Mark 10:35–45

Two Followers Ask Jesus a Favor

³⁵Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us.”

³⁶Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³⁷They answered, “Let one of us sit at your right side and one of us sit at your left side in your glory in your kingdom.”

³⁸Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I must drink? And can you be baptized with the same kind of baptism that I must go through?” ⁿ

³⁹They answered, “Yes, we can.”

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the same cup that I will drink, and you will be baptized with the same baptism that I must go through. ⁴⁰But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left; those places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

⁴¹When the other ten followers heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.

⁴²Jesus called them together and said, “The other nations have rulers. You know that those rulers love to show their power over the people, and their important leaders love to use all their authority. ⁴³But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. ⁴⁴Whoever wants to become the first among you must serve all of you like a slave. ⁴⁵In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”