"What do you wish?" Matthew 20:21
"What do you want Me to do for you?" Matthew 20:32
Two different requests were made of Jesus and He showed kind and patient grace by giving both the same response. The two scenarios unfolded differently, however. Why?
The first request came from James and John’s mother, who was seeking positions of greatness for her sons. (Mark records that James and John asked as well.) The second request came from two poor blind men who were seeking mercy to have their eyesight restored. Jesus responds differently to, “Make me great,” than He does, “Have mercy on me.”
We shouldn’t miss the fact that the disciples (and their mother) should have been further along in their spiritual growth. They had been with Jesus for 3 ½ years! What did the blind men know? And yet their request was not only more pleasing to the Lord, but it was met with an affirmative answer, while the disciples were gently corrected.
Let us be reminded of this about our Lord: while He resists the proud, He gives grace to the humble. (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5)