Milo

Context
A Mother’s Request
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him. “What do you want?” He inquired. She answered, “Declare that in Your kingdom one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right hand, and the other at Your left.” “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered.…

The one on thy right hand.—The favour which had already been bestowed might, in some degree, seem to warrant the petition. John was known emphatically as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; John 19:26; John 20:2), and if we may infer a general practice from that of the Last Supper (John 13:23), he sat near Him at their customary meals. James was one of the chosen three who had been witnesses of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1). Both had been marked out for special honour by the new name of the Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17). The mother might well think that she was but asking for her sons a continuance of what they had hitherto enjoyed. The sternness of our Lord’s words to Peter (Matthew 16:23) might almost justify the thought that his position had been forfeited.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
20:20-28 The sons of Zebedee abused what Christ said to comfort the disciples. Some cannot have comforts but they turn them to a wrong purpose. Pride is a sin that most easily besets us; it is sinful ambition to outdo others in pomp and grandeur. To put down the vanity and ambition of their request, Christ leads them to the thoughts of their sufferings. It is a bitter cup that is to be drunk of; a cup of trembling, but not the cup of the wicked. It is but a cup, it is but a draught, bitter perhaps, but soon emptied; it is a cup in the hand of a Father, Joh 18:11. Baptism is an ordinance by which we are joined to the Lord in covenant and communion; and so is suffering for Christ, Eze 20:37; Isa 48:10. Baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace; and so is suffering for Christ, for unto us it is given, Php 1:29. But they knew not what Christ’s cup was, nor what his baptism. Those are commonly most confident, who are least acquainted with the cross. Nothing makes more mischief among brethren, than desire of greatness. And we never find Christ’s disciples quarrelling, but something of this was at the bottom of it. That man who labours most diligently, and suffers most patiently, seeking to do good to his brethren, and to promote the salvation of souls, most resembles Christ, and will be most honoured by him to all eternity. Our Lord speaks of his death in the terms applied to the sacrifices of old. It is a sacrifice for the sins of men, and is that true and substantial sacrifice, which those of the law faintly and imperfectly represented. It was a ransom for many, enough for all, working upon many; and, if for many, then the poor trembling soul may say, Why not for me?

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And he said unto her, what wilt thou?…. Mark says, “he said unto them”; her two sons, James and John, “what would you that I should do for you?” Both is true; what is this singular favour? what business of moment and importance is it, you would have me do for you, you are so eager and pressing for, and so solicitous of? This he said, not as being ignorant of the matter; he knew the corruption of their hearts, the vanity of their minds, their carnal, worldly, and ambitious views; but to lead them on to say all they had to say upon this head; in which may be observed the goodness, humanity, and patience of Christ, in not upbraiding them with their pride and insolence, in bearing with their rashness and folly, and in giving them room to believe, that he should answer their request in every thing that was right and reasonable to be done,
She saith unto him, grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on the right hand, and the other the left in thy kingdom: or, as in Mark, “in thy glory” that is, in thy glorious kingdom; meaning a temporal one, which would outdo all the kingdoms of the world, in external glory, pomp, and splendour, as they imagined: to sit one on the right hand and the other on the left hand of Christ, when he should be seated, literally, on the throne of his father David, signifies to be nearest to his person; to be next to him in power and authority; to have the highest posts of honour, and places of trust and profit; to be his prime ministers; and, in a word, to have the greatest share next to him of worldly honour, riches, and power. To sit at the right hand, was, with the Jews, reckoned a great mark of honour and affection; see 1 Kings 2:19 and so with other nations: with the Egyptians especially, it was accounted a great honour to be placed on the right hand, but the greatest to be in the middle: which was equally observed among the Romans, and the same with the Africans and Numidians; though Xenophon relates, that Cyrus, with a singular prudence, that he might receive his guests the more honourably, used to place them at the left hand, accounting that part, as nearest the heart, to be the more worthy. (g) These two, the best and most honourable places, this woman was for engrossing for her two sons, who joined with her in the request; for Mark says, that “they said unto him, grant unto us that we may sit, &c.” and Christ’s answer here, which follows, implies as much.

Context
The Parable of the Guests
When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them a parable: “When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited. Then the host who invited both of you will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place.…

Sit not down.—Literally, recline not.
Lest a more honourable man than thou . . .—The words imply that the common practice was for the guests to seat themselves; then, as in the parable of the wedding garment (Matthew 22:11), the host came in “to see the guests.”

a more honourable man than thou] Php 2:3, “in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Art bidden – Are invited.
To a wedding – A wedding was commonly attended with a feast or banquet.

The highest room – The seat at the table nearest the head.

