Mark 10:40 kjv
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.
Mark 10:40 nkjv
but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."
Mark 10:40 niv
but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
Mark 10:40 esv
but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."
Mark 10:40 nlt
But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen."
Mark 10 40 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Matt 20:23 | "...to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." | Parallel passage explicitly naming the Father. |
| Ps 110:1 | "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" | Basis for Christ's supreme divine authority and position. |
| Heb 1:3 | "...when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..." | Christ's completed work and exalted status. |
| Col 3:1 | "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God." | Believers' call to seek heavenly, Christ-centered things. |
| Acts 7:55-56 | "...he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God..." | Stephen's vision confirming Jesus' exaltation. |
| Eph 1:20 | "...which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand..." | God's powerful exaltation of Jesus. |
| Matt 25:34 | "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...'" | God's eternal preparation of kingdom inheritance. |
| John 14:2-3 | "In My Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you." | Divine preparation for future dwelling (concept of "prepared"). |
| 1 Pet 1:4 | "...to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you..." | God's secure reservation of a heavenly inheritance. |
| Eph 1:4 | "...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy..." | Divine election and pre-determination for salvation. |
| Rom 8:29-30 | "...whom He foreknew, He also predestined... called... justified... glorified." | God's sovereign chain of salvation leading to glory. |
| Acts 1:7 | "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority." | Jesus' deferral to the Father's exclusive prerogative in timing. |
| Prov 16:33 | "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." | God's ultimate sovereignty over all outcomes. |
| Luke 22:42 | "Saying, 'Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.'" | Jesus' submission to the Father's will even in suffering. |
| Heb 5:8 | "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." | Obedience and perfection through suffering. |
| Phil 2:8-9 | "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him..." | Humiliation and suffering preceding divine exaltation. |
| Rom 8:17 | "...and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." | Suffering with Christ as a prerequisite for glory. |
| 2 Tim 2:12 | "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him..." | Enduring faithfulness linked to future reign. |
| Mark 10:43-45 | "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant... For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve..." | Defines true greatness through humble service, contrasting worldly views. |
| Matt 20:25-28 | "But Jesus called them to Himself and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them...'" | Parallel passage elaborating on servant leadership. |
| John 13:13-16 | "You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." | Jesus' demonstration of humble servant leadership. |
Mark 10 verses
Mark 10 40 Meaning
Mark 10:40 is Jesus' direct response to James and John's ambitious request for the most honored positions in His coming kingdom. Having confirmed their future participation in His suffering, Jesus clarifies that the granting of the highest positions—to sit at His right and left—is not His prerogative to bestow upon simple request or human merit. Instead, these ultimate places of honor and authority are divinely pre-ordained and are reserved by God the Father for those whom He has specifically prepared and appointed, aligning with His eternal sovereign will and wise plan.
Mark 10 40 Context
Mark 10:40 is nestled within Jesus' final, fateful journey towards Jerusalem, a journey during which He repeatedly foretold His impending suffering, death, and resurrection (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:32-34). Despite these explicit prophecies of sacrifice, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, display a profound lack of spiritual understanding. Immediately after Jesus' most detailed prediction of His passion (Mark 10:32-34), they boldly request the most prestigious positions—right and left hand—in His coming kingdom. This reveals their entrenched worldly expectation of a triumphant, earthly Messiah who would establish a political kingdom with traditional structures of power and status. Jesus' reply, affirming their shared suffering but deferring the grant of ultimate glory to the Father's sovereign will, serves to correct their carnal ambition and prepare them (and the other disciples, who become indignant in v.41) for His subsequent teaching on true greatness in the kingdom as humble, self-sacrificial service (Mark 10:42-45).
Mark 10 40 Word analysis
- but (ἀλλὰ, alla): A strong conjunction that indicates a direct contrast. It pivots from the affirmative response of sharing Jesus' suffering (Mark 10:39) to a crucial caveat regarding the allocation of ultimate honors.
