asking in harmony with Jesus’ words.
Conclusion: Right after Jesus foretold his suffering and death, James and John came to him asking him to do whatever they wanted. Their request reveals ambition and misunderstanding among even the closest disciples. Jesus did not give them a blank promise but drew out what was in their hearts, and in the verses that follow he would teach them that greatness in his Kingdom comes through serving and suffering.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible