Contradiction??
Matthew 20:20-21 & Mark 10:35-40
Did James and John’s mother ask for James and John to sit on the right
and left side of Jesus’ throne or did James and John THEMSELVES go and
ask if they could sit at His right and left side?
It seems that James, John, and the Mother were all there essentially
making the same request. It’s difficult to know who actually “spoke” the
specific words in question, because like any other dialogue sometimes
somebody speaks a word “for you”
There **might** be also the
possibility that the mother asked and then immediately after, her kids
asked. The conclusion drawn would be that the mother tried to speak for
her kids, and that her kids, really wanting Jesus to know that it was
their desire, then asked immediately after, before Jesus could get a
word in. This might imply that Jesus was intensely contemplating on how
exactly to respond to the mother’s request, or waiting for her children
to speak all along.