- to sit (καθίσαι, kathisai): An aorist infinitive that denotes a decisive and permanent taking of a seat, symbolizing the assumption of a position of authority, privilege, and established honor.
- on My right hand (ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ek dexiōn mou): This universally signifies the position of supreme honor, paramount authority, and ultimate power, directly derived from or belonging to the sovereign (referencing Ps 110:1).
- and on My left (ἢ ἐξ εὐωνύμων, ē ex euōnymōn): Though still a place of significant honor, it is subordinate to the right. Together, "right hand and left" encapsulate the two most esteemed positions immediately next to a king or ruler in a position of ultimate glory.
- is not Mine to give (οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι, ouk estin emon dounai): Literally, "it is not mine to give." This critical declaration clarifies that Jesus, in His incarnate, submissive role, defers this ultimate prerogative to God the Father. It's not a denial of His inherent deity or authority but a demonstration of perfect obedience and harmony within the Trinity, teaching that ultimate glory is distributed according to divine arrangement, not human solicitation or solely by the Son's will.
- but it is for those (ἀλλ᾽ οἷς, all’ hois): Another alla (but) emphasizes the specific conditions and recipients for whom these places are intended. It shifts the focus from the act of giving to the act of preparing.
- for whom it is prepared (ἡτοίμασται, hētoimastai): This is a perfect passive indicative verb, meaning "it has been prepared, with the result that it now stands ready." The passive voice strongly implies the divine agent (explicitly the Father in Matt 20:23). This points to an eternal, sovereign, predetermined divine plan (Eph 1:4) whereby specific individuals are uniquely appointed and fitted for these places of ultimate glory, emphasizing divine pre-arrangement over human ambition or arbitrary award.
Words-Group Analysis:
- "to sit on My right hand and on My left": This phrase encapsulates the core of the disciples' misguided request—a worldly aspiration for preeminent status and power in the Messiah's kingdom. It vividly portrays their lack of comprehension of Jesus' true mission of suffering and service, which He had repeatedly explained to them.
- "is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared": This complete clause represents Jesus' profound theological statement. It elucidates the Trinitarian working, where the Father holds ultimate prerogative in allotting supreme glory, pre-ordaining positions according to His perfect wisdom and eternal plan. It effectively debunks any notion that honor in God's kingdom is granted on the basis of human demand, earned merit, or arbitrary decision, asserting divine sovereignty and foreordination.
Mark 10 40 Bonus section
The broader narrative flow in Mark highlights a consistent theme of the disciples' failure to grasp Jesus' teachings on humility, suffering, and the true nature of the kingdom, often immediately after His most profound revelations. Mark 10:40-45 represents a critical pivot from this blindness to a definitive teaching on servant leadership (v.43-45), contrasting the Gentiles' worldly dominion with the humble service characteristic of Christ's followers. Furthermore, the explicit statement in Matthew's parallel account (Matt 20:23) that the places are prepared "by My Father" unequivocally establishes the source of this divine preparation and allocation, reinforcing the Trinitarian nature of the kingdom's governance and the ultimate authority residing in God the Father for these specific appointments of supreme honor.
Mark 10 40 Commentary
Mark 10:40 stands as a crucial commentary on both human ambition and divine sovereignty. Following the audacious request of James and John for preeminent seats of honor, Jesus clarifies that while they will participate in His suffering—symbolized by drinking His "cup" and sharing His "baptism"—the bestowing of ultimate positions is "not Mine to give." This is not a confession of Christ's limited power but a revelation of His perfect submission to the Father's sovereign will and an indication of the pre-ordained nature of kingdom rewards. These most glorious places are already "prepared" by God the Father for those whom He has uniquely designated. The verse fundamentally reorients our understanding of glory in God's kingdom: it is not earned through asking, nor arbitrarily granted, but is divinely appointed by a Father who knows the hearts and pathways of those He has prepared to fill these specific roles. It underscores that God alone knows who is truly prepared by His grace and sovereign design to occupy positions of highest honor in eternity.