In Matthew 20:20-21, the mother of James and John makes a shocking request: when the kingdom comes, she wants her sons to sit on Jesus’s right and left side.
Along with Peter, James and John are part of Jesus’s inner circle. In Matthew 4:22 Jesus called them as disciples while they were with their father mending. The parallel in Mark 1:16-20 says they left their father with the boat and the hired servants. Luke 5:10 describes the brothers as partners with Simon Peter, and there were multiple boats. A net could be stretched between two boats to catch larger number of fish, at least four men are mentioned plus plural servants.
Simon Peter, James, and John “left their nets” and followed Jesus (4:20, 22), just as Peter says in Matthew 19:27, “We have left everything to follow you!” And like Simon Peter, Jesus gave James and John a nickname, the “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). The word “Boanerges” (Greek, Βοανηργές; Hebrew, בְּנֵי רֶגֶשׁ)). BDAG mentions Kautzsch, who thought the Hebrew was רְגַז wrath, which would mean “the hot-tempered.” What this means is an open discussion. Were the brothers boisterous (thunder-like)? Or did the name refer to their father? There are examples of “son of” used for a characteristic, such as calling Judas the “son of perdition” (John:17:12).
Why does Matthew have the request come from their mother? Perhaps this is to make James and John look less arrogant. Davies and Allison suggest Matthew has the mother make the request, implying they are “sufficiently young that their mother still looks after them” (Matthew, 3:87).
A mother requesting to secure her son’s future is common in the Old Testament. For example, Sarah ensures her son Isaac is Abraham’s heir (Gen 21), and Rebekah helps Jacob trick Isaac and obtain the blessing (Gen 27). Emily Cheny suggests an allusion to Bathsheba makes a bold request that her son be David’s heir (1 Kings 1:15-21) (Emily Cheney, “The Mother of the Sons of Zebedee (Matthew 27:56),” JSNT 20 (1998): 13-21.) As John Nolland observes, one of the ways a woman could exercise power in a patriarchal society is by continuing to influence her sons (Nolland, Matthew, 819).
The mother of James and John is a follower of Jesu and among the first witnesses of the resurrection (Matt 27:56) and is called Salome in Mark 15:40. John 19:25 says Mary, the mother of Jesus, was standing at the cross with her sister and Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. This would indicate that Salome, the wife of Zebedee, was Mary’s sister and Jesus’s aunt, so James and John were Jesus’s cousins.
Their mother bows (προσκύνεω) to make the request, just as the Canaanite woman who also made a bold request (15: 21-28). Bathsheba also bows before David when she requests Solomon be the heir who rules after David (LXX 1 Kings 1:15-21).
Her request is that her sons sit in the places of honor when Jesus begins his kingdom rule. This refers to Jesus’s answer to Peter about his reward, sitting on a throne judging in the coming kingdom. The request accepts that promise as a fact, but the mother wants the primacy for her sons (not Peter).
What would a “seat in the kingdom” imply? Perhaps this is an allusion to the eschatological banquet. In Matthew 8:11 and Luke 13:29. On the other hand, Matthew 19:28 indicates the Twelve will rule from twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
To be seated on a king’s right hand is the place of honor (Psalm 110:1, the messiah is seated at the right hand of God, for example); to be seated on the left is the second-highest position. In LXX Zechariah 6:13, the Branch of the Lord will “sit and rule upon his throne, and the priest will be out of his right, and there will be a peaceful plan between both.”
Between the twelve thrones saying (Matt 19:28) and this request for prominent seats in the kingdom is the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt 20:1-16), illustrating the “first will be last and the last will be first” and Jesus’ third prediction of the crucifixion and resurrection (20:17-19).
The implication is that James and John believe Jesus will establish his kingdom when he arrives in Jerusalem, which happens only a day or two after this request (they leave from Jericho in the next paragraph; the Triumphal entry is in Matthew 21:1). These two disciples have (once again) misunderstood the prediction of Jesus’s suffering, death and resurrection.
