Matthew 20:20-28

International Standard Version

The Request of James and John^(A)

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus^[a] with her sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor. ²¹ He asked her, “What do you want?”

She told him, “Promise^[b] that in your kingdom these two sons of mine will sit on your right and on your left.”

²² Jesus replied, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink from the cup that I’m going to drink from?”^[c]

They told him, “We can.”

²³ He told them, “You will indeed drink from my cup. But it’s not up to me to grant you a seat at my right hand or at my left. These positions have already been prepared for others by my Father.”

²⁴ When the ten heard this, they became furious with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called the disciples^[d] and said, “You know that the rulers of the unbelievers^[e] lord it over them and their superiors act like tyrants over them. ²⁶ That’s not the way it should be among you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. ²⁸ That’s the way it is with the Son of Man. He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”