Matthew 20:21 - Exposition

What wilt thou. Jesus will make no unconditional promise; he compels her to formulate her petition. Grant ; εἰπε ì : command . These my two sons. She points to them, as they stood or knelt behind her. May sit … in thy kingdom. The right and left hand would be the places occupied by those next to the sovereign in dignity and consideration. There is here no thought of St. Peter's pre-eminence. The petition was urged at this moment, because it was felt that a great crisis was at hand. This visit to Jerusalem must have momentous results; here Jesus was about to set up his throne; now was the moment to secure the highest places in his court. He had announced his death; he had also announced his glory; they balanced one declaration against the other, and seized on that which was most consonant to their national prejudices and their own ambitious views. Probably they interpreted the unintelligible resurrection to mean the establishment of the kingdom of Messiah ( Luke 19:11 ). If this was imminent, no time was to be lost in making their claims known. So thought the "sons of thunder," and acted with energy and haste.