Suffering and Service

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons.^(A) She knelt down to ask him for something.^{(B) 21} “What do you want?” he asked her.

“Promise,”^[a] she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”^(C)

²² Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”^[b](D)

“We are able,” they said to him.

²³ He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup,^[c] but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”^(E)

²⁴ When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. ²⁶ It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,^{(F) 27} and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,^(G) and to give his life as a ransom for many.”^(H)

² and he executed James,^(A) John’s brother, with the sword.