Mar. 04, 2026
LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE
WAYNE BARRETT
MARCH 4, 2026
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she
asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these
two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus
answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”
They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand
and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and
said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority
over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men
sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have
mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all
the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What
do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity
touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
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vv. 20 – “Then the mother …”
more lit. “At that time came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee, [she] kneeling down
[prokuneó] and asking something from him …”
“At that time” – if taken in a strict chronology, this was right after Jesus had spoken again about
his suffering and that he would rise again (vv. 17-19)
This is an unexpected occasion—it is hard to imagine how it all came about
The brothers were willing participants, whether or not it was “their idea” (cf. v. 24)—and
it may have been!
They were not really understanding what Jesus was telling them about Jerusalem (cf.
v. 21 – “And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’”
Initially, Jesus addresses the mother individually
Her request (their request) was that James and John would be right next to Jesus in honor and
authority (including being over the other apostles)
There seems to be an expectation of an immediate Messianic kingdom—although that is not
certain
v. 22 – “Jesus answered …”
Jesus did not harshly rebuke them—but he did address some things
more lit. “You do not know what you ask” – here, the “you” is plural – so it was not lost on Jesus
that all of them were asking making the request
This could also be the case today with ambitious requests that we might make
“Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”
2
Jesus knew—but they certainly did not, and yet …
“They said to him, ‘We are able.’”
Now “they” said to him
They may have given this response in great sincerity (or naivety), but they really had no idea
v. 23 – “You will drink my cup …”
The wisdom of Christ
He knew that they would indeed suffer for his sake—and that beyond anything they were
thinking
He also knew that he would strengthen them to do so
“but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been
prepared by my Father.”
Jesus made clear that:
The Son is submissive to the Father in every way
Some things are the prerogative of the Father, not the Son. (This, for example.)
Jesus also made it clear that He is God—the Son, as does the rest of Scirpture
These attributes are not in conflict—in fact, they illuminate aspects of the Trinity
v. 24 – “And when the ten heard it …”
more lit. “they were indignant about the two brothers”
The mother is now long since forgotten
v. 25 – “But Jesus called them to him …”
His persistent teaching. Did they truly believe it? Do we?
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles …”
Some things have not changed
“rulers”—here probably meaning royal persons or magistrates
“great ones” – in Greek, just “the great” – exercise authority, or power
The urge to have power over others, to have other serve us, fawn over us, be afraid of us, have
their lives controlled by us, be subject to penalty by us—this urge to domineer and to be
considered greater than others is a desire to be worshiped, and it is from sin and the devil, not
from God.
vv. 26-27 – “It shall not be so among you.”
Plain and simple. But how often does the church mimic the behavior that Jesus has rejected.
“servant” – diakonos
“slave” – “doulos”
The greater you would be, the lower you must go.
v. 28 – “even as the Son of Man …”
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus 6 who, though he was in the
form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by
taking the form of a servant [doulos], being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in
human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on
a cross.”—Philippians 2:5-8
In our culture, this is truly a difficult truth to buy into
It is not incompatible with leadership. (Was Jesus a leader?) Although, it does force questions
upon the nature of leadership.
3
vv. 29-31 – “And as they went out of Jericho …”
“a great crowd followed him” – there was an expectation that Jesus was about to fulfil his
Messianic role—and, indeed, he was, but not as others expected
This in spite of what he consistently told his disciples
This is leading up to Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
“they cried out” – krazó, to scream, shriek, it is an onomatopoetic word after the “croaking”
sound of a raven
These blind men were viewed as, basically, worthless—and they were being a nuisance, causing
a ruckus
They did not care. This was their one chance –they wanted to get the attention and the help of
Jesus, and they did not care what other people said or thought
God hears this kind of praying and is not moved by prayers that are for show or are prideful
Jesus asked them as he often did: What do you want me to do for you?
more lit. “They say to him, Lord, that our eyes might be opened.”
They did not hesitate—but they asked humbly.
This moment would never come again for them.
more lit. “And having been moved with compassion [splagchnizomai], Jesus touched their eyes
…”
touched – haptomai – to fasten to, to attach oneself
Jesus is on his way to the hardest week of human existence. He knew what was in store for him. And yet
he had time for two “nobodies” on the road to Jerusalem.
This is unlike any “god” that a person had ever heard of. But as Jesus had said: “the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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“Extra Credit” Topic: Variations in New Testament Scriptures
This passage about the two blind men (Matthew 20:29-34) is almost certainly the parallel account to
Mark 10:46-52 (“Blind Bartimaeus”) and Luke 18:35-43. As in all parallel accounts in the Gospels,
there is some variation in detail—detail which has no bearing on a sound understanding of the event and
what we might learn from it. In fact, parallel accounts often complement each other and help to
complete our understanding (as in the passage from Luke re v. 20 above). Eyewitness accounts always
vary. This aspect of the Gospels is a testimony to their truthfulness and only reinforces to us that the
Bible is not a carefully edited collection of contrived tales but is the honest witness of men, inspired and
helped by God. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).
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