And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Him and said, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we are going to ask of You.”
This request is a sorrowful contrast to the words Christ had just spoken. He was speaking about the cross, humiliation, and death, while they, as we will see next, were thinking about position and glory. Their approach shows how slowly the disciples were understanding the Lord’s way. The wording “whatever we ask” reveals a childish and self-centered desire: first to obtain agreement, and only then to state the request. Yet Christ deals with them patiently and turns their ambition into an occasion for teaching.