A more honourable man – A more aged man, or a man of higher rank. It is to be remarked that our Saviour did not consider the courtesies of life to be beneath his notice. His chief design here was, no doubt, to reprove the pride and ambition of the Pharisees; but, in doing it, he teaches us that religion does not violate the courtesies of life. It does not teach us to be rude, forward, pert, assuming, and despising the proprieties of refined social contact. It teaches humility and kindness, and a desire to make all happy, and a willingness to occupy our appropriate situation and rank in life; and this is true “politeness,” for true politeness is a desire to make all others happy, and a readiness to do whatever is necessary to make them so. They have utterly mistaken the nature of religion who suppose that because they are professed Christians, they must be rude and uncivil, and violate all the distinctions in society. The example and precepts of Jesus Christ were utterly unlike such conduct. He teaches us to be kind, and to treat people according to their rank and character. Compare Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:7; 1 Peter 2:17.

Jesus had before denounced a woe against the Pharisees for loving the uppermost seats in the synagogues, Luke 11:43, and told us, Matthew 23:6, that they loved the uppermost rooms at feasts, and possibly he might at this feast see something of it. He therefore applies his discourse by pressing upon them humility, and showing them the danger of pride, which though it be a vice seated in the heart, yet by such little things discovereth itself in the outward conversation. He tells them, that God is such an enemy to pride, that he ordinarily so ordereth it in the government of the world, that usually self-exalting people are by one means or other abused, and brought to shame and contempt, and those that are low in their own eyes are exalted; and if it doth not so fall out here, yet this will be what will at the last day befall them, in the day of God’s righteous judgment.

by Dwight L. Moody

The Bible is a storehouse of whose contents no one can afford to be ignorant. It repays reading and study whether it be approached merely because of its literary value, or its ethical teachings, or its practical bearing on everyday life, as, for instance, in the Book of Proverbs. While such reading may bring a measure of blessing, however, in accordance with the Scripture—”Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy” (Rev. 1:3),—I believe that God reveals His deeper truths to the eye of faith. Those who come to the Bible in a devotional spirit, seeking to know more of God and His will regarding us, are the most blessed.

Hence it is necessary, at the very beginning, that the reader shall be a partaker of that new life which alone can digest heavenly food. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2: 14). But they that are after the Spirit, who have been born of the Spirit, do mind the things of the Spirit, and the Spirit-breathed Word is sweeter to them than honey and the honeycomb.

I believe further that the reader must have faith in the Bible, and a love for it, before he will receive much good from it. As Pascal said: “Human knowledge must be understood to be loved, but divine knowledge must be loved to be understood.” Those who are full of doubts will never be much blessed. The Book comes to us as a whole with the same authority, and no man has a right to cut out any portion. Did you ever notice that the things that men cavil about most are the very things that Christ set His seal to? The story of Noah and the flood; of Lot’s wife; of the brazen serpent; of Jonah and the whale—Christ taught them all, and if I give them up, I must give up all Christ’s teaching. What we want is a faith that believes in the Bible from cover to cover.

SUGGESTIONS FOR BIBLE STUDY

1. Read the Bible as intelligently as you would read anything else.

If I receive a letter from my wife eight pages long, and read the fourth page today, the last page tomorrow, then turn back to the first page, it will be unintelligible to me. To grasp it intelligently I must begin at the beginning and read through it in order.

Now the Bible is not only a book in itself, with one distinct purpose running through it from Genesis to Revelation, but it is also a collection of sixty-six books, each complete in itself. Therefore it is only fair and reasonable, if you want to understand it, that you should read them through.

2. Do not read too fast or too much. Butterflies cover more ground, but bees gather more honey. Imitate the bees.

Studying goes deeper than mere reading. There are surface nuggets to be gathered, but the best of the gold is underneath; and it takes time and labor to secure it. Skimming over large areas of truth is not so profitable as the careful turning of every passage.

3. Have some definite object in view.

If a friend should see me searching about a room and should say: “Moody, what are you looking for? Have you lost something?” and I should reply: “No, I haven’t lost any thing; I’m not looking for anything in particular,” he would think me very foolish. But if I tell him I am looking for something, I may expect him to help me find it.

Numbers of people take the Bible without any definite desire to receive anything out of it. We should hunt it thoroughly for its great truths, and not read at random.

In private devotions or for family prayers, select passages as carefully as for public services. All the medicines in a druggist’s shop may be helpful, but they have different properties that make them suitable for different cases. In the Bible there is a word for every condition and circumstance of life. Every case is met; but passages should be selected according to the needs of that case. For instance, in time of trouble, read Psalm 91. For consolation in bereavement, turn to John 14 or 1 Corinthians 15. For devotional reading, turn to the Psalms or to the epistles.

4. Learn to feed yourself. The great trouble with most church members is that they don’t know how to do this. They have to be fed with an ecclesiastical spoon. If they happen to have a minister who feeds his flock, they get on pretty well; but otherwise their souls are not fed at all, and become lean and starved.

Obtain for use a good Bible, a concordance, and a topical text-book. Any Teacher’s Bible embraces the two latter, or they can be obtained separately. They form a complete library, and by their aid the Bible can be studied with profit.

