Charles Spurgeon Commentary Mark 10:35

"And there come near unto him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying unto him, Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall ask of thee." — Mark 10:35 (ASV)

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come to him, saying, Master, we would that you should do for us whatever we shall desire.

Strange request! First of all, read those words: "We would that you should do for us." Now, the genuine spirit of a Christian is not to ask that something should be done to him, but to ask his Master, especially in such a time as that, what they could do for him.

Christ was all unselfishness, but his disciples had not yet learned the lesson. "We would that you should do for us." And then see how much they indulged their ambition: "We would that you should do for us whatever we desire."

And yet I question whether we are, any of us, free from this spirit. For when the Lord reproves us a little, and we do not have everything our own way, how inclined we are to rebel! The fact is, we have this tincture—this gall—in us: we would that he should do for us whatever we shall desire.

Should it be according to your mind? Should the disciple dictate to his Master? Should the child be lord of the family?