Matthew 20:28

“…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many…”

In this scene the mother of James and John pushes in with a request, a normal kind of request for normal people, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”  She obviously discerned that the time was drawing near when Jesus will establish the kingdom of God that he taught about time and time again.

We have no idea what she imagiined Jesus’ kingdom to be but she was sure that Jesus would sit on a throne of authority and sovereignity and that the kindom is his.  So far so good. And it would be nice if hers sons would have the top positions in his “Cabinet.” Upon hearing her request, Jesus did not bother to remind her of the radical nature of the new kingdom, where the greatest serve the lesser.

Jesus was not supsrrised at her request but the ten were and they “were indignant with the two brothers.”  v 24

This gave Jesus the opportunity to remind them of the nature of his kingdom where “whoever wants to become great must serve, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  v 28