They said to Him, “Grant us that in Your glory we may sit, one at Your right hand and the other at Your left.”
Their request shows that they believed in Christ’s future glory, but they misunderstood the path to that glory. They wanted to be near the Lord, but more in the sense of position and honor than in the sense of sharing in the cross. The right and left sides were the highest places of royal authority. They wanted glory without first understanding that the path to Christ’s glory passes through suffering. This reveals a common sickness of the human heart: desiring a crown without a cross, a kingdom without service, and exaltation without humility.