Mathew 20:

21 And said unto her, What wilt thou? She said unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on the right hand, the other on the left, in thy kingdom.

It’s a vantage moment that must not be allowed to slip away unfulfilled. John and James, along with their mother, perhaps at the instigation of the two sons, went up privately to meet Jesus, making a request that “these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, the other on thy left in thy kingdom..”  Though, this looked ridiculously selfish, the Lord didn’t rebuke them; even warmly welcomed them. It’s a good thought to want to be closest to God, to His Christ. It’s a moral and legitimate desire. God will always keep the door of entrance open to all who will gun for it. He taught His disciples, Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). God has not shut the door of entrance to anyone who seeks after Him. Even when He has concluded and made final arrangements for the door to be firmly locked. In the law of Moses, the door of opportunity of being a priest of God was firmly closed against all of the eleven tribes; only Levites could be priests. Priests are the closest to God, the only friend of God with ability to approach Him without melting into nothing. Yet, He provided the Nazarene window for everyone whose heart yearned for Him but who were not from the tribe of Levi. Nazarene is a separated one for the Lord.

However, the visiting family of mother and children had a wrong perception of the kingdom in question. The envisaged kingdom was, in their understanding, was to be like the existing kingdoms and civilisations of man; it was to be a complete replication of the present system in another milieu. The kingdoms of man showcase the previleges of the few who rule or lord it over all others; these few others call the shots and are said to be glorious. The vast others are at the calls and becks of the few, who are worshipped. This was the template of kingdom to the Zebedee children and their mother.

Rather than be angry with them for their request, the Lord Jesus pointed out to them that the position of being the next persons to His left and right hands comes with a great cost, as great as the one He was to offer for the redemption of mankind before He Himself would sit on the throne in the right hand of Majesty on high. The children assured Him that they were ready to participate in His costly sufferings. Jostling for the nearness to Royalty is costly.

The intensity of light at a place or area, science says, is indirectly proportional to the square of the distance of the source of light to the point or area. It means that the nearer the source, the brighter and definite. Angels had great roles in the development of the Old Testament and the Mosaic law. Israel received the law that was put into effect through angels…. (Acts 7:53). The thought is that the angels very close to God’s throne have such nature that is God’s. Gabriel the angel who came to deliver a message to Zechariah at the temple – for example – emphasized his closeness to God: I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God..(Luke 1:19). The closer the individual is to Christ, the greater the brightness of His light; the more the Lord is visible on him or her. In this space of existence, all other glories pale completely into insignificance. The excellency of the  present world system and the near magical evolved civilisation, hoisted aloft by man in his headlong independence of God is complete darkness, glorious as it is. And shouldn’t be used as a measure of glory much less being compared to the light of Christ’s kingdom. For one thing, man’s glory hasn’t been able to do anything about the question of sin and soul.

To be living close to Christ is royalty, living in the vicinity of the neighborhood of the King. To want to be either at the right hand of Christ in His kingdom, or at the left is a great pursuit though costly. It’s glorious to be a denizens of this kingdom, but it’s more glorious to be part of the royalty.

There were twelve tribes in the Israelite kingdom of David, covering a vast land. Closer to the working of the kingdom was the tribe of Judah, then Jerusalem. Closer still was Zion, the city of David; then the royal household, including Mephibossheth , Chimham, the son of Bazilai.

Paul writes, I press on towards the marks of the prize of the high calling of God in  Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). This is how to reduce the distance in order to gain greater intensity of the light of His presence. This closeness that will bring the church-man to the measure of the fullness Christ is attainable, though this outworking of God’s grace may also come with unpleasant experiences. The Lord asked the ambitious duo whether they could drink the cup He would drink or be baptized with His own type of baptism. Yes, they answered. He warned them that they didn’t yet know what they were asking. James, according to the bible, was killed by Herod; John was banished to the Island of Patmos. John writes that he was so banished because of the word of God, and because of the testimony of Christ.

Attaining Christ is the true essence of life; it is the reason for being. When it’s said that we reign with Christ, it means we have become Christ in God

May we be found in this part

Thank You Lord for this