Mark 10:31-45

Don’t ask to the true God (Jesus) to grant you a false god (your selfish desires). self glory and idolatry.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 10:35–37

One of them wished to sit at His right, the highest assigned position, and the other at His left, the next highest place in a royal court (Josephus The Antiquities of the Jews 6. 11. 9).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 10:38–39

The figure of baptism expresses a parallel thought. Being under water was an Old Testament picture of being overwhelmed by calamity (cf. Job 22:11; Ps. 69:2, 15; Isa. 43:2).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 10:38–39

James was the first apostle to be martyred (cf. Acts 12:2), whereas John, who endured many years of persecution and exile, was the last apostle to die (cf. John 21:20–23; Rev. 1:9).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 10:45

The preposition “for” (anti), used in Mark only here, reinforces the idea of substitution. It means “instead of, in the place of” (cf. Matt. 2:22; Luke 11:11; 1 Peter 3:9). Jesus gave His life (psychēn) in the place of many

Matthew 20:20–21 CSB

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. “What do you want?” he asked her. “Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”

Do you notice what Matthew did? Not only did he turn the mother of James and John into a domineering stage mother, he took the heat off the impertinence of James and John. Matthew never wants the disciples to look bad. But he misses the point. It isn’t the impoliteness of the request that Jesus responds to, it is their assumption about how leadership works.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 10:45

“Many” is used in the inclusive sense of “all” (cf. 1:32–34; Isa. 53:10–12). It emphasizes how a large number derive redemptive benefit from the single sacrifice of the One Redeemer (cf. Rom. 5:15, 18–19). Jesus’ death as a ransom extended beyond His own people to all peoples

Mark 14:24 CSB

He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Mark 13:32 CSB

“Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—but only the Father.

a life of upside-down leadership in their own eyes, but right-side up in God’s eyes.

Discipleship is a race to last place…It is not about who is first across the line but how many people you can help get across the line.

It is about loving the unlovable, forgiving the unforgivable, and serving those who don’t deserve to be served.

This is why some churches get it twisted that deacons are lower than Elders. Because they are not the executive board.