METHODS OF BIBLE STUDY

Every man cannot fight in Saul’s armor, and perhaps my methods may not suit you; but if one method does not help and interest you, try another.

1. First, the telescopic method; that is, taking a grand sweep of a book or chapter, and trying to find out the main outline. Thus, there are seven leading men in Genesis: Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. They stand out like mountain peaks in the course of the history. Study their lives and times, and you will have a fair grasp of the whole book. Similarly, there are ten great sermons in the Book of Acts—five preached by Peter, one by Stephen, and four by Paul. When you know the circumstances under which these were preached, etc., you will have a general idea of the Book of Acts.
2. Another method is the very opposite of this—the microscopic method, when you take a verse or section and analyze it.

Take, as an example, Gal. 6:7: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The text naturally divides into three sections. (1) “Be not deceived.” Now take a topical text-book and see what the Bible says about deceiving; who deceives us; how we are deceived, etc. (2) “God is not mocked.” What is the Bible meaning of “mocking”? Do men ever try to mock God? Can He be deceived? etc. (3) “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Note the certainty of the reaping— “shall;” the two kinds of sowing and reaping—sowing to the flesh and a harvest of corruption, or sowing to the Spirit and a harvest of everlasting life; that a man reaps the same kind as he sows, and more than he sows—some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some an hundredfold, etc.

3. Study of subjects or topics. It has been well said that we must not read the Bible by the blue light of Presbyterianism, or by the red light of Methodism, or by the violet light of Episcopalianism, but by the light of the Spirit of God. Between conflicting opinions, most Christians are in dense ignorance regarding the most fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. What they should do is take the Bible and study for themselves.

For instance, consider the doctrine of the atonement. A great many say that it is folly to claim that men are saved by simply trusting in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. When you meet that objection, go to the Bible and find out all it says about the blood. We have the first reference in the third chapter of Genesis, where blood must have been shed before Adam and Eve could have been clothed with the skins of beasts. Follow the doctrine through the sacrifices of Abel and Noah and Abraham; the ceremonies and sacrifices of the Mosaic dispensation; the prophecies of Isaiah and Daniel. Pass from the Old Testament to the New, and see how the cleansing power of the blood of Christ is emphasized, until we reach the last chapter of Revelation, where we read about the Lamb of God, by the merits of whose shed blood alone we can hope to enter into that new Jerusalem.

Other fertile subjects are: Fulfilled prophecy; Old Testament types; the meaning of proper names; the promises; prayer; heaven; the attributes of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost; faith, love, hope, etc.

4. The study of words and expressions. Here you take a word or expression and follow it through the whole Bible, or through some particular book or section, with the help of a concordance.

For instance, in the second chapter of Habakkuk there are five “woes” against five common sins:

1. “Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!” 2. “Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house!” 3. “Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity!” 4. “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink!” 5. “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach!”

Again: Faint not in prayer. Luke 18:1.
Faint not in confidence. 2 Cor. 4: 1.
Faint not in hope. 2 Cor. 4: 16.
Faint not in well-doing. Gal. 6: 9.
Faint not at tribulations. Eph. 3: 13.
Faint not under chastening and rebuke. Heb. 12: 5.

Study in the same way the seven “blesseds” and the eight “overcomes” of Revelation; the “better things” of Hebrews; the “believings” and the “I ams” of John; “the fear of the Lord” in Proverbs; the seven “walks” of Ephesians; three “sound” things in Titus; the seven “forty days” of Scripture; five “much mores” in the fifth chapter of Romans; “with one accord” in Acts; six “precious” things in Peter’s epistles, etc.

5. Another profitable study is Bible characters. Take one man and follow him from the cradle to the grave.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Here let me say that the key to the whole Bible is Jesus Christ. You remember that, on the way to Emmaus with those two disciples, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He (Jesus) expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Notice those two “alls.” The one theme of the Old Testament, in type and prophecy, is the Messiah; and the New Testament deals with His life on earth, and with the Church, which is His body, and with His coming glory.

Do not expect ever to exhaust the full meaning of Scripture. A supernatural God must have a supernatural Book. Finite minds cannot grasp the infinite. That is one reason why men who know the Bible best find it ever new.

Talmage has said that as the smallest dewdrop on the meadow at night has a star sleeping in its bosom, so the most insignificant passage of Scripture has in it a shining truth. Spurgeon said that the flowers of God’s garden bloom, not only double, but sevenfold; they are continually pouring forth fresh fragrance. George Muller wrote that he had read the Bible through a hundred times in order, and every time with increasing joy. Whenever he started afresh it seemed like a new book to him. Joseph Parker recently said that he had preached twenty-five volumes of sermons upon the Bible, and that when he had written the very last words his feeling was that he had not begun it yet!

I thank God there is in it a height I have never been able to reach, a depth I have never been able to fathom, a length and a breadth I know nothing about. It makes the book all the more fascinating and proves it divine.