Verse 23
He saith unto them, My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father.
Christ did not reveal who would have such honors. All such things had been prepared and predetermined by the Father in the foreknowledge of God's eternal purpose. The whole drama of human redemption was planned "before the world was"; and the important places in his kingdom were in no sense up for grabs under the press of human ambitions. The prophecy that James and John would indeed drink of the Saviour's cup was fulfilled when James was martyred under the sword of Herod (Acts 12), and as, in all probability, John suffered at a much later date.
Christ did far more than merely deny the request of that ambitious woman on behalf of her sons. He went much further and explained that the usual concept of some men ruling over others would not be allowed in the kingdom of God under any circumstance.
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