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The Requests of the Sons of Zebedee.
v. 20. Then came to Him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshiping Him, and desiring a certain thing of Him.
v. 21. And He said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto Him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other on the left, in Thy kingdom.
The two sons of Zebedee, James and John, were among the first disciples of Jesus, Mat_4:21-22. In the early days of their discipleship they were not characterized by the same patience and kindness that was the most prominent attribute of John in later years. They were both impulsive in speech and rash in action. Mar_3:17. Their mother's name was Maria Salome, a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Joh_19:25; Luk_8:2-3; Luk_23:55. She belonged to that small band of woman disciples that had ministered to the Lord. She probably had heard the promise that Jesus had made to the Twelve, chapter 19:28, and had drawn the conclusion that the cousinship of her sons, and the fact that they had been singled out by the Lord for special attentions, warranted her bold request. And her sons, as yet hardly conscious of the meaning of true discipleship, eagerly took up the idea, seconding their mother's plea. She was very importunate about her request; she knelt down at Jesus' feet and begged earnestly, womanlike seeking fulfillment of her wish before stating it. Being asked by Jesus what her desire was, she stated that she wished her sons to occupy the highest places of honor in the Messianic kingdom, for thus the seats on the right hand and on the left hand of the rulers were regarded. As Luther says: "The flesh ever seeks to be glorified before it is crucified; exalted before it is abased."