You don't know what you're asking. - Matthew 20:22, HCSB
There are many people in the Scriptures who appear to be spiritually minded but whose hearts harbor deeply unspiritual motives. Take the mother of the sons of Zebedee, for example, who according to Matthew 27:55 was one of the women who followed Jesus from Galilee in order to minister to Him.
Most commentators believe this small band of women to have been devotees of Christ, assisting Him and the disciples by preparing meals, washing and repairing clothes, and so on. Onlookers would have classified them as deeply spiritual, willing to give up their time to minister to Jesus - and of course, in the main, they were.
In one place, however, the Scripture draws aside the veil from the heart of one of them, the mother of James and John, and shows her approaching Jesus with the request: "Promise . . . that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom." . . . "You don't know what you're asking," Jesus said (Mt 20:21-22).
Yes, she served Jesus. Of that there can be no doubt. But she had a secret and selfish motive in her heart: a privileged position for her sons. It is easy to excuse her action, as many have done, on the grounds that she was doing only what any other concerned mother would have done - attempting to get the best for her children.
But Jesus saw right into her heart and said: "You don't know what you're asking."How sad that her beautiful ministry to Jesus was spoiled by ulterior motives.
Daily Prayer
My Father, help me to see that I cannot be a fully integrated person when I harbor within me two mutually exclusive loves. I cannot love You fully when I love my own interests fully. Set me free, dear Lord, to live only for You. Amen.
This devotional is courtesy of Every Day with Jesus.
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