Matthew 20:20-28
New American Standard Bible
Request for Preferred Treatment
20 (A)Then the mother of (B)the [a]sons of Zebedee came to [b]Jesus with her sons, (C)bowing down and making a request of Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you desire?” She *said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine (D)shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.” 22 But Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able (E)to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” 23 He *said to them, “(F)My cup you shall drink; but to sit at My right and at My left is not Mine to give, (G)but it is for those for whom it has been (H)prepared by My Father.”
24 And after hearing this, the other ten disciples became indignant with the two brothers. 25 (I)But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and [c]those in high position exercise authority over them. 26 It [d]is not this way among you, (J)but whoever wants to become [e]prominent among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as (K)the Son of Man (L)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His [f]life as a ransom for many.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 20:20 I.e., the apostles James and John
- Matthew 20:20 Lit Him
- Matthew 20:25 Lit the great ones
- Matthew 20:26 One early ms shall not be
- Matthew 20:26 Lit great
- Matthew 20:28 Or soul
Matthew 20:20-28
The Message
20 It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.
21 “What do you want?” Jesus asked.
She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”
22 Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”
They said, “Sure, why not?”
23 Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.”
24-28 When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
* * *
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson