“LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY” The two sons of Zebedee, James and John, were very friendly with Jesus and very close to him. Ever since Jesus called them and they abandoned their ship and their father and followed him, the two brothers and Peter never looked back; and were, in fact, the most intimate disciples that Jesus ever had. In both glory and grief, they were there with Jesus. They were by his side. In the Transfiguration, Jesus took three of them up a high mountain and before their very eyes manifested his divine nature. Jesus showed them that he was God. “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17:2) That vision is consistent with the one that was revealed to John on the island of Patmos. According to John, “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow…and His countenance was like the sun shinning in its strength.” (Revelation 1:14&16) So, more than once, Jesus proved that he is God. And anytime he proved it, the reactions of the witnesses were the same. They trembled in His presence, fell at His feet, and worshipped Him. Then Jesus would raise them up with a friendly touch and some encouraging words. ‘Arise, and be not afraid.’ (Matthew 17:7) And to show how intimate he was with them, Jesus commanded them, ‘Tell the vision to no one…’ (v9) not even to the other nine disciples who did not see it. In other words, the vision was only meant for three of them: Peter, James, and John. The same two sons of Zebedee were with Jesus in Gethsemane, again with Peter. This time, Jesus needed their encouragement and their comfort. Yes; Jesus needed to be comforted and encouraged by his closest friends because he was grieving. So he again chose Peter, James, and John from among the twelve disciples to accompany him and stay with him in his deepest sorrow. But he said to the remaining nine, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ (Matthew 26:36) And the disciples sat there, while the chosen closest three went further with him. And he told them what he did not tell the rest. ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.’ (v38) The three had been with him in glory. Now they were with him in grief. That’s characteristic of TRUE FRIENDSHIP. Peter, James, and John saw it all. They saw his divine nature. They also saw his human nature. They shared in his glory; and also shared in his grief. However, when the mother of those same James and John, the intimate friends of Jesus, when their mother came to Jesus and asked that her two sons be granted to sit ‘one on your right hand and the other on the left, in your kingdom,’ Jesus replied and said to her, ‘YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ASK.’ (Matthew 20:22) This was the same Jesus that said, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you.’ (Matthew 7:7) This woman, the mother of Jesus’ closest friends, asked and it wasn’t given to her. She might have seen how intimate her two sons were with Jesus, and was perhaps convinced that she would get anything she asked for. That did not happen. She wasn’t given what she asked for because she did not know what she asked. SHE ASKED IN IGNORANCE. No wonder God said that ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.’ (Hosea 4:6) Jesus later told her that only his Father in heaven could answer such prayer. Yet, Jesus answered the same prayer when a criminal that was crucified with him asked. ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’ (Luke 23:43) That’s exactly what the wife of Zebedee, the mother of Jesus’ closest friends, asked for her two sons. But it wasn’t answered. So, why did Jesus answer the criminal but did not answer the woman? Why was Zebedee’s wife not granted what she asked for, even when her two sons affirmed their ability to drink the cup that Jesus was about to drink and to be baptized with the baptism he was baptized with? Well, Jesus eventually called them to himself, all the twelve disciples. He closed the gap between the chosen three and the remaining nine, and said to them, ‘…whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.’ (Matthew 20:26) And the fact that ten of the disciples, including Peter, were displeased with the two brothers for asking such proves that the two of them, James and John, sons of Zebedee, wanted to be GREATER THAN the rest. And a quarrel broke out among them. “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.” (Luke 22:24) The two brothers thought that their closeness to Jesus could make them greater and more powerful than the other ten disciples. But they were mistaken and did not receive what they asked for. According to James, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3) The wife of Zebedee and her two sons asked amiss because they wanted to be served. They did not want to serve others. They wanted the other disciples to serve them. Hence, Jesus continued teaching them and clearing their ignorance, ‘Whoever desires to be the first among you, let him be your slave: just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…’ (Matthew 20:27-28) ~Ikenna George Ikenna
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:13:29 +0000
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