They reveal their hope for worldly status, yet Jesus persists in guiding them toward a humble and spiritual perspective that transcends earthly glory.
“They said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.’” (v.37) occurs as James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approach Jesus with a bold request. These two brothers were part of the twelve disciples, following Jesus in the early 1st century AD, during His ministry throughout Galilee and on the roads toward Jerusalem. At this point in Mark’s account, they are traveling through the region east of the Jordan River toward Jerusalem, which sat at the heart of Judea and served as the cultural and religious center of the Jewish people in that era. The brothers’ request to sit at Jesus’s right and left reflects a desire for positions of authority and honor in what they assumed would be His imminent, glorious kingdom.
By asking “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory” (v.37), James and John reveal their misunderstanding of Jesus’s calling. They know Jesus as the promised Messiah Matthew 16:16), but they still struggle to fully grasp the nature of His kingdom—which He consistently teaches is built on humility, service, and sacrificial love (Mark 10:44-45). While earthly rulers often claimed prestigious seats to demonstrate power, Jesus calls His followers to a life radically different from worldly ambition. This conversation foreshadows Jesus’s later demonstration of the greatest act of servanthood—the crucifixion—around AD 30 or 33, when He offers Himself for the salvation of humanity (John 3:16).
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Mark 10:37 meaning
“They said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.’” (v.37) occurs as James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approach Jesus with a bold request. These two brothers were part of the twelve disciples, following Jesus in the early 1st century AD, during His ministry throughout Galilee and on the roads toward Jerusalem. At this point in Mark’s account, they are traveling through the region east of the Jordan River toward Jerusalem, which sat at the heart of Judea and served as the cultural and religious center of the Jewish people in that era. The brothers’ request to sit at Jesus’s right and left reflects a desire for positions of authority and honor in what they assumed would be His imminent, glorious kingdom.
By asking “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory” (v.37), James and John reveal their misunderstanding of Jesus’s calling. They know Jesus as the promised Messiah Matthew 16:16), but they still struggle to fully grasp the nature of His kingdom—which He consistently teaches is built on humility, service, and sacrificial love (Mark 10:44-45). While earthly rulers often claimed prestigious seats to demonstrate power, Jesus calls His followers to a life radically different from worldly ambition. This conversation foreshadows Jesus’s later demonstration of the greatest act of servanthood—the crucifixion—around AD 30 or 33, when He offers Himself for the salvation of humanity (John 3:16).