Very good article. Thank you.
It is extremely wild for me to think that people who were close to Jesus could be this far off. Like they would hear Him speak, and misinterpret it so poorly. Not that everyone today is perfect at this, but Jesus is God so I would try to clarify all I could. It is also interesting for me to think about two people on the sides of Jesus. The reason that this is interesting is because Jesus will be at the right hand of the Father (1 Peter 3:22), so one of Jesus’ sides is already taken. This leads to more misunderstanding on their part. These two were also apart of the
Inner circle” (Strauss, 439) so it makes it weirder how far off they were.
I thought this blog post was very unique and important because of the way P. Long adds how people can view women in society. “As John Nolland observes, one of the ways a woman could exercise power in a patriarchal society is her continuing influence on her sons” (P. Long). I really like this interpretation because it makes me think of when someone says “he’s a momma’s boy”; however, when one really analyzes the interpretation, there are two different points of views. Looking in the lens of a more Modern world view one would say that being a momma’s boy is just being weak while in an Old Testament worldview it would be interpreted as still too young as well as a mother’s achieved status. For making any sort of request from a woman was mostly under-appreciated, that is unless of great societal status. However, this is a very bold request and to answer what it would imply to sit at the hands of Jesus on the throne would mean James and John are pure hearted Christian that had enough faith to up and leave their own fathers. P. Long mentions James and John’s faith in Jesus earlier in the blog post stating “James and John “left their nets” and followed Jesus, just as Peter says in Matthew 19:27. We have left everything to follow you (P.Long)!
In Matthew 20:20-21, the mother of James and John asks Jesus for a special favor: that her sons sit at his right and left when his kingdom comes. This request is surprising because Jesus had just predicted his suffering and death, but James and John still expected and earthly kingdom with power and glory. James and John were part of Jesus’ inner circle and known for their strong personalities, even earning the nickname “Sons of Thunder.” The fact that their mother, Salome, makes the request might be to soften the blow, showing they weren’t being too arrogant. It’s also a common cultural practice for mothers to try and secure good positions for their children. Salome’s request is for her sons to have the highest positions in Jesus’ kingdom, the places of honor at his right and left. This shows that she still thought Jesus would establish a political kingdom, but Jesus had been teaching them about a very different kind of kingdom, one of humility and service, not power and dominance. Jesus uses the moment to teach them that true greatness in his kingdom comes through serving others, not seeking status. He flips the idea of greatness on its head, saying that the first must be last and the greatest must be a servant. This moment shows how the disciples misunderstood Jesus’ mission, thinking he would bring an earthly kingdom, while Jesus was preparing them for a kingdom built on sacrifice, not power. In the end, this story challenges us to rethink what it means to be great in God’s kingdom. It’s not about seeking glory, but about serving others, just as Jesus did.
In this blog post, the context of Matthew 20:20-21 is looked over and used to interpret the meaning of this request. As we know, women did not always play an equal part in society like they do today. In the first century, a woman was inferior and below a man. However, a girl could petition on behalf of her sons. P. Long gives several examples of this in the Old Testament that are fairly similar to this occasion. I found it really interesting that this “requester” may have been Jesus’ aunt and her sons Jesus’ cousins. To be seated next to Jesus in heaven would imply that they are high in power. Jesus responds to this by saying that it is not for him to decide or grant. One question this raises for me comes back to a paper I did in Bible 205 on the Great Commission. In that passage, Jesus says that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me (implying it was at one point not his or all of his). Since Matthew 20 is obviously before the end of Matthew, would Jesus have the authority to grant this request if it were asked after the resurrection? Not particularly important, just a thought. A connection with Strauss on this post is the fact that the NIV says the mother of “Zebedee’s” came to ask, and P. Long mentions James and John. Strauss has a section in chapter 18 that shows each of the disciple’s names. There, James is listed as “James son of Zebedee.” This is helpful for context to know who is being talked about in Matthew 20:20.