MARK 10:40 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.”
But to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared — the right and left seats in glory are not in Jesus' authority to assign — they are prepared by the Father for those for whom they are prepared. The answer deflects the request without denying the reality of the kingdom's glory: the glory is real, the seats are real, but they are the Father's to assign, not Jesus' to distribute in response to requests.
Church Fathers on Mark 10:40
Now the abovementioned disciples thought that He was going up to Jerusalem, to reign there, and then to suffer what He had foretold. And with these thoughts, they desired to sit on the right hand and the left hand.
Matthew has expressed that this was said not by themselves, but by their mother, since she brought their wishes to the Lord; wherefore Mark briefly implies rather that they themselves, rather than their mother, had used the words.
Or else, they know not what they ask, who seek from the Lord a seat of glory, which they do not yet merit.
Read all 8 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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