Charles Spurgeon Commentary Mark 10:40-41

"but to sit on my right hand or on [my] left hand is not mine to give; but [it is for them] for whom it hath been prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be moved with indignation concerning James and John." — Mark 10:40-41 (ASV)

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.

Why were they displeased? Because they were of the same spirit as James and John. Since they were displeased with James and John, it is evident that they wanted those places themselves, and many a person is in this way displeased with their own faults. Did you ever see a dog bark at itself in a mirror? You and I have often done that; we have even grown very angry with what was, after all, only our own image.