Section 47 of 7710:35-45Mark

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King James VersionMark 10:35-45

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

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.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Mark 10:35-45

Jesus Redefines Greatness through Service and Ransom

The seats they want are not how his kingdom runs

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come and ask that he would do for them whatsoever they desire. They want to sit one on his right hand and the other on his left in his glory. He says they do not know what they ask. Can they drink of the cup that he drinks of, and be baptized with the baptism that he is baptized with? They say they can. He grants the cup and the baptism; the seats are not his to give. They are for whom it is prepared. The ten are much displeased with James and John. Rank has split the company again, this time after the clearest passion word yet.

Jesus calls them and rejects Gentile-style domination: they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship, and their great ones exercise authority. It shall not be so among you. Whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Greatness is service; his own life is the price that frees. Service does not authorize leaders to exploit labor or demand silence from the vulnerable. A ransom is not a license to use people.

How this should shape us

When you want the visible seat, take the unseen work — the errand, the apology, the care no one applauds — and refuse any 'servanthood' that silences or uses the people under you.

Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters differ?

Best judgment: Ransom language evokes costly liberation, Isaiah's servant, and substitutionary interpretations without specifying one complete atonement theory. Service opposes domination and cannot be used to demand exploitation from the less powerful.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.

Mark 10:35-45, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.

Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 10:35-45

STEP Bible Data

Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.

STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 10:35-45

NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.

NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 10:35-45 and attached translator/textual notes

Mark, Second Edition

Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.

Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 74–87, Mark 8.27b–10.52; subsection covering 10:35-45

Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.

Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 10:35-45

Mark

Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.

McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 10:35-45

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.

Exact location: Mark 10:35-45, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

Greek textual evidence

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos

Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010

Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.

Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 10:35-45

Open the Mark Greek text file ↗

Lexical and grammatical evidence

STEP Bible Data

Tyndale House Cambridge

Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026

Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.

Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 10:35-45

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.

Exact location: NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 10:35-45 and attached translator/textual notes

Open the official NET Mark PDF ↗

modern scholarly narrative commentary

Mark, Second Edition

Edwin K. Broadhead

Sheffield Phoenix Press; distributed online by the Society of Biblical Literature, 2009

Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.

Exact location: Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 74–87, Mark 8.27b–10.52; subsection covering 10:35-45

Open Broadhead's complete Mark commentary ↗

modern scholarly book introduction

Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Paul S. Berge; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision; current online course inspected 2026

Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 10:35-45

Open the Enter the Bible Mark course ↗

modern open confessional commentary

Mark

Mike McKinley

The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition

Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.

Exact location: McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 10:35-45

Open McKinley's Mark commentary ↗